NewTek Brings High-End 3D Software to More Users

LightWave 3D® Suggested List Price Slashed to $1595
Special VT[2] Price for LightWave® Users Also Announced

San Antonio, TX - March 21, 2002 - -- NewTek, Inc., manufacturer of industry-leading 3D animation and video production products, announced today that LightWave 3D® [7], will be available at a greatly reduced suggested retail price. With a full $900 price reduction from $2495 to the new price of $1595, NewTek is once again setting a new price/performance standard for the professional 3D industry. NewTek also announced a special promotion for current LightWave® users to purchase VT[2], their real-time, uncompressed, non-linear editing system for only $1995.

"LightWave 3D® was already the most affordable professional 3D program on the market, but that wasn't enough for us," said NewTek President and CEO, Jim Plant. "Over the last decade LightWave® has made it possible for tens of thousands of people to become 3D animators - our users included both Emmy award winners for Visual Effects this year, as well as the Oscar-nominated Jimmy Neutron, the first animated movie made entirely with off-the-shelf 3D animation software. This new pricing is the first step in our plan to deliver the power of fully professional, 3D animation software to a whole new generation of artists, designers, technicians, storytellers, video producers and creative visionaries."

"We're trying to bring some sanity to the way high end 3D tools are priced," said NewTek founder and Chief Technology Officer, Tim Jenison. "The days of 3D software that costs thousands of dollars are over, and they aren't coming back. Everyone in the industry knows this, but once again we're happy to step up to the plate and do something about it. With the huge changes in the price/performance of computers and content creation tools in the past few years, nobody today can say with a straight face that a higher price is somehow a magic shortcut to professional quality. We have thousands of users in TV, motion pictures and games who know that LightWave® is a no compromise, complete 3D animation, modeling and rendering solution. It's been used day in and day out in real world production for ten years, and our current version of LightWave® can go toe to toe with any other animation package available today at any price."

LightWave 3D® is versatile enough to make the transition to and from all kinds of creative projects. Proven for years in television, film, and games, LightWave 3D® is also being used to create graphics for print, web, industrial design, architecture, medical imaging, and anywhere else a 3D package is needed. A full, robust program, LightWave 3D® includes soft-body dynamics, particles, Sasquatch Lite for hair and fur, plus unlimited render nodes; LightWave 3D® ships with all the tools an artist needs to begin immediately creating sophisticated 3D graphics and animation.

Pricing and Availability
LightWave® [7] is currently shipping for a suggested retail price of US$1595. Registered owners of LightWave® [6] may upgrade to version [7] for US$395, and registered owners of LightWave® 5.6 or earlier may upgrade to version [7] for US$495. Current users of any version of LightWave 3D® can purchase VT[2] for US$1995. LightWave® [7] is available for Macintosh OS 9 and OS X-native, and for Windows 98, 2000, Me and NT4, running on AMD and Intel processors. VT[2] is available for Windows 2000-based personal computers. LightWave 3D® and VT[2] are available through NewTek's channel of authorized resellers and distributors worldwide.

About NewTek
With headquarters in San Antonio, Texas, NewTek is a leading provider of full-featured video editing, animation and special effects tools including the VT®, LightWave 3D® and Aura. NewTek launched the desktop video revolution in 1990 with the release of the legendary VT®. The company's products are used worldwide on projects ranging from home video to feature film. Recent film and television projects using NewTek software include We Were Soldiers, Panic Room, Hart's War, Driven, A.I., Oscar®-nominated Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius, Final Fantasy, Blackhawk Down, The Time Machine, Black Knight, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, The 6th Day, Jurassic Park III, Behind Enemy Lines, X-Men The Movie, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Director's Edition DVD, Pitch Black, Dracula 2000, Star Trek: Enterprise, Roughnecks: Starship Troopers, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, The X-Files, The Family Guy, Ally McBeal, Dune: The Miniseries, Dawson's Creek and Family Law. Recent game titles include Deus Ex, Serious Sam I and II, Twisted Metal: Black, Civilization III, Unreal, Quake 3 Arena, Moto Racer World Tour, Giants for PS2, Baldur's Gate II, EverQuest, Planescape: Torment, Dead To Rights, and Escape From Monkey Island. Contact NewTek at 5131 Beckwith Blvd, San Antonio, TX, 78249. Phone: 210-370-8000, fax: 210-370-8001, website: http://www.newtek.com or http://www.lightwave3d.com.

· LightWave 3D®, VT®, and Aura are trademarks of NewTek.
· Other product names used in this publication are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective companies.