REDMOND, Wash., March 17, 2003 - If people doubt Pokemon's stronghold on the hearts of fans worldwide, they haven't been paying attention -- Nintendo estimates worldwide Pokemon franchise revenue in 2002 alone at $1 billion.

In addition, Pokemon® Ruby and Pokemon® Sapphire for Game Boy® Advance sold more than four million copies combined within its first six weeks of launching in Japan, and the Kids' WB! cartoon is achieving some of its highest ratings ever. Today's launch of Pokemon Ruby and Pokemon Sapphire proves the Pokemon fever carries on five years after its video game and entertainment product introduction in North America.

"The Pokemon franchise continues to generate anticipation and has solidified its place as an evergreen property," says George Harrison, senior vice president, marketing and corporate communications, Nintendo of America Inc. "Fans will love the new characters, the involving storyline and challenging new features, like two-on-two battles."

Similar to previous Pokemon games, the quest to become a Pokemon Master continues, as players work as a boy or girl trainer to discover more than 100 new Pokemon characters, along with many returning favorites. In these new versions, however, players will need to think of new strategies as they battle using two Pokemon simultaneously, with up to three other players battling it out at once.

Pokemon Ruby and Pokemon Sapphire stimulate players' minds, allowing them to think strategically, observe and analyze. To be successful, players must learn about the forces of nature in order to move on with the game; for example, what a player learns about ecology will become extremely important when the game begins to climax.

Pokemon Ruby and Pokemon Sapphire are the first two Pokemon titles designed for Nintendo's Game Boy Advance and are available for a suggested retail price of $39.95 each. Pokemon Ruby and Pokemon Sapphire are published by The Pokemon Company and distributed exclusively by Nintendo of America.

To support the franchise's newest video games, Nintendo kicked off the Pokemon Rocks! online contest on www.pokemon-games.com on March 11. Through April 4, anyone 18 years and younger is encouraged to enter by writing their own Pokemon-themed lyrics to the Pokemon cartoon series "Master Quest" theme song, perform it on videotape and send it in to be judged by Nintendo. Nintendo will initially choose 10 semi-finalists, before eventually choosing the grand-prize winner to drive away in a Pokemon-customized Chrysler PT Cruiser. In addition, on March 15, New York fans had a chance to dress up as their favorite Pokemon character while visiting the Pokemon Center NY to sample and buy the games before anyone else, witness the exhibition and judging of life-size Pikachu statues decorated by local YMCA children and see the Pokemon costume characters in real life!

Pokemon USA, Inc., the New York-based subsidiary of The Pokemon Company in Japan, manages and oversees the Pokemon franchise in North and Latin America, which includes licensing, merchandising, TV animation, theatrical releases, home video entertainment, the official Pokemon Web site, the Pokemon Center NY in Rockefeller Center and www.pokemoncenter.com, an e-commerce site.

Pokemon first launched for the world's best-selling Game Boy® video game system in Japan in 1996 and has since evolved into a global cultural phenomenon. Since bringing the franchise to North America in September 1998, Nintendo has sold more than 110 million Pokemon games worldwide. Pokemon merchandise has generated over $15 billion in worldwide retail sales since 1998. The trading card game, fueled by organized play programs in 47 countries, has spurred global sales of 9.8 billion cards to date. For more information on Pokemon games, go to www.pokemon-games.com or www.pokemon.com.

Eileen Tanner (509) 628-1993
etanner@golinharris.com

Julia Roether (213) 623-4200 ext. 783
jroether@golinharris.com