November 2002 -- The Sunflower Seed Association of America (SSAA) has officially declared a United States agricultural emergency, blaming Nintendo's Hamtaro game for a nationwide shortage of its namesake product. Meanwhile, parents in every state are complaining their children are now speaking in a strange language. The chaos began with the release of Nintendo of America's newest video game, HamtaroTM: Ham-Hams Unite! TM, now available on Game Boy Advance and Game Boy Color.

The sunflower seed dilemma has the SSAA baffled. "The Hamtaro hype has created a virtual seed obsession among kids, and we just can't keep up," says Jim "Salty" Schell, director of the SSAA. "At this point we aren't even sure we'll be able to stock the stadiums in time for next year's baseball season." The SSAA has asked neighboring Canada to send emergency supplies to the United States, but the Canadian government won't deal as Hamtaro's popularity is beginning to infiltrate Canada as well. "Normally, we'd be happy to supply in U.S., but the Hamtaro craze has already crossed the border," explains Ms. Flora Stem, magistrate of agriculture.

Parents nationwide are bewildered by what their children may be trying to communicate when they speak "Ham-Chat," the official Hamtaro language. They can't help with homework, can't eavesdrop on phone conversations and they don't even know what their kids want for dinner (besides sunflower seeds).

One Omaha parent declared: "I had no idea this video game would cause so much mayhem! You don't know what a long night means until you sit through a grade school rendition of 'Grease'-- all in Ham-Chat!" When asked about his views on Hamtaro, a Pacoima child replied, "Hamha, thank-Q for such a mega-Q and wondachu video game. It's koochi-Q spiffie!"

The Hamtaro phenomenon spread to the United States from Japan. It first was innocently introduced to children there as a series of illustrated storybooks in 1997, and has exploded into a $3 billion licensed property. The heartwarming hamster is the category leader in children's publishing in Japan, with a starring role in his own top-rated children's program in Tokyo, a top-selling children's home video and a thriving children's music soundtrack.

Hamtaro's introduction to America came with the Hamtaro animated television series, introduced on Cartoon Network last June. It's currently seen in 80.7 million homes (weekdays at 8:00 a.m. EST).

Hamtaro: Ham-Hams Unite! allows players to take control of the title's namesake and enlist in a mission to find and gather all of Hamtaro's "Ham-Ham" friends. Through interactions with these precocious pets, players must master the use of the Ham-Ham language in order to link terms together to solve puzzles, find more friends, and do Ham-Jams! Ham-Ham pals, along with a complete Ham-Ham dictionary of terms, will help Hamtaro accomplish his mission. Hamtaro: Ham-Hams Unite! is rated "E" for everyone and is available for an MSRP of $19.95.

As 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 video game systems. The systems include Game Boy®, Nintendo® 64, Game Boy Advance and NINTENDO GAMECUBETM. Since the release of its first home video game system in 1983, Nintendo has sold more than 1.6 billion video games worldwide, creating enduring industry icons such as MarioTM and Donkey Kong® and launching such franchises as ZeldaTM and Pokémon®. As 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, visit the company's Web site, www.nintendo.com.