World Series Champion Luis Gonzalez Digs into the Batter's Box for the MLB Showdown 2002 Sports Card Game.

Business/Entertainment Editors

RENTON, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 31, 2002

The MLB Showdown Sports Card Game Allows Players to

Experience All Aspects of Managing a Major League Baseball Team

Wizards of the Coast Inc., developer of game-based entertainment products and a subsidiary of Hasbro Inc. (NYSE:HAS), announced today plans to feature 2001 World Series(R) Champion Luis Gonzalez of the Arizona Diamondbacks on all marketing items related to the MLB(TM) Showdown(TM) 2002 sports card game. The marketing materials include product packaging, posters and all in-store point-of-purchase items.

Gonzalez, who hit an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning of game seven of the 2001 World Series that gave the Diamondbacks the championship over the New York Yankees, joins a highly regarded list of professional athletes who represent the Showdown Sports brand for Wizards of the Coast. The list includes Major League Baseball(R) standouts Shawn Green, Chipper Jones, Gary Sheffield and Manny Ramirez. This past year saw Gonzalez hit 57 home runs, drive in 142 runs (RBI), and induce 100 walks courtesy of base on balls. In addition, the perennial All-Star outfielder was the only National League(TM) player to appear in all 162 regular season games in 2001. A testament to his durability, Gonzalez also played in all of his team's games in 2000.

The MLB(TM) Showdown sports card game allows players to act as owners and managers of their own professional baseball franchises. Players build teams by collecting and trading their favorite professional players. The game combines the strategy of baseball with the collectability of sports cards and the competition of fantasy baseball. Players of all ages and levels can compete against one another in league tournaments throughout the United States. There are currently about 600 ranked MLB(TM) Showdown players across the country, with more than 400 tournaments held since the game's release in April 2000. For more information about the MLB(TM) Showdown sports card game, please visit our website at wizards.com/showdown. Wizards of the Coast also publishes the innovative new NFL Showdown 2002 and the soon-to-be-released NBA Showdown sports card games. MLB(TM) Showdown 2002 will be available in stores nationwide in April.

Wizards of the Coast is the worldwide market share leader in the trading card game and tabletop roleplaying game categories. Wizards of the Coast is a leading developer and publisher of game-based entertainment products, as well as the owner and operator of one of the nation's largest specialty game retail chains. The company holds an exclusive patent on the play mechanics of trading card games (TCGs) and produces the world's best-selling Pokemon(R) and Magic: The Gathering(R) TCGs. Wizards of the Coast is also one of the world's leading fantasy and science fiction book publishers and is a publisher of adventure games such as the classic Dungeons & Dragons(R) game; family card and board games; and electronic media products. Headquartered near Seattle, Washington, Wizards of the Coast has international offices in Antwerp, Paris, Milan, London, Beijing and Sydney. For more information on Wizards of the Coast, visit the company's website and electronic retail store at wizards.com.

Major League Baseball trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. (c)MLBPA Official Licensee--Major League Baseball Players Association.

Pokemon is a registered trademark of Nintendo. Wizards of the Coast, Magic: The Gathering, Showdown and Dungeons & Dragons are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro Inc. (c)2002 Wizards.