Video Gaming News - March 2003
Redmond, WA (March 17, 2003) - Nintendo today announced the release of
Pokemon, Ruby and Sapphire editions.
From Nintendo:
If people doubt Pokemon's stronghold on the hearts of fans worldwide, they
haven't been paying attention -- Nintendo estimates worldwide Pokemon franchise
revenue in 2002 alone at $1 billion.
In addition, Pokemon(R) Ruby and Pokemon(R) Sapphire for Game Boy(R) Advance
sold more than four million copies combined within its first six weeks of
launching in Japan, and the Kids' WB! cartoon is achieving some of its highest
ratings ever. Today's launch of Pokemon Ruby and Pokemon Sapphire proves the
Pokemon fever carries on five years after its video game and entertainment
product introduction in North America.
"The Pokemon franchise continues to generate anticipation and has solidified
its place as an evergreen property," says George Harrison, senior vice
president, marketing and corporate communications, Nintendo of America Inc.
"Fans will love the new characters, the involving storyline and challenging new
features, like two-on-two battles."
Similar to previous Pokemon games, the quest to become a Pokemon Master
continues, as players work as a boy or girl trainer to discover more than 100
new Pokemon characters, along with many returning favorites. In these new
versions, however, players will need to think of new strategies as they battle
using two Pokemon simultaneously, with up to three other players battling it out
at once.
Pokemon Ruby and Pokemon Sapphire stimulate players' minds, allowing them to
think strategically, observe and analyze. To be successful, players must learn
about the forces of nature in order to move on with the game; for example, what
a player learns about ecology will become extremely important when the game
begins to climax.
Pokemon Ruby and Pokemon Sapphire are the first two Pokemon titles designed for
Nintendo's Game Boy Advance and are available for a suggested retail price of
$39.95 each. Pokemon Ruby and Pokemon Sapphire are published by The Pokemon
Company and distributed exclusively by Nintendo of America.
To support the franchise's newest video games, Nintendo kicked off the
Pokemon Rocks! online contest on
www.pokemon-games.com
on March 11. Through April 4, anyone 18 years and younger is encouraged to enter
by writing their own Pokemon-themed lyrics to the Pokemon cartoon series "Master
Quest" theme song, perform it on videotape and send it in to be judged by
Nintendo. Nintendo will initially choose 10 semi-finalists, before eventually
choosing the grand-prize winner to drive away in a Pokemon-customized Chrysler
PT Cruiser. In addition, on March 15, New York fans had a chance to dress up as
their favorite Pokemon character while visiting the Pokemon Center NY to sample
and buy the games before anyone else, witness the exhibition and judging of
life-size Pikachu statues decorated by local YMCA children and see the Pokemon
costume characters in real life!
Pokemon USA, Inc., the New York-based subsidiary of The Pokemon Company in
Japan, manages and oversees the Pokemon franchise in North and Latin America,
which includes licensing, merchandising, TV animation, theatrical releases, home
video entertainment, the official Pokemon Web site, the Pokemon Center NY in
Rockefeller Center and
www.pokemoncenter.com, an e-commerce site.
Pokemon first launched for the world's best-selling Game Boy(R) video game
system in Japan in 1996 and has since evolved into a global cultural phenomenon.
Since bringing the franchise to North America in September 1998, Nintendo has
sold more than 110 million Pokemon games worldwide. Pokemon merchandise has
generated over $15 billion in worldwide retail sales since 1998. The trading
card game, fueled by organized play programs in 47 countries, has spurred global
sales of 9.8 billion cards to date. For more information on Pokemon games, go to
www.pokemon-games.com
or www.pokemon.com.
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