AMD and Blizzard Entertainment® Join Forces in Strategic Global Agreement

Collaboration helps ensure rich experience for World of Warcraft® gamers
playing on new AMD ATI Radeon™ HD 4800 series graphics cards

AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Blizzard Entertainment® that will allow AMD to bundle Blizzard’s best games across all ATI Radeon™ graphics products, to deliver a superior gaming experience. As the exclusive graphics sponsor for BlizzCon™ 2008 in Anaheim, Oct. 10-11, AMD will treat gamers to the unparalleled graphics capabilities of the ATI Radeon™ HD 4800 series in all PCs for game play at BlizzCon™.

“Blizzard Entertainment is responsible for the hottest titles in PC gaming and AMD is excited to be working closely with one of the top development teams in the industry to deliver exceptional gaming experiences for players around the world,” said Rick Bergman, senior vice president and general manager, Graphics Products, AMD. “Gamers have a variety of choices when it comes to graphics cards, and those who choose ATI Radeon solutions can be confident their purchase will give them the visually rich, high-performance experience they expect.”

“Our collaboration with AMD is especially important to us because it provides us with early access to some of the latest graphics technology,” said Paul Sams, chief operating officer of Blizzard Entertainment. “Delivering a polished game experience is one of our top priorities, and this relationship helps us achieve that goal for Blizzard gamers who choose AMD graphics cards.”

AMD is committed to helping PC gamers around the world enjoy The Ultimate Visual Experience™. The collaboration with Blizzard Entertainment underscores the mission of its recently announced AMD GAME! initiative, which is dedicated to providing consumers the information they need to help them better understand gaming technology and thus purchase the right systems and components they need to best meet their high-definition gaming needs.

About AMD

Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) is a leading global provider of innovative processing solutions in the computing and graphics markets. AMD is dedicated to driving open innovation, choice and industry growth by delivering superior customer-centric solutions that empower consumers and businesses worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.amd.com.

About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.

Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft and the Warcraft®, StarCraft, and Diablo® series, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Vivendi Games, is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment’s track record includes ten #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company’s online-gaming service, Battle.net®, is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active users.

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“Sports just makes the most sense,” he told the audience at the Edinburgh Interactive Festival, during an MMO roundtable. “Loads of people like football. At Monumental we want to take national pastimes and make them MMOs - things like fishing or trainspotting,” Alexander said - though he was careful to note Monumental isn’t currently working on any fishing or trainspotting-themed games.

“Fantasy is very well serviced. I’d need a billion quid to take on WOW,” he added, to which Redbedlam boss Kerry Fraser-Robinson responded, “I could do it for a tenth of that.”

Monumental’s title, Football Superstars, isn’t the only sports-themed MMO in development - but according to Alexander, it could be the best. “Other people are doing it wrong - sorry if that sounds a little bigheaded, but they’re not thinking about it the right way or funding it the right way,” he said.

“When we set up Monumental three years ago I didn’t want to be a game developer. I didn’t think it was a very good business model, for all the fundamental reasons - having to rely on publishers to give you money, 18 to 24 month development cycles…

“MMOs, you get one deal and it’s there for 10 or 20 years, who knows. And that’s really a good way to think about business.” However, Alexander added, “The problem is obviously making a successful one in the first place.”

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