Beam closes major new International Distribution Agreements

Beam International Limited (ASX: BEM) today announced that it had finalised major new international distribution agreements for its Melbourne House range of computer and video games for the North American and European markets. The company expects that these agreements will result in sales in excess of A$80 million over the next three years. The agreements are with GT Interactive, Inc. for the North American market and with Infogrames Entertainment for the European territories. Under the new agreement, GT Interactive will be responsible for distributing the complete range of Melbourne House titles throughout North America for the next three years. This includes titles to be released on PC CD-ROM format as well as console titles, such as titles for the Sony PlayStation. The agreement with Infogrames Entertainment was previously announced in March 1998. A key feature of these agreements is that GT Interactive and Infogrames will also provide Beam with a guaranteed minimum sales quantity on all titles which are agreed for distribution.

"This commitment by two of the world's major distributors and publishers reflects the faith that they have in Beam's products and will enable Beam to aggressively expand its publishing operations," commented Adam Lancman, Beam International Limited's Managing Director. "These agreements are a major step forward for Melbourne House towards becoming a major international publisher. GT Interactive and Infogrames are without doubt leaders in distribution in their respective territories, and will be able to deliver Melbourne House titles to the retail shelves," continued Mr. Lancman. GT Interactive is one of the leading North American producers and publishers of interactive entertainment programs for PCs and video game consoles, with well-known, successful titles such as Unreal, Duke Nukem, Total Annihilation and Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee. In 1997, GT Interactive achieved the number two market share in games (units) and number one market share in value-priced software (units, dollars) in the United States market for the second consecutive year, according to PC Data. The first title to be released under this agreement will be KKnD2: Krossfire. This title is the sequel to Beam's successful 1997 release, Krush Kill 'N Destroy (KKND).

GT Interactive Software Corp. is headquartered in New York, and is a listed company on the NASDAQ stock exchange (NASDAQ: GTIS). Founded in 1993, the company formally made its initial offering to the public in 1995. GT Interactive, Humongous Entertainment, Cavedog Entertainment, SingleTrac, WizardWorks, CompuWorks, MacSoft, and Slash are brands under which the company publishes. In the financial year ended December 31, 1997, GT Interactive reported net sales of US$ 530.7 million. For further information, access the Web Site at http://www.gtinteractive.com.
Infogrames Entertainment is the leading European producer and publisher of interactive entertainment software. Infogrames Entertainment is listed on the primary of the Paris Bourse. The group carries a catalogue of over 500 titles with an international presence in all the major international markets through the use of two brand names, Infogrames and Ocean. The range of titles covers games, educational and personal productivity software for all the key interactive markets. The company is headquartered in Villeurbanne, France.
For more information, access the Web site at http://www.infogrames.com.
Beam International is Australia's only multimedia development company listed on the Stock Exchange (under the symbol BEM).
More information about Beam can be found at www.beam.com.au. For further information please contact:
Ms. Crystal Eid,
Tel.: +61 (0)3 9866.8300, ext, 207,
Fax on +61 (0)3 9866.8674
or by email at crystale@beam.com.au.
Press release:- Thursday May 28, 1998