Business & Entertainment Editors

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 19, 2003

Atari today announced that it has shipped "Magic: The Gathering(TM) - Battlegrounds," for the Xbox(R) videogame system from Microsoft and PC CD-ROM, to retail stores nationwide. Developed for Atari by Secret Level, "Magic: The Gathering - Battlegrounds" is based on the incredibly popular trading card game created by Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS). The game is filled with faithful card game translations of classic creatures, spells and enchantments, and presented in a visually stunning 3D game environment rife with real-time strategic fighting, devastating wizard arsenals and intense creature combat.

"Based on one of the best game franchises ever created, `Magic: The Gathering - Battlegrounds' will truly usher in a new era of strategic fighting gameplay," said Steve Allison, vice president of marketing, Atari's Los Angeles Studio. "`Magic: The Gathering - Battlegrounds' is like no other `Magic' game to date -- it is incredibly fast paced, eye popping in full 3D and filled with tons of strategic fighting action. `Magic: The Gathering - Battlegrounds' also takes full advantage of Xbox Live, allowing players to compete against friends worldwide, track their stats and rank as well as download new creatures, spells, arenas and more."

Created by award-winning game designer Richard Garfield and published by Wizards of the Coast, the "Magic: The Gathering(R)" trading card game made its debut in 1993. Today, there are more than 6 million "Magic" players worldwide. Just as in the "Magic(R)" card game, in "Magic: The Gathering - Battlegrounds" players will choose a duelist and any of Magic's five colors -- red, green, white, blue or black -- to attempt to reduce their opponent's life to zero. Of course, getting an opponent to zero will not be easy, players will have to utilize lightning reflexes, strategic brilliance and, on occasion, raw power to overcome an enemy.

An important aspect to "Magic: The Gathering - Battlegrounds" will involve the player's mastery of the five colors in the development of his/her duelist. Each color has a proficiency at certain types of activities, such as attacking, defending and healing. Players will be able to select up to two colors and utilize creatures, spells and enchantments in any combination from those schools. For example, a red duelist may choose to augment the attacking powers of his Lava Dragon by adding powerful green enchantments to his arsenal or increase his resilience by using white's restorative powers instead.

"Magic: The Gathering - Battlegrounds" will feature an engrossing single-player Quest Mode, featuring a plot that includes characters from "Magic: The Gathering" storylines while also introducing a variety of new characters and locales. Single-player Quest Mode will be comprised of six chapters, each featuring up to 15 quests. Most quests will involve battles with resident duelists, sub-bosses or bosses who often control a particular creature or spell that the player has not yet acquired. As the player progresses, the resident duelists get tougher and control more powerful spells.

Additional Highlights:

-- Xbox Live Enabled -- "Magic: The Gathering - Battlegrounds"

takes full advantage of Xbox Live with a robust set of

features, including online dueling and chat capabilities, a

complete ranking system and statistic tracking. In addition,

new creatures, sorceries, enchantments and arenas will be made

available to players for download after launch.

-- Creatures, Creatures, Creatures -- "Magic: The Gathering -

Battlegrounds" will feature dozens of creatures that can be

utilized by duelists throughout the game. Creatures include

the Goblin King (red), who improves the performance of any

other goblin under player control; the Krovikan Vampire

(black), who can "resurrect" enemy units to serve his side

after defeating them in combat; the unstoppable Avatar of

Might (green), who can trample through defending forces and

still attack the opposing duelist; the Warrior Angel (white),

who can heal the controlling duelist with the damage she deals

in combat; and Horned Turtle (blue), who acts as a barrier to

all ground units.

-- Super Sorceries -- While creatures get all the headlines, an

effective sorcery can unleash a devastating, game-ending

world of hurt with one simple spell cast. Red features some of

the most devastating sorceries with show stoppers, including

Inferno, Scorching Missile and Engulfing Flames, which all

deal varying amounts of damage to creatures and duelists

alike. Not to be left out, the other colors also feature a

horde of deadly spells, including Hellfire (black), which

instantly kills all non-black creatures; Overrun (green),

which grants all green creatures bonuses to attack and defense

as well as the ability to trample opponents; Spelljack (blue),

which allows a blue duelist to literally steal an opposing

player's spell if timed correctly; and, Demystify (white),

which destroys an enemy duelist's last cast enchantment.

