**MAGIC: THE GATHERING® FOR THE PC FROM MICROPROSE® IS AVAILABLE NOW AT RETAIL STORES NATIONWIDE

Trading Card Game Phenomenon Continues To Explode Worldwide With Demand For New Windows® 95 CD-ROM Release**

ALAMEDA, CA, March 6, 1997 - With more than two billion cards sold worldwide, Magic: The Gathering® debuts nationwide as a Windows 95 interactive computer game on CD-ROM, published by Spectrum HoloByte, Inc. (NASDAQ-NNM:SBYT). Domestic pre-orders are more than double retailer's pre-orders for MicroProse's award-winning PC title, Sid Meier's Civilization® II. The game will be marketed under the MicroProse brand and distributed worldwide.

The Magic: The Gathering card game is a huge phenomenon. This interactive version of the card game for the PC accurately recreates the Magic: The Gathering experience on the computer. "Now you can play a game of Magic anytime, anywhere," said Derek W. McLeish, senior vice president of marketing for MicroProse.

Magic: The Gathering for the PC is based on the popular Wizards of the Coast, Inc. trading card game of the same name, which is available worldwide in nine languages. David Etheredge of MicroProse is the game's producer and a tournament-level game master. He has been involved with the development of the CD-ROM game since its inception. The original creator of the trading card game, Richard Garfield of Wizards of the Coast, designed the game in three months and after two years of play testing, Magic was released to overnight success and critical acclaim in 1993. Magic: The Gathering for the PC is an enchanted incantation not only for expert Magic fans, but to all new and novice game players worldwide.

Game Concepts:

There are four components to Magic: The Gathering for the PC.

1) The Duel. The game includes a traditional duel module in which players can challenge the computer's artificial intelligence (AI) in a hand of Magic. This Duel allows players to jump right in and go head-to-head against the computer AI that comes complete with 60 pre-made decks. Game players may choose to duel these decks or duel against decks that the player creates. The Gauntlet, another feature of The Duel, allows the player to challenge the computer to a series of Magic: The Gathering duels in a tournament mode.

2) The Deck Builder. All cards within Magic: The Gathering for the PC are easily managed by the Deck Builder utility. The game includes all the cards from the Fourth Edition, over 20 powerful, out-of-print cards (like the Black Lotus) and the 12 new Astral Set cards. Players can make use of this utility to create, arrange and fine-tune their digital Magic: The Gathering decks for use in the game. Featuring advanced filtering mechanisms, this utility makes creating Magic decks easier and more fun than ever.

3) The Magical World of Shandalar. The third component of the game is the strategy card-game environment called Shandalar. It recreates the entire Magic: The Gathering experience in a unique environment, by giving the player the ability to buy, sell and trade Magic cards, build decks and duel opponents, as a lowly wizard out to vanquish evil from the land of Shandalar. Players will use green, red, blue, black and white magic to defeat mystical opponents in Magic: The Gathering card duels.

4) Multimedia Tutorial. The product's final component is the multimedia tutorial that introduces new players to the game of Magic: The Gathering. Using innovative video and interactive software scenarios, purchasers of Magic: The Gathering for the PC will have an intuitive, fun introduction to the card game.

Later this year, MicroProse plans to launch Magic card expansions that will extend the PC title's gameplay, just as expansions do for the paper card game. The company plans to release a multiplayer Internet module for its Magic: The Gathering game sometime later this year. Go to http://www.gathering.net/ for details.

Source:

Press Release

Fireball your PC with Magic.

Then summon Serra Angels, Shivan Dragons and Aswan Jaguars to completely annihilate it.

**Assemble a killer deck in the Deck Builder.

Banish all evil from the world of Shandalar.

Duel the computer anytime. If you can handle it.

Sorcerous advisors teach Magic in rich multimedia style.**

Now you can play the strategy card game phenomenon against your PC. With cool decks you build from the Fourth Edition Set and over 20 powerful, out-of-print cards, like the Black Lotus. Duel the computer's cunning AI or buy, sell and trade cards in the strategy card environment of Shandalar. And get ready for the Astral Set -- 12 cards found only in the PC game with powers possible only in a digital duel.

Magic: The Gathering on the PC.It's the ultimate Magic experience.

Product Information Number 315

Source:

PC Gamer magazine Vol 4. No. 7 - July 1997, p.266

Die Macht liegt in Ihren Händen.

MAGIC: DIE ZUSAMMENKUNFT® VON MICROPROSE. DAS BELIEBTESTE, MILLIARDEN MAL VERKAUFTE STRATEGIESPIEL DER WELT WIRD JETZT AUF IHREM PC LEBENDIG. ÜBERLISTEN SIE DEN TEUFLISCHEN ARZAKON. BESIEGEN SIE DIE GILDEN DER FÜNF MAGIER UND RETTEN SIE DIE LETZTEN MAGISCHEN QUELLEN DER WELT. IM DUELL MIT DEN ZAUBERERN UND IM KAMPF GEGEN FURCHTERREGENDE UNGEHEUER ERREICHEN SIE DAS UNERREICHBARE: SIE BEFREIEN SHANDALAR AUS DER MACHT DER DUNKELHEIT. DIE SPANNENDE EINFÜHRUNG, DAS EINFACHE INTERFACE UND DIE AUSFÜHRLICHEN HILFEN ERLEICHTERN DEM NEUEN SPIELER DEN EINSTIEG. DIE ULTIMATIVE HERAUSFORDERUNG WARTET JEDOCH AUF DEN ERFAHRENEN SPIELER. KAUFEN, GEWINNEN ODER FINDEN SIE DIE RICHTIGEN KARTEN FÜR IHR KILLER-DECK. SPIELEN SIE MIT DEN ÜBERWÄLTIGENDEN KARTEN AUS DER MAGIE: DIE ZUSAMMENKUNFT-FOURTH EDITION™ ANTIQUITIES® UND ARABIAN NIGHTS®. LASSEN SIE SICH VIN BISHER NIE VERÖFFENTLICHTEN, SPEZIELL FÜR IHREN PC ENTWORFENEN KARTEN VERFÜHREN. ERLIEGEN SIE DER WELT DER MAGIE!

Source:

Print advertisement - PC Player 05/1997