MARIO ANNOUNCES BID FOR U.S. PRESIDENCY

The Mario Party 5 Platform: All Fun, No Politics

REDMOND, Wash., Nov. 11, 2003 – Promising "pasta in every pot," and "Nintendo GameCube™ systems in every home," video game pioneer Mario™ announced his bid for the U.S. presidency today and encouraged his supporters to join the Mario Party.

Some scholars wondered whether Mario could overcome the constitutional hurdles facing his candidacy. For starters, they noted, Mario was not born in the United States, and is short of the constitutionally mandated 35 years. However, Mario, who routinely overcomes hurdles with a series of flip-flops worthy of any politician (as most recently evidenced in the new game for Nintendo GameCube, Mario Party® 5), remained undaunted by critics.

"With the many actors getting into politics recently, I thought, 'Hey, I'm more entertaining than many of them,' not to mention, I'm a lot more animated," Mario says. "Anyone who gets involved with the Mario Party knows that it's all about nonstop action and fun."

The goal of Mario Party 5 for the Nintendo GameCube (available today at an MSRP of $49.95) is to restore peace in Dream World, which was disrupted by evildoers Bowser and the Koopa Kids. People who join the Mario Party 5 fun will find that they can play more than 60 new mini-games, making it by far the busiest and most active of all the parties. The game sports new game boards, new playable characters, an expanded one-player mode and, of course, the multiplayer madness that made the franchise famous in the first place. This sequel extends Mario Party's reign as the king of the party game!

Standing at just 5 feet tall, Mario would be the shortest U.S. president ever, 4 inches shorter than James Madison. He would be only the second bachelor president, after James Buchanan (Princess Peach has offered to take on the duties of the first lady).

Sources close to the campaign said that Mario was considering following in the footsteps of John F. Kennedy by making his brother, Luigi, an integral part of his administration, possibly even his running mate. The rest of Mario's top advisers embody diversity itself with the inclusion of Toad (a 29-inch diplomat from the Mushroom Kingdom), Yoshi™ (a long-tongued dinosaur) and Donkey Kong® (a stubborn ape). The political quintet has been dubbed the "Mario Party 5."

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 video game systems. Each year, hundreds of all-new titles for the best-selling Game Boy® Advance and Nintendo GameCube™ systems extend Nintendo's vast game library and continue the tradition of delivering a rich, diverse mix of quality video games for players of all ages. Since the release of its first home video game system in 1983, Nintendo has sold more than 1.8 billion video games globally, creating enduring industry icons such as Mario and Donkey Kong and launching popular culture franchise phenomena such as Metroid™, Zelda™ and Pokémon®. 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 Mario Party 5 visit www.marioparty5.com. For more information about Nintendo, please visit www.nintendo.com.