Macromedia Delivers Shockwave 7

Major New Version of the Web’s Most Popular Player for Interactive Multimedia Available Free at www.macromedia.com

San Francisco, Calif. January 19, 1999 Macromedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: MACR) today announced that Shockwave(TM) 7, a major new release of the company’s popular Web player, is now available for download at no charge from the company’s Web site. Shockwave’s high performance architecture delivers the richest interactive multimedia experience available on the Internet today. Shockwave 7 boasts an impressive array of new capabilities, including an auto-update feature that ensures Web surfers will always have the latest player. The new version also downloads and starts faster than ever before, providing easy access to interactive multimedia Web experiences regardless of connection speed. Consumers are invited to download the free Shockwave 7 Web player from Macromedia’s Web site at www.macromedia.com.

In a related announcement, Macromedia and Intel Corporation today announced they are teaming to break the Web bandwidth barrier for interactive multimedia by including Intel’s Web Design Effects software in Macromedia’s new Director(R) 7 Shockwave Internet Studio(TM). For more information on the Director 7 studio, please visit www.macromedia.com/director.

“Shockwave 7 truly takes Web multimedia to the next level,” said David Mendels, general manager of Macromedia’s Web Publishing group. “Web consumers will reap huge dividends in terms of faster, more immediate playback, and nearly effortless installation and maintenance. Additionally, Shockwave 7 and the new Director 7 Shockwave Internet Studio open the doors for a wider range of compelling Web programming, and better and more frequent communication between Web developers and their audiences.”

The Web Standard for Interactive Multimedia More than 30 million people have successfully downloaded Shockwave to date, making it the de facto standard for interactive Web multimedia. Inclusion of the player in Microsoft Windows 98, MacOS 8.5, and AOL 4 gives Shockwave the greatest reach of any interactive multimedia playback technology, creating the infrastructure for an unprecedented diversity of entertainment, e-commerce, and educational programming.

"The ubiquity of the Shockwave technology really helps us reach our audience with an impact," said Steven Hagenlock, CTO, Coach's Edge, who created Shockwave content for the USA Today, CBS Sportsline, and NFL.com Web sites.

About Director 7 Shockwave Internet Studio The Director 7 Shockwave Internet Studio is the standard for creating and delivering powerful multimedia for the Internet, CD-ROM, and DVD-ROM. The studio features a major new release of Director, which has been re-architected for the Web. Director 7 brings Internet-native design and delivery as well as sophisticated effects for immersive content creation, enabling developers to create compelling experiences that marry the production values and visceral appeal of television with the immediacy of the Internet. The studio also delivers Shockwave 7, a brand new version of the popular player that allows consumers to view Director content over the Internet.

In addition to Director 7 and Shockwave 7, the studio includes Macromedia Fireworks 1, an award-winning tool for creating and producing Web graphics, as well as Sonic Foundry's Sound Forge XP4 (Windows 95, 98, and NT) or BIAS Peak LE (Macintosh PPC) for professional quality sound editing. Customers also receive a multi-user server for creating distributed Shockwave 7 experiences such as multi-player games and online chat rooms.

Pricing and Availability Shockwave 7 is available today free of charge from www.macromedia.com. The Director 7 Shockwave Internet Studio is now available for an estimated street price of US $999 on Windows and Macintosh platforms. Registered users of previous versions of Director can upgrade to the Director 7 studio for US $499, or to the standalone version of Director 7 for US $449 (U.S. and Canada). For more information about the Director 7 studio, please visit www.macromedia.com/software/director.

About Macromedia Macromedia's mission is to add life to the Web. By providing its award-winning Web Publishing, Web Traffic, and Web Learning solutions to Web designers, consumers, and the enterprise, Macromedia is delivering a completely new generation of Internet tools and technologies designed to transform the Web experience. Headquartered in San Francisco, Macromedia (NASDAQ: MACR) has more than 500 employees worldwide and is available on the Internet at www.macromedia.com. Macromedia also hosts one of the most engaging entertainment sites on the Web at www.shockrave.com.

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Director, Director 7 Shockwave Internet Studio, Fireworks and Shockwave are trademarks or registered trademarks of Macromedia, Inc., as indicated. All other names and terms in this release may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

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