THE BEST KEEPS GETTING BETTER — NEWEST GAME BOY SYSTEM PASSES ONE MILLION U.S. SALES

Nintendo Announces Two New Color Housings to Commemorate Game Boy Advance SP Sales Milestone

REDMOND, Wash., June 9, 2003 – Nintendo of America Inc. is reaffirming the status of its new Game Boy® Advance SP as the hottest selling video game system in the United States.  More than 1.1 million units of the new self-lit, flip-top portable unit have sold in America less than 10 weeks after its introduction.  The new model has sold at a rate of more than 10 per minute, non-stop, since launch.

To build upon its success, Nintendo is launching new color casings.  On Sept. 8, Onyx (black) and Flame (red) will join the current Platinum (silver) and Cobalt (dark blue) systems. 

Since its inception in 1989, Nintendo's Game Boy® line has become a household name as the world's most successful and storied video game system, selling through more than 150 million units and more than one-half billion games worldwide. 

"In our industry, any product selling more than one million units is a certified mega-hit," says Peter MacDougall, executive vice president, sales and marketing, Nintendo of America.  "For Game Boy Advance SP to outsell each of the home console systems is testament to the expanding popularity of gaming on the go."

Game Boy Advance SP is compatible with virtually all 1,300 Game Boy titles including a current 375-title Game Boy Advance-specific library that will increase to more than 500 by year-end.  In addition, a growing number of key software titles link play between Game Boy Advance and Nintendo GameCube™.

Nintendo also is setting the pace on both the portable and console game charts.  The highly acclaimed The Legend of Zelda®: The Wind Waker™ for Nintendo GameCube, and both Pokémon® Ruby and Pokémon® Sapphire for Game Boy Advance have reached one million unit-seller status since their March launch dates, and represent the industry's three best selling games thus far in all of 2003. 

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 Nintendo, visit the company's Web site, www.nintendo.com.
 

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