NINTENDO ANNOUNCES GLOBAL PRICE
DROP FOR GAME BOY ADVANCE: The World’s Best Video Game System Just Got Better
REDMOND, Wash., January 28, 2002 –
Nintendo today announced a global price drop for its best-selling, hand-held
video game wonder Game Boy® Advance, effective February 1, 2002. In the U.S.,
the new suggested retail price is $79.95, representing a 20-percent decrease.
This simultaneous global price drop is the result of production efficiencies and
decreased component costs.
The U.S. video game industry
generated a record-breaking $9.4 billion in 2001, and Game Boy Advance was
responsible for more than 20 percent of total hardware units sold. Since its
release in June 2001, Game Boy Advance has sold nearly 5 million hardware units
in North America. To stay ahead of the game, Nintendo remains on track to ship
23.5 million Game Boy Advance and Game Boy Color units to retail outlets
worldwide during its current fiscal year, ending March 2002.
“The new price point truly positions
Game Boy Advance as a video game system for the mass market,” says Peter Main,
executive vice president, sales and marketing, Nintendo of America Inc. “Coupled
with an explosive amount of incredible software scheduled for the year, Game Boy
Advance is positioned to become the best-selling video game hardware system of
all time.”
This year will see the release of
more than 200 games for Game Boy Advance, including Super Mario World: Super
Mario Advance 2™, launching on February 11th. Nintendo will also introduce
innovative new game play formats to take advantage of the new Nintendo GameCube
Game Boy Advance cable. The first games to feature this game play synergy are
Sonic Advance™ from THQ for Game Boy Advance and Sonic™ Adventure 2: Battle from
Sega for NINTENDO GAMECUBE, both launching in February. Using this new device,
players can transfer data between the two systems, giving gamers a brand new
level of game play never before experienced.
“The enormous success of Game Boy
Advance has made publishing games for the system a clear triumph for us,” says
Brian Farrell, President and CEO, THQ Inc. “With this price drop our products
will now reach even more consumers.”
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 GAMECUBE™. Since the release of its first home video game
system in 1983, Nintendo has sold more than 1.4 billion video games worldwide,
creating enduring industry icons such as Mario™ and Donkey Kong® and launching
such franchises as Zelda™ 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 Game Boy
Advance or other Nintendo products, visit the company’s Web sites,
www.nintendo.com or
www.gameboyadvance.com.
