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Samsung Electronics America Renews Sponsorship of World Cyber Games USA Championship Series

-- Two global brands reunite to grow USA leg of world's largest and most prestigious video game tournament

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 6, 2006 NEW YORK, July 6, 2006 - Samsung Electronics America (SEA) and The World Cyber Games (WCG) announced today that the electronics giant has renewed its commitment to the US leg of the largest global gaming tournament and festival for the fifth straight year, making it one of the longest-standing sponsors of e-Sports tournaments in the United States. Together with Samsung, the WCG has established e-Sports as a vehicle for building healthy competition, friendships and professional careers in competitive gaming. "Samsung encourages competition, fair play and the digital entertainment lifestyle embodied by the World Cyber Games." said Mr. SW Hong, Sr. Vice President, Samsung Electronics America. "As a leader in high definition visual display technology, Samsung continues to provide gamers with the most realistic and high speed experience in gaming." "We're extremely pleased that Samsung continues to support the growth of e-Sports from a niche market to a mainstream entertainment platform," said Michael Arzt, general manager and senior vice-president for ICM USA, organizers of the World Cyber Games USA Championships. "It's a natural fit for the world's best electronics brand to partner with the premiere e-Sports tournament competition. With their support, the WCG USA Championship has grown into a true series and reached an unprecedented level in 2006." The World Cyber Games has pioneered television coverage of the genre and has launched the careers of such pro gamers as Jonathan "Fatal1ty" Wendell (Quake), Matt "Zyos" Leto (Halo) and Team 3D (Counter-Strike, Halo, WarCraft). The 2006 WCG USA Championship Final will see a cash prize pot worth more than $76,000, more than doubling the winnings from last year's tournament. Under the terms of the agreement, SEA will sponsor all WCG USA events including the WCG USA online preliminaries, WCG US Open, WCG USA Regional Tournaments and the WCG USA Championship National Finals. Samsung will be the exclusive provider of HDTV displays for the Xbox 360 matches and top-rated monitors for the PC matches. Additional exclusive sponsorship categories include Cellular Handsets, MP3 Music Players and Computer Printers. The US competition is already in full swing, with recently completed WCG US Open in Hollywood, CA and upcoming WCG Regional Tournaments scheduled for; Irvine, CA (August 5-6); Austin, TX (July 15-16); Indianapolis, IN (July 29-30) and New York, NY (August 12-13). The US tournament culminates with the WCG USA Championship Final September 15-17 at a soon-to-be announced location, where 175 of the nation's best gamers will face-off for $76,000 in prizes and the chance to represent America as a member of Team USA at the Grand Final in Monza, Italy. The 2006 WCG roster of Official Games consist of six PC games and 2 console games including: StarCraft®: Brood WarTM (PC); WarCraft®: Frozen Throne (PC); Half-Life®: Counter-Strike 1.6 (PC); Warhammer® 40,000: Winter Assault (PC); FIFA Soccer 06 TM (PC); Need for Speed TM: Most Wanted (PC); Dead or Alive® 4 (Xbox 360) and Project Gotham Racing® 3 (Xbox 360). This year's WCG USA program will also add additional competitions at its major live events in some of the most popular console game titles in the U.S. These include: Major League Baseball 2K6, Halo 2, Geometry Wars and others for the Xbox 360. Started as the World Cyber Challenge in 2000, the WCG was first officially held in 2001 and continues today under the slogan, "Beyond the Game." It has grown into the world's largest computer and video games tournament festival with more than 1.25 million people competing in 2005 in local, regional and national qualifying tournaments. Organizers expect up to 700 of the world's best gamers will travel to Monza, Italy, in October, 2006, to participate in the Grand Final of the most prestigious e-Sports competition and enjoy a well-rounded festival designed to promote culture and social harmony among world gamers. Additional sponsors for the WCG USA program include Microsoft and Shuttle. Samsung Electronics is also the worldwide sponsor for the World Cyber Games. About World Cyber Games The World Cyber Games ( www.worldcybergames.com) is the world's blue-chip global game tournament and cultural festival, founded to promote international harmony through e-Sports competition. Under the slogan "Beyond the Game," WCG leads the digital entertainment culture by bringing gamers across the globe together to form friendships and compete in the planet's largest e-Sports festival, with the world's largest following. More than a million gamers attempted to qualify in 2005, with over US$2.5 million awarded in total. Over 55,000 spectators attended the five day 2005 Grand Final in Singapore with millions more watching via TV broadcasts and online. WCG was first to broadcast e-Sports coverage in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia. About Samsung Electronics America, Inc. Headquartered in Ridgefield Park, NJ, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (SEA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., markets a broad range of award-winning, advanced digital consumer electronics, information systems and home appliance products. The SEA organization oversees the North American operations of Samsung including Samsung Telecommunications America, LP, Samsung Electronics Canada, Inc. and Samsung Electronics Mexico, Inc. Please visit www.samsung.com for more information. About Samsung Electronics Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2005 parent company sales of US$56.7 billion and net income of US$7.5 billion. Employing approximately 128,000 people in over 90 offices in 51 countries, the company consists of five main business units: Digital Appliance Business, Digital Media Business, LCD Business, Semiconductor Business and Telecommunication Network Business. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs, memory chips, mobile phones, and TFT-LCDs. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com Media Contact: WCG: Aaron Uhrmacher, Text 100 P: 212-331-8421 E: aaronu@text100.com Samsung: Tara O'Donnell P: 201-229-4090 E: t.odonnell@samsung.com # # # Emily Halverson Text 100 Public Relations D: +1.212.331.8428 M: +1.707.815.1422 E: emilyh@text100.com Holmes Report Technology PR Agency of the Year
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