November 22, 2004 - Redefining the destiny of the Fellowship like never before ... Electronic Arts officially announced today that the highly anticipated real-time strategy (RTS), The Lord of the Rings(tm), The Battle for Middle-earth(tm) has gone Gold and will ship December 6, 2004. Developed at EA's Los Angeles studio exclusively for the PC under the EA GAMES(tm) brand, The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth captures the epic battles from all three The Lord of the Rings films.

"The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth offers a unique opportunity to truly experience the vastness of Middle-earth," said Mark Skaggs, Vice President and Executive Producer of the game. "This game will appeal to both fans from the film trilogy and experienced gamers alike. As players immerse themselves in both the epic battles and strategic game play, they control the entire destiny of Middle-earth."

With one RTS to rule them all, gamers have the choice to play from either the good or evil side. Players are given the freedom to command a variety of major armies and heroes from the films, each with their own distinct strengths and weaknesses. Prepare for war by creating offensive and defensive strategies set in the memorable battle locations taken straight from the big screen. The Battle for Middle-earth makes use of the stunning visuals including digital assets straight from the films. It also features exclusive voiceover from the real actors as well as actual movie footage from the three films.

Under an exclusive licensing agreement with New Line Cinema, EA has the rights to create and publish interactive entertainment games based upon the movie trilogy. This is the fourth such game from Electronic Arts under this agreement. The game is rated "T" (Teen) by the ESRB and has a US MSRP of $49.99. For more information on this title visit the official game website at: http://www.eagames.com/official/lordoftherings/thebattleformiddleearth/us/index.jsp