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                                                                    EXHIBIT 20.3


                ESS TECHNOLOGY ANNOUNCES COMPLETION OF PLATFORM
           TECHNOLOGIES ACQUISITION AND LOWER THAN EXPECTED Q2 GROWTH

FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, June 12, 1997 -- ESS Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq:ESST) today
announced it has completed its previously-announced acquisition of Platform
Technologies, Inc. for 2.54 million shares of ESS common stock. The acquisition
is being accounted for as a purchase and will result in a charge against second
quarter earnings of approximately $0.64 per share for in-process research and
development. Completion is subject to acceptance of the agreement of merger by
the State of California. The acquisition of Platform Technologies has added to
ESS' development efforts in PCI-based audio solutions that provide DOS game
compatibility over the PCI bus and comply with Microsoft's PC'97, DirectX and
WDM standards and Intel's specifications of AC'97 and PCI 2.1.

        ESS also announced that, based on current information, it expects
second quarter revenues to only grow approximately 22 percent compared to
second quarter last year, primarily due to softer than anticipated seasonal
demand for audio products, especially in the add-in sound card market, and
competitive pricing pressures in the audio and video CD markets. ESS indicated
that, based on current information, it expects net sales for the second
quarter, ending June 30, 1997, to be between $56 and $61 million and earnings
to be between


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ESS TECHNOLOGY, INC. ANNOUNCES COMPLETION OF PLATFORM...               PAGE 2

$0.16 and $0.19 per share before the one-time charge of $0.64 per share
resulting from the acquisition. 

        "We anticipated this quarter might be difficult, because of historic
slow seasonal demand and competitive price pressure and because it is a
transition quarter to our new products for the second half of the year," said
Fred Chan, CEO and chairman. "We are optimistic about the impact of our new
products going forward. All of our lines, including audio, video and
communications, have new products in production that will begin shipping in
June." 

        "The acquisition of Platform Technologies has strengthened our PCI
audio technology development efforts and puts us in a solid position for
advanced audio products. Our communications products are ramping up, and demand
for our video products remains strong."

ESS TECHNOLOGY

        ESS Technology, Inc. is a leading supplier of PC audio and digital
video semiconductor solutions for the PC and consumer markets. ESS designs,
develops, and markets highly integrated mixed signal semiconductor and software
solutions for multimedia applications. ESS, headquartered in Fremont,
California, has sales and technical support offices in Austin and Houston,
Texas; Irvine, California; Beijing and Shenzhen, China; Tokyo, Japan; Taipei,
Taiwan; and Hong Kong. ESS Technology is listed on the Nasdaq Market System
under the symbol ESST. World Wide Web site: http://www.esstech.com

                                      o0o

        The matters discussed in this news release include certain forward
looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including the timely
availability and acceptance of new products, the impact of competitive products
and pricing, the dependence on continued growth in demand for PC and consumer
multimedia products, the management of growth of the company, and the other
risk detailed from time to time in the SEC reports of ESS, including the report
on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1996, and Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended March 31, 1997. Actual results could differ materially from those
projected in the forward-looking statements.