Pokemon's 5th Anniversary
Nintendo August 29, 2003
REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 29,
2003--This year Nintendo of America Inc. celebrates the fifth
anniversary of the Pokemon franchise by bouncing off the bumpers in
Pokemon Pinball: Ruby and Sapphire for Game Boy Advance, the sequel to
the million-selling Pokemon Pinball for Game Boy Color.
Pokemon Pinball: Ruby and Sapphire is the newest installment in
the video game franchise that already has sold a staggering 38 million
games in North America and 110 million games worldwide.
To further commemorate the greatest kids' entertainment phenomenon
of the last decade, Nintendo has partnered with Toys "R" Us to return
to Topeka, Kansas on September 1 for the close of the EON Ticket
Summer Tour, which has already visited more than 125 Toys "R" Us
stores in 25 major markets. Better known as "ToPikachu", Kansas to the
locals and millions of Pokemon fans nationwide, the town hosted the
introduction of Pokemon to the United States nearly five years ago.
"The return to Topeka celebrates the wildly popular games that
started it all: Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue," says George Harrison,
senior vice president, marketing and corporate communications,
Nintendo of America Inc. "Five years later, those precious gems have
evolved into Ruby and Sapphire. The release of Pokemon Pinball kicks
off a line of great new Pokemon adventures that will be introduced in
the coming months."
Pokemon Pinball: Ruby and Sapphire features more than 200 Pokemon,
most of which appear in Pokemon Ruby and Pokemon Sapphire for Game Boy
Advance. Released last March, those games have sold nearly 2.5 million
copies combined nationwide. In Pokemon Pinball: Ruby and Sapphire,
players capture wild Pokemon while playing a classic pinball game with
authentic ball physics. Rounding out the game with special Pokemon
power-ups and bonus areas, the franchise jumps to life in entirely new
ways. Launched in North America on Aug. 25, Pokemon Pinball: Ruby and
Sapphire is available now at a suggested price of $34.99.
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
more than 10 billion cards to date. For more information on Pokemon
games, go to
www.pokemon-games.com or
www.pokemon.com.