RENTON, Wash.--Feb. 1, 2002--Wizards of the Coast, Inc, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc., has entered into an agreement with Pokemon USA, Inc. to develop and market Pokemon trading card game (TCG) Card-e products, an innovative new development in the game industry that combines traditional trading card game play with the handheld technology of Game Boy Advance and "Dot Code Technology" licensed by Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
Tentatively named Pokemon TCG: New Dimension, it will be the first Card-e product to hit store shelves in late May.
The Pokemon TCG Card-e game cards maintain their playability in the existing trading card game format, but the cards are revolutionized with Dot Code strips that give the game an added dimension. With a swipe of a game card, sound effects, graphics or data will appear on the Game Boy Advance screen. Select cards will produce a mini-game when scanned with a series of other cards. Nintendo is currently developing a product "Card-e-Reader" that will link the Game Boy Advance system with The Pokemon TCG Card-e, allowing players to experience the added bonus of electronic gaming.
For Pokemon TCG players, Card-e releases will offer creature game cards featuring familiar and popular Pokemon with brand new attacks; new trainer cards, which give players more options in the game; and, a new mechanic called Supporters designed to aid Pokemon.
The New Dimension Card-e release will be available in a two-player starter set (MSRP $7.99), containing everything a player needs to get started with the Pokemon TCG and randomized booster packs ($2.99), allowing players to collect cards and build their own decks.
The Pokemon TCG has become an international phenomenon, with children in North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia enjoying the game. Since the Pokemon TCG debuted in the United States in January 1999, more than six million children have played the game. The goal of the Pokemon trading card game is to train, battle, trade and collect various game cards in an effort to become the world's greatest Pokemon trainer. In addition to the trading card game, the Pokemon phenomenon includes Nintendo's Game Boy and N64 video cartridge games, the number-one-rated animated children's television program on the WB network, a Pokemon center retail store in New York City's Rockefeller Center, comic books and a vast assortment of toys.
Wizards of the Coast Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro Inc., is the worldwide market share leader in the TCG and tabletop roleplaying game categories. A leading developer and publisher of game-based entertainment products, as well as the owner and operator of one of the nation's largest specialty game retail chains, the company holds an exclusive patent on the play mechanic of TCGs and produces the world's best-selling Pokemon and Magic: The Gathering TCGs. Headquartered near Seattle, Washington, Wizards of the Coast has international offices in Antwerp, Paris, Milan, London, Beijing and Sydney. For more information on Wizards of the Coast, visit the company's website and electronic retail store at wizards.com.
