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Creatures Sells 100,000 Copies in Less Than 100 Days, Virtual Life Sim from Mindscape Continues to Fly off the Shelves.


NOVATO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 3, 1997--Mindscape Inc., a leading software developer and publisher, today announced that in the U.S. market it has already sold more than 100,000 copies of Creatures(TM), a virtual life simulation that shipped in late July and continues to grow in popularity as the Christmas buying season approaches.

Creatures (which is available for both Macintosh and PC computers) introduces an entire world of Norns(TM) with lives and personalities of their own. Norns hatch from eggs, live and breed inside the computer, and have the ability to learn and act independently as they grow and explore their virtual world.

"People of all ages and both sexes are absolutely enamored en·am·or  
tr.v. en·am·ored, en·am·or·ing, en·am·ors
To inspire with love; captivate: was enamored of the beautiful dancer; were enamored with the charming island.
 of their Norns," said Mindscape mind·scape
n.
A mental or psychological scene or area of the imagination.
 CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board.  John Moore John Moore may be: Clergy
  • John Moore (Roman Catholic Bishop) (born 1942), Bishop of Bauchi, Nigeria
  • John Moore (Bishop of Ely) (1646–1714), British Scholar
  • John Moore (Baptist) (1662–1726), English Baptist minister from Northampton
. "They love to talk about them and e-mail them to their friends, which has made Creatures an incredible success story. This word of mouth, especially on the Internet, has helped Creatures reach a level of consumer awareness that is very rare for a computer game. We expect to sell more than 200,000 Creatures by the end of the year."

A Creatures strategy guide written by the game's developers, UK-based Cyberlife Technology Ltd., has just been released. Sybex publishes the 180-page guide, which retails for $20 at most major software resellers and bookstores. The CD-ROM CD-ROM: see compact disc.
CD-ROM
 in full compact disc read-only memory

Type of computer storage medium that is read optically (e.g., by a laser).
 is also now available at Toys R Us, Comp USA, Electronic Boutique, Price-Costco and Babbages.

In November Mindscape intends to release an accessory product called the Creatures Life Kit No. 1. The kit will feature six new Norns and will be available wherever Creatures is sold.

Creatures has been featured on CNN CNN
 or Cable News Network

Subsidiary company of Turner Broadcasting Systems. It was created by Ted Turner in 1980 to present 24-hour live news broadcasts, using satellites to transmit reports from news bureaus around the world.
, MSNBC MSNBC Microsoft/National Broadcasting Company , and NBC News NBC News (along with NBC News + HD) is the news division of American television network NBC, a part of NBC Universal, which is majority-owned by General Electric. Its current president is Steve Capus. It is the top-rated broadcast news division and has been for a decade.  and has received several industry awards praising its innovative application of artificial life to an entertainment product. Windows Sources Windows Sources was a magazine by ZDNet. It lasted from c. 1993 – c. 2001. Staff
Patrick Norton ran the hardware reviews section. Carlos Carrillo was the Assistant Editor and ran the Shareware reviews section.
 magazine named it a "Stellar Award" title, and popular software reviewer Ron White Ron White (born December 18, 1956) is a Grammy Award-nominated American stand-up comedian from Fritch, Texas. He was a member of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, which helped elevate him to star status following the original Blue Collar tour and DVD release.  of PC Computing magazine gave it his top (5-CD) rating. The San Francisco Bay Guardian The San Francisco Bay Guardian (also known as the SF Bay Guardian, Bay Guardian, and the Guardian) is a free alternative newspaper published weekly in San Francisco, California. The paper is owned mostly by its publisher, Bruce B.  recently named Creatures the "Best Creative Effort in a Computer Game for 1997."

Word-of-mouth and strong reviews have also been largely responsible for making Creatures a best-seller in Europe and Australia, where it shipped in December 1996. Since then loyal users have posted more than 150 independent Creatures Web sites worldwide, including several Norn photo albums and even a few on-line "stud services" for breeding strong and long-living Norns.

Creatures Highlights

-- Parent your Norns by teaching them to eat, speak and interact

with you and other Creatures

-- Encourage your Norns to breed and nurture their offspring

-- Empower your Norns to cope with dangerous life forms and

life-threatening situations

-- Play with your Norns as they explore their virtual world and

learn to use their cyber resources

-- Watch your Norns display real emotions and feelings from

hunger, pain, even sexual attraction

-- Share your Norns with other proud parents worldwide through

e-mail and the Internet

The Virtual Pet Craze

Creatures entered the booming virtual pet market on the heels of the wildly popular Tamagotchi Tamagotchi

[Japanese; cute little egg] space-age cyberpet; a solely electronic state; indigenous to Japan, appearing as an egg on a liquid-crystal screen. Life history, consisting of hatching, feeding, beeping when not fed, sleeping in 12 hour snatches, growing, dying
 pocket key chain. The Tamagotchi originated in Japan and was released last spring in the United States amid a flurry of media attention and consumer demand.

In addition to publishing Creatures, Mindscape has embraced a corporate strategy to be the leading distributor of virtual life software. In June 1997 the company signed an agreement with PF.Magic to distribute PF.Magic's popular Dogz(TM) and Catz(TM) virtual pets titles in the United States. Dogz was the world's first virtual pet when it hit stores in 1995 and together with Catz has sold close to one million copies worldwide for the personal computer market. Mindscape will also distribute AQUAZONE, a virtual aquarium from Pulse Entertainment that will be released in North America this fall. AQUAZONE was originally published in Japan and is one of the best-selling PC products in Japanese history.

Creatures is available at all major computer software resellers in the United States and Canada. It comes on a CD-ROM disk that runs on Windows 95, Windows 3.1 and Macintosh. Customers interested in inquiring about Creatures or other Mindscape products may call the company at 800/234-3088 or 415/897-9900. Product information and technical support is also available over the Internet at www.mindscapegames.com .

About Mindscape Inc.

Mindscape Inc. is a leading developer and publisher of consumer software for the home, entertainment, education and reference markets. Mindscape is headquartered in Novato, Calif., with offices in Canada, England, France, Germany, Japan and Australia. The company's subsidiaries include Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI (1) See server-side include and single-system image.

(2) (Small-Scale Integration) Less than 100 transistors on a chip. See MSI, LSI, VLSI and ULSI.

1. (electronics) SSI - small scale integration.
2.
) of Sunnyvale, Calif. Founded in 1980, Mindscape is part of Pearson, plc, the London-based international media group that focuses on the information, education and entertainment markets. -0- Review copies available.

http://www.cyberlife.co.uk

CONTACT: Strategy Associates

Maria Murnane, 650/653-2771

maria@prstrategy.com
COPYRIGHT 1997 Business Wire
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 1997, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

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Publication:Business Wire
Date:Nov 3, 1997
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