Gamers to Decide on New Color Options for Xbox Controllers

REDMOND, Wash., March 17, 2003 — Recognizing that color allows people to express their individuality, Microsoft Corp. is listening to gamers who wanted color options for their Xbox (TM) controller. The company is even taking it one step further by putting the choice of colors squarely in the gamers’ hands. In an exciting new twist to the Xbox experience, gamers can log onto http://www.xbox.com/ beginning today to help decide the colors of a special line of Xbox controllers.

Xbox is offering gamers a vivid palette of choices, including red, orange, green, blue and clear. The new color controllers will retain the physical characteristics of the highly popular and ergonomic Xbox Controller S.

The votes will be tallied on March 31, and the winning colors will be unveiled at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) May 14 in Los Angeles. The new color controllers will appear on retail shelves this October in North America.

“Gamers told us they love the Controller S, but thought it would be fun to have it in different colors,”
said Bill Nielsen, director of Xbox brand marketing at Microsoft.
“We’re taking their advice, and are going one step further by asking them to help us make the decision about what colors to offer. Black and green will continue to be the primary colors of Xbox, but we’re looking to have a little fun by adding a few bold new shades into the mix.”

The controllers will be sold separately for an estimated retail price of $29.99 and will join the black Xbox Controller S on retail shelves.

About Xbox

Xbox ( http://www.xbox.com/ ) is Microsoft’s future-generation video game system that delivers the most powerful games experiences ever. Xbox empowers game artists by giving them the technology to fulfill their creative visions as never before, creating games that blur the lines between fantasy and reality. Xbox is now available in the continents of North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

About Microsoft Game Studios

Microsoft Game Studios is a leading worldwide publisher and developer of games for the PC, Xbox video game system and online platforms. Comprising a network of top developers, Microsoft Game Studios is committed to creating innovative and diverse game portfolios for the PC ( http://www.microsoft.com/games/ ), including such franchises as
“Flight Simulator,” “Age of Empires® ”
and
“Zoo Tycoon (TM)”
; Xbox ( http://www.xbox.com/ ), including such franchises as
“Halo (TM) ,” “Project Gotham Racing (TM)”
and
“NFL Fever”
; and Zone.com ( http://www.zone.com/ ), the official games channel for the MSN®
network and home to such hits as
“Bejeweled”
and
“OutSmart (TM) .”

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.

Microsoft, Xbox, Age of Empires, Zoo Tycoon, Halo, Project Gotham Racing, MSN and OutSmart are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

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