Did You Know? Nintendo Launches New Ads for Game Boy Advance and Nintendo GameCube.

Business Editors

REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 21, 2004

Nintendo continues the evolution of the "Who Are You?" campaign with new advertising created by Leo Burnett USA for Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance, two of the hottest systems in the video game industry.

"Interviewer," which launches this week and showcases Nintendo GameCube software, features a guy in a therapist's office that appears to be living out the personalities and experiences of characters within Nintendo GameCube games. He is transformed by each game's experience and "becomes" the characters he plays. The campaign is a continuation of the "Who Are You?" theme launched in September, 2003. Two 30-second and four 15-second versions of the spot feature game footage from titles including EA Sports' MVP Baseball(TM) 2004, Custom Robo(TM), Konami's Metal Gear Solid(R): The Twin Snakes(TM) and The Legend of Zelda(R): Four Swords Adventures.

Also launching this week is a new campaign for Game Boy Advance, entitled "Freeboy." Set to the beat of U.K. Dance Act Goldfrapp's "Strict Machine" from the album Black Cherry (recently achieved Gold sales status in Britain), the first of several spots in development visually illustrates how Game Boy Advance has untethered a generation from their gaming consoles and has "freed" them to enjoy Nintendo games anywhere and everywhere. The portable interactive entertainment system allows gamers to explore themselves by changing the world around them. Game Boy Advance can transform ordinary life into an exciting experience. This new campaign is a collision of reality and fantasy. With the help of groundbreaking effects, the ads give viewers a peek into the mind of someone playing Game Boy Advance, illustrating how a player's perspective on the "real" world changes as they play. The "Freeboy" work will also carry the "Who Are You?" theme.

These new spots will run on network, cable and in syndication and will be included during such programs as UPN's "One on One," "Rock Me Baby" and "I'm Still Alive;" WB's "Angel," "The Jamie Kennedy Experiment," and "Smallville," Fox's "The Ortegas," ABC's "Married to the Kelly's" and "America's Funniest Home Videos," MTV's "ET on MTV" and "Real World" and BET's "106th and Park."

The Game Boy Advance print campaign will break 4/28 in ESPN Magazine. The rest of the print ads run in the June and July issues of music, men's and alternative publications such as Rolling Stone, Stuff, Maxim, Spin, Blender, DC, Marvel and Transworld Surf. The print campaign mirrors the television look and feel, featuring a collage of real-life and game-world elements.

The effects in "Freeboy" were created by Asylum Visual Effects, a special effects company touted for its work on films including "Minority Report" and "Moulin Rouge" and was nominated for a special effects Academy Award for "Master & Commander." The company's visual effects will be featured in three additional Game Boy Advance spots promoting Mario vs. Donkey Kong(TM), the Classic NES(R) Series for Game Boy Advance and Mario Golf (TM): Advance Tour breaking now through mid-June.

The "Who Are You?" campaign unifies Nintendo products under a single theme and encourages gamers to unleash what is inside them. It showcases the ability of Nintendo games to let players explore a wide range of emotions, experiences and personalities through Nintendo's stable of the most popular and diverse video game characters in the world, such as Mario(TM), Donkey Kong(R), Link and Samus. The initial spot, "School's Out," was voted #1 on the first annual GameSpot TV commercial awards in December last year.

To view the new Nintendo television ads, please visit http://www.leoburnett.com/breaking/nintendo.

Consumers can view the new ads at www.nintendo.com.

For more information, or to obtain a password to the Nintendo Media Site, contact Chris Olmstead at 213/623-4200, ext. 780, or [e-mail].