Most Highly Anticipated Role Playing Game of all Time Now Hitting Stores

ROCKVILLE, Md., Sept. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Bethesda Softworks, the nation's third largest private publisher of PC entertainment software, announced today the release of The Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall, the most highly anticipated computer role playing game of all time. Daggerfall, the sequel to Bethesda's hugely popular and award-winning 1994 release The Elder Scrolls: Arena, began hitting retail shelves nationwide last weekend.

Bethesda executives report that Daggerfall is shipping in record numbers for a computer role playing game: more than 150,000 copies have been air- expressed to retailers around the nation, with orders still coming in. To meet this unprecedented volume, Bethesda had to lease additional production and shipping facilities near its Rockville, Md. home base. Extraordinary player demand for Daggerfall is expected to mean a quick sell-out of all available copies, possibly making Daggerfall the best-selling computer role- playing game of all time.

Player interest in the game had been rising to the present fevered pitch during the last few months, as word of Daggerfall's imminent release spread over the Internet. Over the past month Bethesda's home page (www.bethsoft.com) has been receiving more than 50,000 hits a day.

"Daggerfall is the biggest, most realistic, most involving computer role playing game ever," said Vlatko Andonov, director of marketing for Bethesda Softworks. "Bethesda's software engineers collectively invested a total of 60+ person years to create Daggerfall and it shows. Its 3-D environment and role playing in the world of Tamriel make Daggerfall truly revolutionary," Andonov continued. "Role playing gamers, Arena fans and gaming enthusiasts of all stripes will love Daggerfall. We expect blockbuster sales," Andonov noted.

The computer gaming trade media, to whom Bethesda periodically previewed Daggerfall throughout its development, agrees with Andonov's assessment of the game. Johnny Wilson, editor-in-chief of the influential Computer Gaming World, calls Daggerfall "revolutionary." Trent Ward of PC Gamer says, Daggerfall "is the game that hard core role playing game fans have been waiting for since the beginning." The European press has been equally enthusiastic.

Revolutionary 3-D Environment

Daggerfall is a revolutionary computer role playing game by several important measures. First, it is based on Bethesda's proprietary "Xngine(R)" which delivers the first true 3-D game environment. Daggerfall also offers players quicker action, unrestricted viewing angles and complete freedom of movement. Daggerfall makes the mythical world of Tamreil come alive. It is as realistic as possible, within the current limits of the PC.

Second, Daggerfall mirrors the complete freedom of a traditional pen and paper role-playing environment in a way that no computer game has ever done before. Each Daggerfall player has total freedom to create his own character, who then serves as the game's protagonist. In fact, the player selects virtually all of the character's attributes: name, face, homeland and race, gender, occupation and personal history. The player can even select the character's personality characteristics, talents and idiosyncrasies, such as prejudices or phobias. And Daggerfall uses state-of-the-art artificial intelligence so that all of these personality traits affect how the character views the world and interacts with other characters in the game. No two players will have the same Daggerfall experience.

Like Having a Country in Your Computer

Finally, Daggerfall is ground-breaking because, as Andonov says, "Playing Daggerfall is like having an entire country in your computer."

With its vast size and scope, Daggerfall is the largest computer role- playing game ever created. The mythical empire of Tamriel is roughly twice the size of Great Britain. Players can receive hundreds of quests, visiting more than 6,000 different towns, cities and villages, not to mention countless miles of wilderness. They can meet and interact with more than 750,000 characters, from human beings of all races and backgrounds to monsters of every variety.

Players can walk on land or explore a dungeon, drive a cart, swim underwater, sail a boat or teleport through the air. Or they can cast spells, mix magic potions and do battle against foes, both human and supernatural. "Daggerfall provides more hours of gameplay than any other computer game on the market today," Andonov notes.

System Requirements

Minimum system requirements: 486 66 Mhz IBM PC or compatible running MS DOS 5.0+-; 8 MB RAM; 40 MB hard disk space; 2x CD-ROM drive, VGA compatible graphics card; joystick or Microsoft-compatible mouse. Supports most popular sound cards, including: Aria, Ensoniq, Roland, SoundBlaster and UltraSound. ESRB Rating: Mature. Daggerfall ships with a CHILDGARD(R) feature, which enables adults to switch off potentially offensive scenarios so that children can safely play Daggerfall with the family.

Pricing and Availability

Daggerfall is expected to sell for approximately $59.95 at software retailers and mass merchants nationwide. Daggerfall can also be purchased directly from Bethesda Softworks at www.bethsoft.com. For further information, visit the Bethesda home page or call Bethesda at 800-677-0700.

About Bethesda Softworks

Headquartered in Rockville, Md., Bethesda Softworks is the third largest privately held publisher of PC entertainment software. A ten-year industry veteran specializing in state-of-the-art computer simulation, Bethesda has won every major national and international software award for its sports, action and role playing games. The company's portfolio of software titles -- which has garnered commercial success equal to its critical acclaim -- includes The Terminator series, Wayne Gretzky Hockey, and The Elder Scrolls: Arena. Soon- to-be-released titles include: SkyNET, X-Car: Experimental Racing, and PBA Tournament Bowling.

Bethesda's success and long-standing technical expertise has attracted world-class programmers as well as Hollywood studios. The company recently announced a software partnership with Centropolis, creators of this summer's blockbuster movie "Independence Day," for which Bethesda founder Christopher Weaver served as technical advisor. Centropolis and Bethesda are currently developing an original science fiction computer game called The 10th Planet.

Bethesda is the entertainment software division of Media Technology Limited, an engineering research and development firm originally founded by members of the Architecture Machine Group at MIT.

SOURCE Bethesda Softworks

/CONTACT: John Lee, 301-926-8300, ext. 260, or e-mail: jlee@bethsoft.com, or Sandy Baird, 619-485-8837, or e-mail: sandbaird@aol.com, both for Bethesda Softworks/

CO: Bethesda Softworks ST: Maryland IN: CPR MLM SU: PDT

LH-MS -- NYF024 -- 9469 09/27/96 08:29 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com