-- Enchanting Enchantments -- Just as important as any creature

or sorcery, enchantments can easily swing the tide of battle.

Gratuitous Violence (red) grants all creatures improved

attacking power; Test of Endurance (white) alters win

conditions by granting the first player to reach 50 health the

victory; Liability (black) causes damage to any duelist

whenever their creatures perish; and Pendrill Mists (blue)

steals mana from any duelist after a creature respawns

in battle.

-- Choose Your Battlefield -- "Magic: The Gathering -

Battlegrounds" will initially feature more than 15 arenas to

battle in. While featuring similar play mechanics, each arena

is unique and relates to key geographic areas found in the

"Magic" universe. Arenas include Maraxus' Volcanic Forge,

Akroma's Castle Lucetos, Ihsan's Forbidden Fen and Multani's

Everfall, among many others.

"Magic: The Gathering - Battlegrounds" is now available at retail stores nationwide with an estimated retail price of $49.95 and an ESRB rating of "T" for Teen. Additional information about "Magic: The Gathering - Battlegrounds" can be found online at www.mtggame.com, which features downloadable and streaming game play movies, downloadable developer commentaries and strategies, screenshots, duelist information and much more.

About Secret Level

Secret Level, Inc., is a growing company balancing tool, technology and title development for the console game industry. Founded in 1999, Secret Level has both shipped game titles with publishing partners Atari and LucasArts Entertainment Company as well as developed technology for partners such as Epic Games and Sony Computer Entertainment of America. Secret Level is a licensed developer for Xbox, Sony PlayStation(R) 2 and Nintendo GameCube, and holds "Tools & Middleware" licenses for notable platforms such as Xbox and Sony's PlayStation 2. Additional info is available through Secret Level's website at www.secretlevel.com.

About Wizards of the Coast

Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS), is a worldwide leader in the trading card game and tabletop roleplaying game categories, and a leading developer and publisher of game-based entertainment products. The company holds an exclusive patent on trading card games (TCGs) and their method of play and produces the premier trading card game, "Magic: The Gathering(R)," among many other trading card games and family card and board games. Wizards is also a leading publisher of roleplaying games, such as "Dungeons & Dragons(R)," and publisher of fantasy series fiction with numerous New York Times best-sellers. For more information, visit the Wizards of the Coast website at wizards.com.

About Hasbro, Inc.

Hasbro (NYSE:HAS) is a worldwide leader in children's and family leisure time entertainment products and services, including the design, manufacture and marketing of games and toys ranging from traditional to high-tech. Both internationally and in the U.S., its PLAYSKOOL, TONKA, MILTON BRADLEY, PARKER BROTHERS, TIGER, and WIZARDS OF THE COAST brands and products provide the highest quality and most recognizable play experiences in the world. (C)2002 Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

About Atari

New York-based Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq:ATAR) develops interactive games for all platforms and is one of the largest third-party publishers of interactive entertainment software in the U.S. The Company's 1,000+ titles include hard-core, genre-defining games such as "Driver(TM)," "Enter the Matrix(TM)," "Neverwinter Nights(TM)," "Stuntman(TM)," "Test Drive(R)," "Unreal(R) Tournament 2003" and "Unreal(R) Championship"; and mass-market and children's games such as "Backyard Sports(TM)," "Nickelodeon's Blue's Clues(TM)" and "Dora the Explorer(TM)," "Civilization(R)," "Dragon Ball Z(R)" and "RollerCoaster Tycoon(R)." Atari, Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of France-based Infogrames Entertainment SA (Euronext 5257), the largest interactive games publisher in Europe. For more information, visit www.atari.com.

"Magic" and "Magic: The Gathering" are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc.

Xbox is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Business Wire
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group