Crystal Dynamics - Press News - Coming Soon Magazine

Crystal Dynamics Forms Distribution Partnership With Midway

Miday to Handle U.S. Distribution of Crystal Dynamics Premium Titles: GEX: ENTER THE GECKO and Pandemonium 2

Midway Also Committed to Bringing GEX to Nintendo 64

Menlo Park, CA, July 29, 1997 -- Crystal Dynamics, a leading Sony PlayStation and PC CD-ROM game publisher, today announced that gaming veteran Midway will distribute two of its most highly anticipated action games in the U.S. -- GEX: Enter the Gecko and Pandemonium 2.

Under the agreement, Midway has secured the exclusive U.S. distribution rights to both Crystal Dynamics titles for the Sony PlayStation and PC. The company will release the PlayStation versions of both titles in 1997 with PC versions following shortly thereafter. In addition, Midway has also committed to bringing GEX: Enter the Gecko to the Nintendo 64 with new and exclusive levels and features.

"GEX: Enter the Gecko is one of the hottest properties on the gaming horizon today. It pushes the PlayStation to limits that were cited as unattainable just a few months ago and thus is ideally positioned to smoothly move to the Nintendo 64," said Rob Dyer, president of Crystal Dynamics. "Our stellar titles, combined with Miday's expertise and industry credibility, will ensure that we have a major impact on this year's holiday season."

The relationship with Midway continues Crystal Dynamics' commitment to its entertainment studio model. This model allows the company to focus its resources on what it does best: design and market original gaming software. This frees the company from the costly burden of product distribution by securing strategic partnerships with industry leaders such as Midway to distribute its Crystal-branded entertainment software titles.

"Both titles fill a very important niche for us and perfectly complement our existing product lineup. Needless to say, we are thrilled to be working with Crystal Dynamics," said Byron Cook, president of Midway Home Entertainment.

As sequels to popular titles that orignially appeared on the PlayStation, GEX: Enter the Gecko and Pandemonium 2 are both character-based action games that utilize the latest in 3D gaming technology, including entirely free-roaming game play, dynamic backgrounds and environments. Pandemonium 2 will be available in October, and GEX: Enter the Gecko will be available for the holidays.

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Midway Home Entertainment Inc. designs, markets and distriubtes video games under the Midway trademark for home game platforms and personal computers. Midway Home Entertaiment Inc. is a subsidiary of Midway Games Inc. (NYSE:MWY), a company engaged in the design, manufacture and sale of coin-operated video games under the Midway and Atari trademarks. Both companies are subsidiaries of WMS Industries Inc. (NYSE:WMS).

Crystal Dynamics, the Menlo Park-based entertainment software studio, was the first to develop and publish a 32-bit video game in 1993. Since then, the company has developed an entertainment studio business strategy where product development and marketing are funded in-house while aligning itself with strong distriubtion partners. Crystal Dynamics' designers, programmers and artists continue to set the pace for the next generation gaming experience with strong innovation and playability in state-of-the-art games.

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