Pokemon Kicks Off 10th Anniversary Worldwide

Chart-Topping Children's Property Announces Pokemon Journey Across America

and Other Fan-Focused Initiatives

NEW YORK, Feb. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Pokemon(R), the children's entertainment

staple, kicked-off its 10th worldwide anniversary today at the American

International Toy Fair with the announcement of the Pokemon Journey Across

America, an action-packed 24-city national mall tour that will culminate in

August at the first-ever Pokemon National Video Game Championships. With

more than $25 billion in worldwide retail sales, Pokemon, the collective

name for more than 380 characters that one can find, catch, train, trade,

collect, and use in battle against rivals in the quest to become a Pokemon

Master, is a global pop culture phenomenon credited with making Japanese

animation mainstream in the U.S.

"We are immensely proud of the success Pokemon has achieved in its 10 year

history -- we've become a children's entertainment powerhouse both in the

U.S. and globally," said Akira Chiba, president, Pokemon USA, Inc. "This

year promises to be one of the most exciting ever for the brand as we

celebrate this significant milestone and chart our path for the future."

Pokemon is celebrating its 10th anniversary year with its fans in a big way

through numerous events, exclusive anniversary products, and more. Kicking

off February 25 and traveling to top markets across the country through July

22, the Pokemon Journey Across America tour will allow thousands of fans to

compete for a chance to qualify for the Pokemon National Video Game

Championships. Winners will be flown to New York City in August to compete

for the championship title at the Pokemon National Video Game Championships

which will include an anniversary bash open to the public.

The Pokemon Journey Across America tour includes many exciting on-site

activities, including live costume characters, arts and crafts stations, a

Pokemon Trading Card Game play area, exclusive character downloads for

Pokemon video games, and a 10th anniversary lounge to offer fans a look back

at Pokemon through the years as well as a peek at upcoming product launches

and anniversary initiatives. Fans can compete in two age groups -- 12 and

under and 13 and up-to make it into the finals at the Pokemon Video Game

National Championships. Players must pre-qualify in order to compete in the

local mall tournaments. For additional information and to pre-qualify, go to

http://www.pokemon.com/.

Year-Long Celebration Continues

Throughout 2006, Pokemon is providing its fans with a variety of different

Pokemon initiatives ranging from new ways of interacting with favorite

characters to exciting new animation specials to challenging new video

games. Making its debut at Toy Fair, Pokemon Mobile offers the first ever

official Pokemon cell phone content, including wallpapers, ring tones, and

short videos. On the video game front, Pokemon Trozei, a puzzle game for the

Nintendo DS(R) will launch in March and other Pokemon video games will be

released throughout the year.

In April, a one-hour TV special entitled "The Mastermind of Mirage Pokemon"

will debut on Kids' WB! and bring together everyone's favorite Pokemon

characters to solve the unusual mystery of the Mirage Pokemon. Later in the

year, the eighth Pokemon movie, "Lucario and the Mystery of Mew" is set for

release and will feature never-before-seen Pokemon and the legend of the

Aura Guardian. Join Ash and his friends on both of these adventures! Also,

be sure to watch for the brand new Pokemon 10th Anniversary song and video,

"Pokemon Go," which is sure to be the ultimate nostalgic tune for Pokemon

fans everywhere.

Pokemon Staying Power

Pokemon was first created in Japan as a video game for the Nintendo Game

Boy(R) system. A non-violent game that teaches children strategy,

sportsmanship and team work, Pokemon has captured the imagination of a

generation of children and adults. And this property has major staying

power, as a market leader across multiple categories, including:

-- Pokemon Video Games - Since its launch in 1996, Pokemon has released 25

video game titles and has sold more than 140 million video games

worldwide. Pokemon video game titles have consistently been ranked

among the top 10 selling video games according to NPD. Four new titles

are scheduled for release in 2006.

-- The Pokemon Trading Card Game (TCG) - With more than 14 billion Pokemon

Trading Card Game cards in circulation, the TCG craze, which started

stateside in 1998, continues to be as popular as ever. For the past six

years, Pokemon TCG has ranked among the top three selling trading card

game series.

-- Pokemon Animated TV Series - Now in its eighth season on Kids' WB!, the

program is consistently ranked among the top three shows for Kids 2-11.

The animated TV series follows the adventures of a Trainer named Ash

Ketchum as he travels across the Pokemon world making new friends and

striving to become a Pokemon Master. For the most recent sweeps period

in November 2005, "Pokemon Advanced Battle" captured the #1 spot among

the Saturday morning competition for Kids 6-11, Boys 2-11, and Boys

6-11.

-- Pokemon Movies - Pokemon is no stranger to Hollywood. Following the

1999 debut of its first feature film, "Pokemon: The First Movie," which

topped the charts with the highest box office opening for an animated

movie at that time, Pokemon has continued to release kid-favorite

movies with a new direct-to-video title scheduled to launch in spring

2006.

-- Consumer Products - The world of Pokemon has continued to expand into

toys, apparel, board games, party goods and more through

http://www.pokemoncenter.com/, an online retail site which features new

and exclusive merchandise. Pokemon develops innovative products with

more than 40 major licensees. In celebration of the 10th anniversary,

Hasbro invited Pokemon fans to choose their top 10 favorite Pokemon

characters by voting at http://www.pokemon.com/. These special edition

figures will be released as an exclusive anniversary set during summer

2006.

"The launch of Pokemon in the U.S. was truly an unprecedented phenomenon,"

said Nancy Lombardi, editor-in-chief of Toys & Family Entertainment. "There

is something to be said for a brand that remains as popular today as it was

when it launched. Pokemon has constantly innovated to give its fans new and

exciting content through the years."

History of Pokemon

Pokemon started with Japanese game developer Satoshi Tajiri and his interest

in video games and, in particular, the communicative properties of the

Nintendo Game Boy(R) system. After six years of development, Tajiri and his

company, GAME FREAK, turned his "interest" into the first-ever Pokemon video

game.

In October of 1996, the Pokemon Trading Card Game was introduced in Japan as

a seamless extension of the Pokemon world. Tsunekazu Ishihara, producer of

Pokemon, developed the Pokemon Trading Card Game with his company,

Creatures.

After becoming a phenomenal success in 1996 in Japan, Pokemon launched to

immediate star status in the U.S. in 1998.