Press Release
SOURCE: Infogrames, Inc.
Infogrames Set To Deliver Largest GAME
BOY® Advance Property In Company History
May 13, 2002 |
Retail Demand Pushes Initial
Shipment of ‘Dragon Ball Z®: The Legacy of Goku®’ Past
300,000-Unit Mark |
MINNEAPOLIS, MN, May 13, 2002 –
As a result of its aggressive pre-launch awareness programs and
strong retailer support, Infogrames, Inc. (Nasdaq: IFGM)
today announced that the initial shipment of its highly
acclaimed Dragon Ball Z®: Legacy of Goku® for the Game Boy®
Advance will surpass the 300,000 unit mark, making it the
largest Game Boy Advance launch in company history. Already
acclaimed by the video game media and bolstered by tremendous
consumer demand, Dragon Ball Z®: Legacy of Goku® is shipping
to more than 20,000 retail outlets nationwide on May 14.
“Due to strong retail commitment, the support from the sales
channel for our Dragon Ball Z® games has been extremely
positive,” said Paul Rinde, senior vice president and general
manager of Infogrames’ Minneapolis studio. “We’ve
increased the awareness and excitement with several
retail-specific promotions, aggressive marketing campaigns that
include TV advertising, and strategic merchandising tie-ins with
Nintendo of America.”
One of the most exciting properties brought to the interactive
entertainment arena, Infogrames’ Dragon Ball Z® video game
has been selected by Nintendo of America to participate in a
variety of select retailer programs. Most notably, the inclusion
of Dragon Ball Z® on Nintendo’s video compilation is running
on more than 10,000 interactive stations at leading retailers
nationwide, and in Nintendo’s POP/Merchandising program.
Additionally, Infogrames is supporting the launch of the game
with a multimillion dollar marketing campaign highlighted by a
high-energy, thirty-second TV spot airing on the Cartoon
Network, World Wrestling Federation programming, Nickelodeon and
WB Kids.
Increasing online awareness is a high-profile banner campaign
via Nintendo.com that offers more than 10 million impressions to
the core Game Boy® Advance audience, and an online outreach
program with Cartoon Network that promises to generate more than
3.5 million impressions. Other elements of Infogrames’
marketing campaign include four-page Dragon Ball Z® video game
posters in such targeted publications as Nintendo Power, Beckett
Dragon Ball Z Collector and Pocket Games.
An exploding phenomenon, the “Dragon Ball Z®” program,
produced by FUNimation Productions, LTD., has become of the
top-rated anime shows on Cartoon Network’s Tooami, averaging
more than 1.5 million viewers per show. Infogrames’ Dragon
Ball Z®: The Legacy of Goku encapsulates the popular sagas from
the show into an immersive interactive experience that puts the
Dragon Ball Z® world under control of the player.
Developed by Webfoot Technologies, Inc., Dragon Ball Z®: The
Legacy of Goku will be available nationwide on May 14 for a
suggested retail price of $29.99. Infogrames will also be
introducing Dragon Ball Z®: Collectible Card Game for the Game
Boy® Advance next month.
About FUNimation
Focusing on quality entertainment properties such as Dragon Ball
Z®, FUNimation Productions, Ltd, is a full service brand
management company with in-house production, licensing,
internet, home video distribution and toy divisions. With over
11 million videos sold and over 5 million hits per day on its
web site, www.dragonballz.com, Dragon Ball Z is the top rated
series on Cartoon Network’s Toonami block and the “Most
Searched for Term of 2001” according to the Lycos 50 Daily
Report on the internet. FUNimation also produces Dragon Ball®,
the exciting prequel to Dragon Ball Z® airing IN the USA on
Cartoon Network’s Toonami Block; Yu Yu Hakusho™, one of the
top anime of all time, airing in the USA on Carton Network’s
Adult Swim Action; Lupin the 3rd™, one of the longest running
anime classics; Fruits Basket™, based on the top selling manga
in Japan; and Blue Gender™, a sci-fi anime series. Look for
collectibles from IF Labs™ featuring the Dragon Ball® Movie
Collection, Dragon Ball®, and Yu Yu Hakusho™ as well as home
video from FUNimation Productions, Ltd. and a host of other
products licensed by FUNimation’s Production’s licensing
division. IF Labs™ is a joint venture between FUNimation
Productions, Ltd. and Irwin Toy, Ltd. For additional information
on FUNimation and its properties, check out http://www.funimation.com For more information regarding
Dragon Ball Z®, contact Dave Moran at FUNimation at
817-788-0627 x 207 or dave.moran@funimation.com.
About Infogrames
New York-based Infogrames, Inc. (Nasdaq: IFGM) is one of the
largest third-party publishers of interactive entertainment
software in the U.S. The Company develops video games for all
consoles (Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft), PCs, and Macintosh
systems. Infogrames’ catalogue of more than 1,000 titles
includes award-winning franchises such as Civilization, Backyard
Sports, Deer Hunter, Driver, RollerCoaster Tycoon, and Test
Drive, and key licenses including Warner Bros. Looney Tunes,
Nickelodeon’s Blue’s Clues, Dragon Ball Z, Mission
Impossible, Terminator, Harley-Davidson, Major League Baseball,
and the National Football League, among many others. The
Company’s Humongous Entertainment and MacSoft labels are
leaders in children’s and Macintosh entertainment software,
respectively.
Infogrames, Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of France-based
Infogrames Entertainment SA (IESA) (Euronext 5257), a global
publisher and distributor of video games for all platforms. In
2001, IESA acquired Infogrames Interactive, Inc. (formerly
Hasbro Interactive), including its line of software based on
well-known licenses such as MONOPOLY, Jeopardy, TONKA, and
Atari, which are published and distributed in the U.S. by
Infogrames, Inc. For more information, visit the Company’s Web
site at http://www.infogrames.com
©2001 BIRD STUDIOS/SHUEISHA, TOEI ANIMATION. Licensed by
FUNimation® Productions, Ltd. All rights reserved. Dragon Ball
and all logos, character names and distinctive likenesses
thereof are trademarks of TOEI ANIMATION
Nintendo and Game Boy Advance are trademarks of Nintendo of
America, Inc.
All trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of
their respective owners |
SOURCE: Infogrames, Inc. |
