SEGA ANNOUNCES EXPANSIVE MULTIMILLION DOLLAR FALL MARKETING CAMPAIGN FOR SEGA SPORTS GAMES
Posted by Ben on Thursday, September 5 2002

NEW YORK - SEGA Sports Summit - (September 5, 2002) - SEGA(R) of America,
Inc. today reinforced its commitment to the SEGA Sports(TM) brand by
announcing an expansive $35 million marketing campaign for the SEGA Sports
2K3 line-up of sports video games. Increasing its marketing spend by 75
percent this year, the aggressive SEGA Sports 2002 fall marketing program
includes a massive advertising campaign, major sports sponsorships and
national promotions with partner ESPN, the worldwide leader in sports. The
campaign will support all SEGA Sports titles across all next-generation
video game consoles including PlayStation (R) 2 computer entertainment
system, the Xbox(TM) video game system from Microsoft(R) and the Nintendo
GameCube(TM).

"SEGA Sports understands gamers' needs and continues to produce products
that redefine the boundaries of realism within the sports simulation genre,"
said Tom Nichols, vice president of sports marketing, SEGA of America, Inc.
"Our fall marketing initiatives are only the beginning of the major
marketing muscle we will be placing behind these groundbreaking SEGA Sports
games, as SEGA is fully committed to delivering compelling sports video
gaming on all key platforms."

This year, the SEGA Sports line up delivers a truly emotional sports gaming
experience with features that push the envelope of competition such as
online gameplay, new ESPN presentation style graphics, the SEGA Sports
Challenge and a fresh new Franchise mode. The competitive spirit will be
evident throughout the entire 2K3 roster, especially in the national
advertising program planned for this sports gaming season.

Below are highlights from the SEGA Sports 2002 fall marketing campaign:

Advertising
Created by Leagas Delaney, San Francisco, SEGA Sports will kick off its
television advertising season with the debut of five new and compelling
spots for "SEGA Sports(TM) NFL 2K3," focusing on the spirit of competition
and the preparation for athletic battle. Three 15-second ads have already
hit the airwaves and the 30-second spots will launch tonight during the New
York Giants and San Francisco 49ers season opener on ESPN. The spots which
will run on many national networks, and feature NFL greats such as Chicago
Bears standout linebacker and "SEGA Sports NFL 2K3" cover athlete Brian
Urlacher, Tennessee Titans star Jevon Kearse and Tampa Bay Buccaneers Warren
Sapp. These ads will convey to consumers the intensity of the NFL and how to
get prepared for the highest level of competition. In addition, a
hard-hitting print campaign will run in key publications that reach the SEGA
Sports consumer and beyond. With an aggressive media buy, SEGA Sports will
be everywhere, including peak times on ABC Monday Night Football, ESPN
national broadcasts and other major networks such as CBS, MTV and Fox.

Leveraging the ESPN Partnership
Because of its partnership with ESPN, SEGA has the unique opportunity to
deliver the most realistic sports video games on the market in terms of
gameplay, while at the same time leveraging unique new venues for reaching
out to sports fans. This includes, integration of SEGA Sports video game
gameplay within ESPN programming. SEGA Sports/ESPN co-marketing campaigns
include the ESPN National College Tailgate Tour which will feature "SEGA
Sports NFL 2K3" and "SEGA Sports(TM) NCAA(R) College Football 2K3" in one of
the biggest college tours in the country. From early September through
November, college students will be able to try SEGA Sports video games
before and after key collegiate match ups. Another SEGA Sports/ESPN
co-marketing venture is the ESPN National NFL Truck Tour, where a mobile
vehicle that contains attractions such as a replica SportsCenter desk lets
fans play sports anchor and take home their very own "Keep It Reel" audition
tape. The tour will also showcase "SEGA Sports NFL 2K3," as the truck
travels the nation from the NFL season opener to the Super Bowl, following
key NFL match ups and NFL Flag Football youth tournaments.

Promotions and Events
Finally, SEGA Sports will have sponsorships at a number of key events this
year. This includes the return of the SEGA Sports Las Vegas Bowl, which will
air on ESPN on Christmas Day. This sponsorship gives SEGA Sports significant
television inventory and recognition as the title sponsor, as well as
on-site exposure via signage, program advertising, VIP/hospitality packages
and other in-game promotional elements. In addition, SEGA will also have a
strong presence at key sporting events this year including the Super Bowl
and NBA All-Star Game where SEGA Sports will host the third annual SEGA
Sports NBA All-Star Celebrity Challenge.

The SEGA Sports Challenge
To give gamers a closer look inside the SEGA Sports brand, SEGA re-launched
the Segasports.com website in August. This innovative site is both sports
and community focused, with in-depth information on all SEGA Sports titles,
as well as photos and details on special SEGA Sports events. Brand new on
Segasports.com is the SEGA Sports Challenge, which lets players measure how
they "stack up" against other gamers through a newly-formed online community
that posts individual gamers' rankings accumulated in offline games. Top
gamers will be awarded with great SEGA Sports prizes.

