EA Promoting Launch of Madden NFL 09 at 7-Eleven(R) Stores Nationwide Madden NFL 09 Sold At 7-Eleven Stores at Midnight, August 12th REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Aug 13, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) has kicked-off a month long promotion of Madden NFL 09, the 20th Anniversary of the venerated EA SPORTS(TM) franchise, at 7-Eleven(R) stores across the nation. The promotion, running from August 1-31st, features a wide variety of in-store and out-of-store elements, including collectible Slurpee(R) and Big Gulp(R) cups, Madden Meals featuring Frito Lay potato chips, a free online Madden Fantasy Roster Builder based on Madden NFL 09 player ratings, and Madden NFL 09 branded signage throughout the store. As part of the promotion, customers were able to pre-order Madden NFL 09 at participating 7-Eleven locations and pick-up the game at midnight on August 12th when it was released. "EA SPORTS and the Madden NFL team are excited to team up with 7-Eleven to give our consumers a new and unique experience," added Chris Erb, Director of Marketing for EA SPORTS. "This promotion allows our passionate fans the opportunity to interact with our game like never before, so to us, it's a big win for all involved." EA has partnered with several other big names as part of the August promotion at 7-Eleven. Together with Warner Brothers Home Video, EA has made a playable pre-release demo of Madden NFL 09 available on a retail DVD. The demo disc, available for free at 7-Eleven with the purchase of a Madden Meal, is playable on the Xbox 360(TM) video game and entertainment system and also contains NFL Films highlights. In addition, EA, along with Donruss trading cards, released a limited edition set of Madden NFL 09 cards to be made available to consumers free with the purchase of select 7-Eleven beverages. The trading cards feature the in-game player ratings of select Madden NFL 09 stars. Pepsi has also joined the fray with a Madden NFL 09 sweeps in support of the new Pepsi Lemon NFL Kick-off colas, also launching in August. Prizes for the sweeps (www.pepsifootballsweeps.com) include a trip to Super Bowl XLIII and tickets to EA's Madden Bowl XV in Tampa, FL, as well as the chance to tour the EA SPORTS Tiburon game studio where Madden NFL football is made. Gatorade, a division of PepsiCo, also has also created Gridiron Ice, a limited-time-only Slurpee flavor available at 7- Eleven stores nationwide. Assisting 7-Eleven in developing the partnerships and promotions for the Madden NFL 09 August program is FreshWorks, 7- Eleven, Inc.'s advertising and marketing agency, which is a consortium of Omnicom companies. "EA truly values the opportunity to help bring all of these tremendous brands together with 7-Eleven and FreshWorks," said Erb. "The great thing about Madden NFL is that our fans are so diverse and have so many interests, so with a promotion of this magnitude, there's bound to be a little something for everyone to get excited about." "We're really gearing up for football season early this year and expect to score big with Madden NFL 09, especially in light of the number of MVPs, so to speak, teaming up for this promotion," added Jay Wilkins, 7-Eleven brand manager for Slurpee and Big Gulp beverages. Madden NFL 09, the First Sports Game That Adapts To You, introduces more than 85 new features and enhancements. Whether you are a seasoned veteran, or a franchise rookie, Madden NFL 09 will continuously assess your skills and adjust the gameplay to keep the experience both fun and challenging, all while training gamers to become better Madden players. Madden NFL 09 also includes a brand-new broadcast presentation package featuring Cris Collinsworth and Tom Hammond, online leagues, and the most realistic graphics in franchise history. Madden NFL 09 is developed in Orlando, Florida by the award-winning EA Tiburon studio, which also produces NCAA(R) Football, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR(R) and NASCAR(R) racing. Madden NFL 09 will be available for the Xbox(R) and Xbox 360(R) video game systems from Microsoft, PlayStation(R)2 and PLAYSTATION(R)3 computer entertainment systems, Wii(TM), Nintendo DS(TM), PSP(R) (PlayStation(R)Portable) handheld entertainment system and is rated E by the ESRB. EA SPORTS(TM) is the leading interactive sports software brand in the world, with top-selling titles and franchises including Madden NFL football, FIFA Soccer, NHL(R) hockey, NBA LIVE basketball, NCAA(R) Football, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR(R) and NASCAR(R) racing. For more information about Madden NFL 09, check out www.madden09.com. About Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, cellular handsets and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS(TM), EA(TM), EA SPORTS Freestyle(TM) and POGO(TM). In fiscal 2008, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.67 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com. EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS Freestyle and POGO are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Madden, NFL, NHL, NBA, NASCAR, NCAA. Tiger Woods, PGA TOUR and FIFA are trademarks of their respective owners and used with permission. "PlayStation", "PLAYSTATION" and PSP are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft, Xbox, and Xbox 360 are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies and used with permission. Nintendo DS and Wii are trademarks of Nintendo. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. SOURCE: Electronic Arts Inc. EA Sports Tyrone Miller, 407-386-4905 [email protected] or 7-Eleven, Inc. Margaret Chabris, 972-828-7285 [email protected] Copyright Business Wire 2008 News Provided by COMTEX.