Pokémon To Debut on Game Boy Advance Video
Entertainment becomes more accessible at a lower price as consumers can leave their portable DVD players at home to enjoy episodes of POKÉMON on Nintendos portable Game Boy. No additional hardware purchase is required to view POKÉMON shows on standard game cartridges.
With an MSRP of $19.99 per Video pak, Nintendo's Pokemon franchise will be represented initially with episodes "Playing with Fire!" and "Johto Photo Finish" on one pak and "A Hot Water Bottle" and "For Ho-Oh The Bells Toll!" on another. Game Boy Advance Video initially allows up to 45 minutes of animation with brilliant full-color video and audio.
The innovative Game Boy Advance cartridge-sized Video paks automatically turn the millions of Game Boy Advance and Game Boy Advance SP units in the U.S. into portable video players. The Video pak format contains no moving parts, thus eliminating skipping or stuttering. Playback uses DVD-style controls.
The Pokemon game franchise remains as popular as ever. POKÉMON COLOSSEUM. which launched on March 22, 2004, for Nintendo GameCube , sold 400,000 copies in its first month in the U.S. And, with more than 300 episodes to its credit and now in its sixth season, the POKÉMON animated television series remains one of the top-three-rated shows for boys 6-11.
"Even by the remarkable standards of product evolution that have characterized the Game Boy franchise, this is a landmark event," says George Harrison, Nintendo of America's svp of marketing and corporate communications. " POKÉMON is part of the first step in revolutionizing the nature of portable video entertainment, with eventual reach targeting all demographics."
POKÉMON, published by Nintendo, joins animation titles published by Majesco based on Nickelodeon, 4Kids Entertainment and Cartoon Network original programs. The first offerings will include top-rated shows such as SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS, THE FAIRLY ODDPARENTS, DORA THE EXPLORER and CODENAME: KIDS NEXT DOOR, as well as franchise favorites like ALL GROWN UP!, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES, STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE and SONIC X. Typically, two to four full episodes of an animated series will be included on each Video pak.
Game Boy Advance SP units are available at an MSRP of $99.99, while the Game Boy Advance sells at an MSRP of $79.99.
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 and portable videogame systems. Since the release of its first home videogame system in 1983, Nintendo has sold more than 1.8 billion videogames globally, creating enduring industry icons such as MARIO and DONKEY KONG. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Washington, serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, visit the company's website at www.nintendo.com.