As part of its commitment to delivering all key sports to all key platforms,
SEGA Sports is shipping a compelling roster of new sports titles such as
"SEGA Sports NFL 2K3," "SEGA Sports(TM) NBA 2K3," "SEGA Sports(TM) NHL(R)
2K3," "SEGA Sports NCAA College Football 2K3," and hoops newcomer "SEGA
Sports(TM) NCAA(R) College Basketball 2K3." These video games are playable
on PlayStation 2, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube. In addition, "SEGA Sports NFL
2K3," "SEGA Sports NBA 2K3" and "SEGA Sports NCAA College Basketball 2K3"
will be playable online on Xbox and PlayStation 2, and "SEGA Sports NHL 2K3"
will be online for Xbox.

Photos, screen shots and other artwork are available at
http://SEGApr.SEGAamerica.com.

About SEGA
SEGA(R) of America is the American arm of Tokyo, Japan-based SEGA
Corporation, a $3.5 billion corporation by market capitalization, recognized
as a worldwide leader in interactive entertainment both inside and outside
the home. The company develops, publishes and distributes interactive
entertainment software products for a variety of hardware platforms
including PC, wireless devices, and those manufactured by Nintendo,
Microsoft and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. SEGA of America's Web site is
located at www.sega.com.

About ESPN
Based in Bristol, Ct., ESPN, Inc., "The Worldwide Leader In Sports," is 80
percent owned by ABC, Inc., which is an indirect subsidiary of The Walt
Disney Company. The Hearst Corporation holds a 20 percent interest in ESPN.
ESPN, Inc. includes six domestic television networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN
Classic, ESPNEWS, ESPN Now and ESPN Today), ESPN International (24
international networks and syndication), ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN The
Magazine, ESPN Regional Television, SportsTicker, and ESPN Enterprises,
overseeing brand extensions such as the ESPN Zone, an interactive
sports-themed dining and entertainment experience.

"PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony
Computer Entertainment Inc. (TM), (R) and the Nintendo GameCube logo are
trademarks of Nintendo. Xbox is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the
United States and/or other countries. ESPN and Sportscenter are registered
trademarks of ESPN, Inc. ESPN branded elements (c) Disney. All other
trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

(c) 2002 NFL Properties LLC. Team names and logos are trademarks of the
teams indicated. All other (NFL-related marks) are trademarks of the
National Football League. Officially Licensed product of PLAYERS INC. The
PLAYERS INC logo is a registered trademark of the NFL players.
www.nflplayers.com (c) 2002 PLAYERS INC.

World Series is a trademark owned by the office of the Commissioner of
Baseball and may not be reproduced without written consent. Major League
Baseball trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League
Baseball Properties, Inc. Visit the official Major League Baseball website
at MLB.com (c) MLBPA - Official Licensee, Major League Baseball Players
Association. Visit the Players Choice on the web at www.bigleaguers.com (c)
SEGA CORPORATION, 2002 (c) MLBP 2002 / MLBPA 2002.

NHL and the NHL Shield are registered trademarks of the National Hockey
League. All NHL logos and marks and team logos and marks depicted herein are
the property of the NHL and the respective teams and may not be reproduced
without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P. (c) 2002. All
rights reserved. Officially Licensed Product of the National Hockey League.
(c) NHLPA. NHL 2K3 is an Officially Licensed Product of the NHLPA. NHLPA,
National Hockey League Players' Association and the NHLPA logo are
trademarks of the NHLPA and are used under license by Sega of America, Inc.

The NBA and individual NBA member team identifications used on or in this
product are trademarks, copyrighted designs and other forms of intellectual
property of NBA Properties, Inc. and the respective NBA member teams and may
not be used, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of NBA
Properties, Inc. (c) 2002 NBA Properties, Inc. All rights reserved.

The "Officially Licensed Collegiate Products" label is the exclusive
property of The Collegiate Licensing Company. The "Collegiate Licensed
Product" label is the property of the Independent Labeling Group. NCAA, the
NCAA logo, and NCAA Basketball are trademarks or registered trademarks of
National Collegiate Athletic Association. The NCAA Football logo is a
registered trademark of the NCAA licensed to NCAA Football USA, Inc. All
names, logos, team icons, and mascots associated with the NCAA,
universities, bowls, and conference are the exclusive property of the
respective institutions. Heisman Memorial Trophy and likeness of the actual
trophy are registered service marks owned by the Downtown Athletic Club
under registration numbers 936,853 and 935,852 respectively. Heisman and
Heisman Trophy Award are service marks owned by the Downtown Athletic Club
of New York City, Inc.

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