Also, sales figures and some other interesting factoids about Animal Crossing.
A Cross-Section of Americans Stampede to Nintendo's New Animal Crossing
New Genre of Video Game Creates Virtual Communities
REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 28, 2002--Animal
Crossing(TM) is becoming the talk of the town!
The first-of-its-kind, real-time communication game, where
consumers live out a virtual life in a small town, is infiltrating
American culture. Now a new element is introduced, offering additional
entertainment and providing yet another way to engage existing and new
Animal Crossing fans. Animal Crossing-e(TM), collectible trading cards
for use with Nintendo's e-Reader(TM) accessory for Game Boy(R)
Advance, has already sold nearly five million card packs in Japan. The
first series of this game enhancing card set launches today at an MSRP
of $3.29 per pack.
Still in its first four weeks out, Animal Crossing already is
establishing a growing population of insatiable fans:
-- Sales for the Animal Crossing video game have surpassed
100,000 in just four short weeks, landing the game in the Top
Ten for September and climbing ahead of more than 100 other
new video game launches during that month
-- In its initial month, the Animal-Crossing.com Web site has
become a hot online destination with more than 5 million page
views and nearly 700,000 unique visitors, in addition to
60,000 entries into its Animal Crossing Sweepstakes
-- Demonstrating support for the game, the Animal-Crossing.com
web site is generating 60,000 codes for Nintendo Entertainment
System(R) Soccer and currently is adding Donkey Kong Jr.(R)
The site is updated weekly with new hints, tips and item codes
-- As another sign that the Animal Crossing civilization is
spreading through American society, the rock band, Weezer's,
official Web site (www.weezer.com) has a posting on its
message board with directions on how to incorporate a snippet
from the song "Buddy Holly" into the video game
-- Hundreds of fans have visited eBay's Web site to get new game
additions and materials to alter and enhance the content of
their game
"Exceeding our expectations, Animal Crossing has quickly built an
amazingly strong fan community," says Peter MacDougall, executive vice
president, sales and marketing, Nintendo of America Inc. "Animal
Crossing's popularity is driven by its innovative game premise and
engaging real-time interaction, proving that video games are not
always about competition and violence."
Animal Crossing also has garnered attention from video game
reporters. Gamers.com notes, "... This is a game I know I'll be
playing for months to come." Computer and Video Games writes, "Crammed
full of some of the neatest touches included in a current game, and
bearing the absolute blessing of Nintendo legend Miyamoto, the title
has become a platform definer for Nintendo GameCube."
Animal Crossing is a virtual existence in real-world time,
allowing fans to create a friendly village of animal neighbors, where
all the decision are made by you in lockstep with the real world.
Nighttime outside is also nighttime in your game; holidays and special
events all occur inside Animal Crossing just when they do on your wall
calendar for the next 30 years. The immediate excitement of this new
genre of video game crosses demographic and reality lines to impact
mainstream consumers' day-to-day lives. Fans of all ages strive to
stay in tune with the ever-evolving world of Animal Crossing.
"Nintendo's Animal Crossing is an instant hit with a diverse
customer base," said Jerry Madaio, vice president, merchandising,
Electronics Boutique. "We're seeing consumers young and old buying
this real-time game, that unfolds as their lives do."
With Animal Crossing-e, players can get special letters from other
players, along with items, songs and patterns by swiping them through
the exclusive e-Reader accessory on the Game Boy Advance. The cards
themselves are collectible and offer new information on the Animal
Crossing characters. Each Animal Crossing-e character card has two
passwords, one printed on the card and one in Dot Code. Users can
either swipe the Animal Crossing-e character card or enter a password
while playing the NINTENDO GAMECUBE game to receive an item or
information immediately. The cards also offer another way of gaining
access to the coveted classic NES games.
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(R), Nintendo(R) 64,
Game Boy Advance(R) and NINTENDO GAMECUBE(TM). Since the release of
its first home video game system in 1983, Nintendo has sold more than
1.6 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 NINTENDO GAMECUBE or any other Nintendo
product visit the company's Web site www.nintendo.com or the Animal
Crossing Web site www.Animal-Crossing.com.