Pokemon Invades Mayan Ruins; Unlock The Mystery Of The 'Unown' With Nintendo's Pokemon Crystal National Sweepstakes.

Business Editors

REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 1, 2001

The Pokemon(R) craze, which already has swept virtually every corner of the globe, is now going where no video game phenomenon has ever gone -- to the ancient Mayan Ruins of Mexico.

Nintendo's national "The Ruins of Alph Sweepstakes" kicks off today on Pokemoncrystal.com, as part of a $5 million marketing campaign to support the July 30 launch of the newest Pokemon video game, Pokemon Crystal for Game Boy(R) Color. The lucky grand-prize winner will travel with three guests to the Mayan Ruins in Cancun. Random drawings will also select 100 winners of Pokemon Crystal prize packs and 1,000 recipients of "Pokemon 3 The Movie" home videos.

"Pokemon Crystal is adding even more fuel to the Pokemon fire with a brand new Game Boy Color adventure, a Web site dedicated solely to this new title and a national sweepstakes," says Peter Main, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Nintendo of America. "Sales of Pokemon Crystal topped more than one million copies in just 17 days after its launch in Japan and here in America, we expect to exceed that performance."

Pokemon Crystal is the newest version in the Pokemon(R) Gold and Silver series, the two biggest-selling video game titles in 2000. For the first time, Pokemon Crystal offers players the option to be a female trainer serving as the counterpart to the popular Ash. Both male and female trainers can explore this adventure to uncover new events and unsolved mysteries in the Pokemon world.

The marketing campaign will continue through Aug. 31, featuring national television, consumer print and online advertisements. A Radio Disney promotion, direct mail outreach, in-store POP, and a grassroots reading program with libraries nationwide also are planned for late July.

Random drawings on October 30 will determine the lucky winners:

-- 1 Grand Prize -- Four-day first-class trip for four with all expenses paid
to the Mayan Ruins in Cancun, Mexico and the city of Tulum

-- 100 First Prizes -- Pokemon Crystal prize packs that includes a Pokemon
Crystal backpack filled with the essentials for a Poke-adventurer: player's
guide, hiking hat, canteen, flashlight, binoculars, Unown puzzles, and more

-- 1,000 Second Prizes -- "Pokemon 3 The Movie" home video

To enter the sweepstakes, contestants must go on to Pokemoncrystal.com and decode Unown cryptograms, Pokemon characters that represent letters in the English alphabet, to unlock the hidden areas in the Ruins of Alph. Inside these rooms, Poke-fans will immediately receive game tips, special Pokemon Crystal wallpaper and screensavers. In addition to possibly winning a sweepstakes prize, Poke-maniacs can find battle animations and Pokedex descriptions, as well as all-new ways to capture the legendary Suicune. The complete official rules for the sweepstakes are available at Pokemoncrystal.com.

In support of the marketing campaign, Nintendo is also hosting a spelling bee to name one contestant as the "Pokemon Master Speller." On July 30, contestants were asked to decode the Unown characters and spell Pokemon-related words. The winner was awarded a Pokemon Crystal trophy and mutual fund to be used for college tuition.

Pokemon Crystal supports the Game Link(R) Cable, Infrared Port and N64(R) Transfer Pak(TM). It also is compatible with Game Boy(R) Advance. Developed by Nintendo, Game Freak and Creatures, and published by Nintendo of America Inc., Pokemon Crystal is available for an MSRP of $34.95.

The independent Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) lists Pokemon Crystal "E" for "Everyone." For more information about the ESRB visit www.esrb.org.

As 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 video game systems. The systems include Game Boy, Nintendo(R) 64, Game Boy Advance and the upcoming NINTENDO GAMECUBE(TM). Since the release of its first home video game system in 1985, Nintendo has sold more than 1.4 billion video games worldwide, creating enduring industry icons such as Mario(TM) and Donkey Kong(R) and launching such franchises as Zelda(TM) and Pokemon(R). As a wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere.

For more information about Pokemon Crystal or other Nintendo products, visit the company's Web site, www.nintendo.com, or the official Pokemon Web site at www.pokemon.com.