Turbine Selects Akamai for Digital Delivery of Online Games

    Business Editors/Technology Editors
    Game Developers Conference 2005

    SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 9, 2005--

    Turbine's Online Games, Game Updates, Video Trailers, Free Trials and Patches Will Be Delivered Via Akamai Media Delivery

    Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), the leading global service provider for accelerating content and business processes online, today announced that Turbine, Inc., a leading producer and publisher of online subscription entertainment, has chosen Akamai Media Delivery for secure, reliable delivery of its online assets. Akamai Media Delivery is ideal for delivering Turbine's games, patches, content updates and online promotional streaming trailers, and is also the solution of choice for 25 of the top 30 media and entertainment businesses(1).
    Turbine, which develops, operates and publishes online games, needed a solution to meet the growing needs of its customers. Every day, Turbine customers download and play online video games, download free trials and video trailers, and get new game updates and patches. Given that many of these games and video trailers are very large, graphically intensive files, they can typically take a long time to download, with frequent failures. Turbine is addressing these issues by trusting Akamai to deliver its complete set of electronic downloads.
    "We saw an opportunity for a respected online entertainment company like Turbine, and Akamai, a leader in the media delivery space, to partner to drive the online game market together," said Mike Hogan, vice president of technology and operations, Turbine, Inc. "Akamai is a quality service provider - and it's critical that our content is delivered over a quality distribution platform that helps us reach a global audience."
    "By leveraging the Akamai platform, Turbine can offer its customers a great experience through fast, reliable delivery of the content they need," said Kris Alexander, senior media and entertainment solution manager, Akamai. "Providing a great online experience is important for ensuring customer satisfaction and growing a customer base. Akamai helps ensure this with a proven platform designed to enable storage and global delivery of games and other media assets online."
    The demand for media of all types--music, movies, games and more is growing rapidly. Fickle consumers want to access media how they want, when they want and where they want. To be successful, businesses need to be on par or better than traditional delivery options. Akamai Media Delivery offers businesses a scalable and reliable platform to enable the delivery, protection and monetization of a range of digital media assets, including music, movies, games, broadcasts, TV shows, and events--without adding or needing to maintain infrastructure.

    About Turbine, Inc.

    Turbine, Inc. is a premier producer, publisher and operator of online subscription entertainment and is headquartered in Westwood, Mass. With studios on two coasts, the Company is the largest privately held online games company in North America. Turbine's catalogue includes some of the most famous online entertainment brands, including Asheron's Call(R), Dungeons & Dragons(R) Online and The Lord of the Rings(TM): Middle-Earth(TM) Online. For more information on Turbine and its services, please visit www.turbine.com.

    About Akamai

    Akamai(R) is the leading global service provider for accelerating content and business processes online. More than 1,300 organizations have formed trusted relationships with Akamai, improving their revenue and reducing costs by maximizing the performance of their online businesses. Leveraging the Akamai EdgePlatform, these organizations gain business advantage today, and have the foundation for the emerging Web solutions of tomorrow. Akamai is "The Trusted Choice for Online Business." For more information, visit www.akamai.com.

    (1) Based on 2003 revenues for US-based media and entertainment companies.

    Akamai Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act

    The release contains information about future expectations, plans and prospects of Akamai Technologies, Inc.'s management that constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors including, but not limited to, the effects of any attempts to intentionally disrupt our services or network by unauthorized users or others, failure to have available sufficient transmission capacity, a failure of Akamai's network infrastructure and other factors that are discussed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and other documents periodically filed with the SEC.

    TURBINE, Asheron's Call, Asheron's Call Dark Majesty, Fallen Kings, Turbine Engine, Asheron's Call: Throne of Destiny and Asheron's Call 2: Legions are registered trademarks or trademarks of Turbine, Inc. in the United States or other jurisdictions. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

--30--GK/bo*

CONTACT: Akamai Technologies, Inc. Jennifer Donovan, 617-444-2605 jdonovan@akamai.com or Turbine, Inc. Jason Wonacott, 781-407-4153 jwonacott@turbine.com

KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA TRACK INDUSTRY KEYWORD: ELECTRONIC GAMES/MULTIMEDIA SOFTWARE INTERNET E-COMMERCE TRADESHOW MARKETING AGREEMENTS SOURCE: Akamai Technologies, Inc.

Copyright Business Wire 2005