New VIA Grease Monkey desktop application powered by GameShadow enables simple, ultra efficient game maintenance, extending game life and enhancing the gaming experience

Taipei, Taiwan, 2 February 2005 - VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator and developer of silicon chip technologies and PC platform solutions, together with software partner GameShadow today announced the launch of VIA Grease Monkey, an easy-to-use desktop application that ensures up-to-the-minute updates for all of the most popular PC games, eliminating time-consuming online searching and waiting for important updates to download.

By simply clicking on the desktop icon, VIA Grease Monkey carries out a comprehensive scan of a user’s library of PC games, automatically generating a list of the latest patches, maps, drivers and other key gaming information necessary for the ideal gaming environment. VIA Grease Monkey then provides direct downloads of all the selected updates through a high speed connection, simply and efficiently.

“Keeping abreast of enhancements and changes to PC games has typically been the responsibility of the gamer themselves, entailing lengthy online searches and considerable awareness of updates,” said Josh Holmes, editor of VIA Gamers Arena. “This great proactive and configurable tool effortlessly automates and organizes that whole process, while allowing the user to maintain full control.”

With most PC games requiring patches or other updates typically several times throughout their lifecycle, VIA Grease Monkey is an essential tool for gaming enthusiasts. For a small subscription, users can extend the value of their games by breathing new life into them with performance and content enhancements quickly and easily. Powered by the proven infrastructure of GameShadow, the industry’s leading content delivery system, VIA Grease Monkey provides considerable time savings as well as the opportunity to maximize the not-inconsiderable investment in PC games.

“Gamers want to play games, and VIA Grease Monkey gives them the means to do exactly that, and not waste time searching and queuing for content and updates. VIA Grease Monkey wraps the players’ games with content that is just a mouse-click away” said Tony Treadwell, CEO of GameShadow.

Such a wide variety of PC games available makes the launch of VIA Grease Monkey timely. Consumers purchasing a game title will not necessarily have the latest release, or may require a patch to play the most stable or performance-enhanced version, while independent and commercial servers typically use the latest versions of games and add-on packages to serve the growing number of online gamers. Moreover, game publishers often release new maps, or encourage their respective communities to do so, in order to add to the lifespan of a game title and attract more players. As a result, patching is an integral part of gaming today, and VIA Grease Monkey is the ideal conduit to obtaining them.

“VIA Grease Monkey is the latest initiative in our ‘Geared for Gaming’ strategy aimed at giving back to the gaming community that has supported us so strongly over the last few years,” said Richard Brown, Associate Vice President of Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc. “By making their lives simpler, VIA Grease Monkey means users can get the most out of their games and spend more time enjoying the gaming experience.”

About VIA Grease Monkey

VIA Grease Monkey is a software application available as a small (11MB) downloadable file from the VIA Gamers Arena website (http://www.viavga.com) and from the product site at http://www.viagreasemonkey.com. For just US$14.95 for a 12 month subscription, VIA Grease Monkey delivers value and functionality from the convenience of the user’s desktop. VIA Grease Monkey is configurable by the user to suit their gaming preferences and collects no user data beyond the basic login information. The VIA Grease Monkey client also provides users with the latest gaming news and reviews from the VIA Gamers Arena website.

About VIA Gamers Arena

VIA Gamers Arena (VIAVGA) is the official games website of VIA Technologies, Inc. Focusing on the latest and greatest cutting edge PC games, the hardware that powers them and related events, VIAVGA aims to keep gamers informed with regularly updated news reports, detailed game reviews and previews, interviews, links directory, giveaways and competitions. http://www.viavga.com



About GameShadow

GameShadow is the leading version management and content provider for PC gamers, and a developer of intelligent version management and content delivery software solutions. The company is headquartered in the heart of the Cotswolds, United Kingdom with offices in Seattle, North America. http://www.gameshadow.com

About VIA Technologies, Inc.

VIA Technologies, Inc. (TSE 2388) is the foremost fabless supplier of market-leading core logic chipsets, low power x86 processors, advanced connectivity, multimedia, networking and storage silicon, and complete platform solutions that are driving system innovation in the PC and embedded markets. Headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, VIA's global network links the high tech centers of the US, Europe and Asia, and its customer base includes the world's top OEMs, motherboard vendors and system integrators. http://www.via.com.tw