Electronics Boutique Provides Business Update

Electronics Boutique Provides Business Update
Q3 EPS Expected to Range Between $0.28 and $0.29; Company Increases Full Year
Outlook 


WEST CHESTER, Pa., Nov. 8  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Electronics Boutique
Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:ELBO), the leading global specialty retailer of video
games and related products, today announced it anticipates third quarter
results will exceed previously provided expectations.

The Company anticipates third quarter revenue will be between $445 million and
$447 million compared to $324.7 million last year.  Comparable store sales are
expected to increase between 13% and 14%, versus a decline of 6.5% last year,
driven by broad-based strength in all categories and across all geographic
regions.  Sales of both new hardware and software exceeded the Company's
original expectations while pre-played sales were again a very strong
contributor to overall results.

Due to the stronger than anticipated top line growth, the Company now
anticipates diluted earnings per share will range between $0.28 to $0.29 for
the third quarter.  This compares to the Company's original expectations of
$0.15 to $0.19 per diluted share and $0.06 per diluted share earned in the
third quarter last year.

Commenting on the Company's results, Jeffrey Griffiths, President and Chief
Executive Officer, stated, "Robust consumer demand benefited all areas of our
business during the third quarter.  In the software category, many titles in
the strong new release lineup exceeded our original performance expectations. 
In addition, the early release of Sony's new PlayStation 2 model contributed to
better than anticipated hardware sales.  We are also very pleased that the
results in both our international and pre-played businesses, two of our key
growth initiatives, remained very strong during the third quarter."

Mr. Griffiths concluded, "While much is dependent on how actual holiday
shopping trends unfold, we expect a continuation of the positive momentum we
experienced in the third quarter.  We are encouraged by the strong lineup of
new releases, led by Microsoft's Halo 2.  Based upon the current level of pre-
orders, we anticipate this title, along with additional sales of our top third
quarter releases, will continue to drive healthy consumer purchasing.  Our
hardware offering for the holiday season is also strong, including the Nintendo
DS launch in late November."

As such, the Company now estimates that fourth quarter revenue will increase
18% to 21% and diluted earnings per share will be $1.62 to $1.72. This
translates into full year diluted earnings per share of $2.18 to $2.29 compared
to the Company's previous forecast of $2.02 to $2.10

As previously announced, Electronics Boutique will present at the Harris
Nesbitt Playtime 2004 Investor Conference tomorrow, Tuesday, November 9th at
3:15 p.m. Eastern Time.  The presentation will be webcast live and archived
until November 24, 2004.  To access the presentation, please visit the
Company's website at http://www.ebholdings.com/.

The Company plans to release its full third quarter results after the market
closes on Thursday, November 18, 2004 and will host an investor call that day
at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

About Electronics Boutique Holdings Corp.

Electronics Boutique, a Fortune 1000 company, is the leading global specialty
retailer dedicated exclusively to video game hardware and software, PC
entertainment software, accessories and related products.  The company
currently operates 1,869 stores in the United States, Australia, Canada,
Denmark, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Puerto Rico and Sweden --
primarily under the names EB Games and Electronics Boutique.  The company
operates an e-commerce website at http://www.ebgames.com/.  Additional company
information is available at http://www.ebholdings.com/.

This release contains forward-looking statements, including statements by
Jeffrey Griffiths and those related to the financial performance of Electronics
Boutique for the third and fourth quarters and full year for the fiscal year
ending January 29, 2005, to projected sales and consumer demand for the balance
of the fiscal year, and to the outlook for the video game industry in general. 
Forward-looking statements refer to expectations, projections and other
characterizations of future events or circumstances and are often identified by
the use of words such as "may," "will," "expect," "believe," "anticipate,"
"intend," "could," "estimated," "continue" or comparable terminology.  In
addition to factors specified in Electronics Boutique's recent filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, there are other factors that could cause
actual results to materially differ from those expressed or implied in these
forward-looking statements, such as the schedule and sell-through for new
software releases, consumer demand for video game hardware and software, the
timing of the introduction of new generation hardware systems, pricing changes
by key vendors for hardware and software and the timing of any such changes,
the adequacy of supplies of new and pre-played product, increased competition
and promotional activity from other retailers, and the timing of the opening of
new stores.  In light of the risks and uncertainties inherent in the
forward-looking statements, these statements should not be regarded as a
representation by Electronics Boutique or any other person that the projected
results, objectives or plans will be achieved. Electronics Boutique undertakes
no obligation to revise or update the forward- looking statements to reflect
events or circumstances after the date hereof. 

DATASOURCE: Electronics Boutique Holdings Corp.



CONTACT:  James A. Smith, Chief Financial Officer, Electronics Boutique

Holdings Corp., [phone]; or Financial Dynamics, Investors:

Cara O'Brien or Melissa Myron, or Media: Melissa Merrill, [phone], all

for Electronics Boutique Holdings Corp.



Web site:  http://www.ebgames.com/

http://www.ebholdings.com/ 

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