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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.