MALIBU, Calif.--May 14, 2002-- JAKKS Pacific, Inc. announced today that the Company's subsidiary Toymax International has entered into a worldwide licensing agreement with Infogrames Interactive, Inc. to develop and market the Atari® 10-In-1 TV Games(TM), a plug and play 8-bit gaming system utilizing your television set. This second introduction to its TV Games category is expected to hit retail shelves third quarter 2002.
"We are very pleased to have Atari® as the next extension to the TV Games category. The retro graphics and sounds that Atari first introduced decades ago are a perfect match for the platform," remarked Stephen Berman, President and COO, JAKKS Pacific. "The combination of 10 vintage video games and all of the hardware built right into the joystick controller make this a portable, affordable and perfect take-anywhere gadget."
Atari® 10-In-1 TV Games features 10 classic games from Atari, one of the original creators of video games! It has a lightweight, compact, all-inclusive controller, which allows gamers to play video games anywhere there is a TV with ATV input jacks (standard on almost all sets manufactured within the past decade). Atari 10-In-1 TV Games includes "Centipede®," "Asteroids®," "Missile Command®," "Battlezone®," "Adventure(TM)," "Combat(TM)" and more, and is available in five colors: blue, red, green, yellow and black. Atari 10-In-1 TV Games is anticipated to retail for approximately $20.
New York-based Infogrames, Inc. is one of the largest third-party publishers of interactive entertainment software in the U.S. The Company develops video games for all consoles (Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft), PCs, and Macintosh systems. Infogrames' catalogue of more than 1,000 titles includes award-winning franchises such as "Civilization®," "Backyard Sports(TM)," "Deer Hunter®," "Driver(TM)," "RollerCoaster Tycoon®," "Test Drive®," and "Unreal®," and key licenses including Warner Bros. "Looney Tunes(TM)," Nickelodeon's "Blue's Clues®," "Dragon Ball Z®," "Mission Impossible®," "Terminator®," "Harley-Davidson®," "Major League Baseball®," and the "National Football League®," among many others. The Company's Humongous Entertainment and MacSoft labels are leaders in children's and Macintosh entertainment software, respectively.
Infogrames, Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of France-based Infogrames Entertainment SA (IESA) (Euronext 5257), a global publisher and distributor of video games for all platforms. In 2001, IESA acquired Infogrames Interactive, Inc. (formerly Hasbro Interactive), including its line of software based on well-known licenses such as "MONOPOLY," "Jeopardy®," "TONKA," and "Atari®," which are published and distributed in the U.S. by Infogrames, Inc. For more information, visit the Company's Web site at www.infogrames.com.
JAKKS Pacific, Inc. is a multi-brand company that designs and markets a broad range of toys and leisure products. The product categories include: Vehicles, Action Figures, Infant/Pre-School, Plush, Dolls, Water Toys, Sports Activity Toys, Arts & Crafts Activity Kits, Stationery, Writing Instruments and Performance Kites. The products are sold under various brand names including Flying Colors®, Road Champs®, Remco®, Child Guidance®, Pentech®, Toymax®, Funnoodle®, Laser Challenge(TM) and Go Fly a Kite®. The Company also participates in a joint venture with THQ Inc. that has exclusive worldwide rights to publish and market World Wrestling Federation® video games. For further information, visit www.jakkspacific.com.
(c)2002 Infogrames Interactive, Inc. All rights reserved. All marks are the property of their respective owners.