New Technology Lets Fans Take Favorite Animation Anywhere
REDMOND, Wash., June 21, 2004—On a plane, in a car, in the park or at the beach, for the first time ever fans can enjoy their favorite Pokémon® episodes using a Game Boy® Advance. Game Boy Advance Video lets users watch their favorite animated shows on their Game Boy Advance systems at an affordable price and with no need to buy additional hardware.

Pokémon episodes include “Playing with Fire!” and “Johto Photo Finish” on one video pak and “A Hot Water Bottle” and “For Ho-Oh The Bells Toll!” on another. The Pokémon titles will be offered at an MSRP of $19.99. They join a lineup of other recently released cartoon favorites such as SpongeBob SquarePants™ and TheFairly OddParents™.

“Consumers and retailers are clearly thrilled by this portable, skip-proof video technology,” says George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president, marketing and corporate communications. “Whether it's the novelty of an exciting new product or the need for something to pass the time during the summer travel season, fans have been grabbing Game Boy Advance Video products off the shelves.”

The video paks look identical to Game Boy Advance game paks, fitting into the same slot. The plus button fast forwards or rewinds through the video, while the right and left shoulder buttons skip entire scenes. The start button pauses the action, while the select button returns to the main menu. The A and B buttons adjust the brightness.

Game Boy Advance Video enters the market with a massive built-in user base, with more than 170 million Game Boy Advance units sold worldwide, including more than 21 million in the United States. In the future, Nintendo expects to offer animated content with Game Boy Advance Video that appeals to an older demographic.

The Pokémon franchise continues to be incredibly popular. Pokémon Colosseum™ for Nintendo GameCube™ sold 400,000 copies in just four weeks after its March 2004 launch in the United States. Pokémon® Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire, launched in 2003 for Game Boy Advance, have sold more than 3.6 million units in the United States. And Pokémon FireRed and Pokémon LeafGreen, coming Sept. 7 for Game Boy Advance, will keep Pokémon all the rage.

Pokémon USA, Inc., a subsidiary of The Pokémon Company in Japan, manages and oversees the property outside of Asia, which includes licensing activities, brand promotions, publication of the trading card game, TV animation, home video entertainment, the official Pokémon Web site, the Pokémon Center NY in Rockefeller Center and pokemoncenter.com, an e-commerce site. Pokémon was launched in Japan in 1996 for play on Nintendo's Game Boy® and has evolved into a global cultural phenomenon. Pokémon was introduced in North America in September 1998 and has since generated more than $15 billionin worldwide retail sales. More than 38 million Pokémon video games have been sold in the United States, including Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire, which were the No. 2 and No. 3 best-selling video games of 2003, according to the NPD Group. The trading card game, fueled by organized play programs around the world, has spurred global sales of more than 13 billion cards to date, while the Pokémon animated series on Kids' WB!, now in its sixth season, consistently ranks within the top three shows for boys ages 6 to 11. For more information, visit www.pokemon.com.

The worldwide leader and innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its popular home and portable video game systems. Each year, hundreds of all-new titles for the best-selling Game Boy® Advance and Nintendo GameCube™ systems extend

Nintendo's vast game library and continue the tradition of delivering a rich, diverse mix of quality video games for players of all ages. Since the release of its first home video game system in 1983, Nintendo has sold more than 1.8 billion video games globally, creating enduring industry icons such as Mario™ and Donkey Kong® and launching popular culture franchise phenomena such as Metroid®, Zelda™ and Pokémon®. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere.