## Why DirectPlay?

Because We (AOL and ImagiNation Network) Think It's the Best of Both Worlds

While we are extremely proud of our SDK (having received many accolades for how thorough and easy it is to use), we realize that it is proprietary and game developers won't use it until they have a deal with us. | We believe that as DirectPlay matures (with gentle prodding on our part to ensure it has all the necessary features required for successful multiplayer games) game developers will adopt it, and start programming with it - and we want your great game running on AOL and the Internet just as much as you do.

Because We Like to Have our Cake and Eat it Too.

As DirectPlay evolves into an industry standard, ImagiNation/AOL will continue to work directly with Microsoft to ensure that future versions of DirectPlay incorporate all the best multiplayer features. The same features we already have in our proprietary SDK. | But our developers won't have to wait for those features to become standard. We will be providing DirectPlay extensions which will enable game developers to take advantage of our additional features without having to re-write their base communication scheme.

Because it Suits Our Strongly Social Environment

We have created CyberPark and GameXpress (a code name) as game environments, which encourage online social activities and communities of interest. | When you make your games "lobbyable", your games will automatically be available from our environments. | By doing this, members logging on to AOL to play games, can meet others with similar interests, and suggest playing your game.

Because We Have Proprietary Extensions that Work in Tandem with DirectPlay

Our experience proves that the best opponent is a human opponent. Games with human competition and interaction have much more longevity, and a stronger following. By using DirectPlay, you do not have to worry about any proprietary details until you are ready to fold your game into The ImagiNation Network realm. When you're ready to enhance your game with our features and functionality, all you need to do is add proprietary extensions.

This is especially useful for things like tournaments, creating customized personas, and chat features that enhance social interaction.

And there's no need to worry that, after inserting our proprietary extensions, your game won't run anymore under a non-ImagiNation Network environment. It will work fine. Your gamers just won't be able to enjoy the features that load with our extensions.

The bottom line is revenue. Once a game is created with DirectPlay, a game developer can work out a deal with a Service Provider (such as The ImagiNation Network) to pay royalties for every hour played on their system. Considering that AOL currently has eight million members, well you do the math.

| The DirectPlay Plan |  | DirectPlay Q&A