Officially-Licensed Building Toys by K'NEX Will Allow Kids to Build Mario, Luigi and Other Favorite Nintendo Characters

Hatfield, PA -- June 3, 2010 -- Young Nintendo® fans will soon be able to build and play with their favorite video game characters including Mario™ and Luigi™ with new licensed building toys by K'NEX®. Nintendo, the worldwide pioneer in interactive entertainment, and K'NEX, an international leader in construction toys, are pleased to announce this new partnership to create a line of building toys inspired by Mario Kart™ Wii, one of Nintendo's most popular games.

The relationship combines the award-winning K'NEX building system with Nintendo's beloved characters like Yoshi™, Princess Peach™, and Bowser™, bringing them from the video screen to the construction aisle for the first time.

It lets K'NEX bring popular and recognizable characters to life in a new way and provides an opportunity for kids to interact with Nintendo outside of the gaming console.

"Our partnership with Nintendo is a win-win," said Michael Araten, president of K'NEX Brands. "It lets K'NEX bring popular and recognizable characters to life in a new way and provides an opportunity for kids to interact with Nintendo outside of the gaming console."

The new K'NEX Nintendo line will be available at all major retailers in 2011 and will include some of the most popular Nintendo characters, plus buildable vehicles and obstacles from the Mario Kart Wii game. The building sets will be designed for children ages 6+ bringing the fun of Nintendo to a new generation and expanding its appeal through a rewarding, age-appropriate K'NEX building experience.

About K'NEX Brands
Founded in 1992, K'NEX Brands was established to make and sell what has become one of the world's leading integrated construction systems for children. Winner of over 200 international awards and recognitions, K'NEX seeks to build young minds with its exciting product line and critically acclaimed K'NEX Education program. For more information, please visit www.knex.com.

About Nintendo
The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii™ home console and Nintendo DS™ family of portable systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold more than 3.3 billion video games and more than 558 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi™ and Nintendo DSi XL™, as well as the Game Boy™, Game Boy Advance, Super NES™, Nintendo 64™ and Nintendo GameCube™ systems. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario™, Donkey Kong™, Metroid™, Zelda™ and Pok�mon™. 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, please visit the company's Web site at www.nintendo.com.