It`s a Game Boy! It`s a Camera! It`s a Game
Boy Camera!

March 19, 1998

REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)
via NewsEdge Corporation --

Nintendo introduces "FUNtography":
Take digital photos,

put faces on game characters

Game Boy, the world's most successful
portable video game system, is taking
on an entirely new life. It's not just
about playing games anymore -- it's "
FUNtography."

On June 1, Nintendo of America Inc.
launches Game Boy Camera, a
cartridge featuring a swiveling, big-eye
lens that fits into any Game Boy or
Game Boy Pocket unit and turns it into
a low cost, easy-to-use digital camera
and " fun" studio. Nintendo also will
launch the Game Boy Printer (sold
separately) that can be attached to
the camera to print photo stickers for
kids to collect and trade.

The camera will be available in the four
colors to match Game Boy casings --
red, yellow, green and a new blue.
Nintendo will introduce the blue Game
Boy Pocket June 1. The Game Boy
Camera has a manufacturer's
suggested retail price (MSRP) of
$49.95, and the Game Boy Printer has
an MSRP of $59.95. A link cable and
additional paper stickers will be sold
separately.

"The Game Boy phenomenon
continues. Now, we're able to put new
technology in kids' hands and allow
them to have more fun with their Game
Boy than ever before," says Peter
Main, Nintendo of America's executive
vice president, sales and marketing.
"Kids can actually photograph and
insert their own faces as the stars of
games or make and collect stickers
with all their friends' faces. Game Boy
Camera is already enormously popular
in Japan, and we predict it'll take the
U.S. by storm too."

The camera, introduced in Japan in
February of this year, sold nearly
500,000 units in its first three weeks
of availability. The device itself looks
like a Game Boy game cartridge with a
big round-eye lens atop that swivels
180 degrees. Point the "eye" and the
black-and-white image appears on the
Game Boy screen.

"This is an interesting new product
because it is so interactive and lets
the kids really use their imaginations,"
says Wes Nihei, editor-in-chief,
GamePro Magazine. "Also, it will most
likely appeal universally to girls as well
as boys, because all kids love to take
pictures of their friends. It's difficult to
imagine the Game Boy becoming more
popular, but the camera just may make
that a reality."

Among the Game Boy Camera's various
functions:

SHOOT:

-- The camera can take and store up
to 30 digital images

and allows users to manipulate the
images in several

ways.

-- Trick lenses can flip, stretch, zoom
or split the

screen.

-- Panorama mode shoots both tall and
wide formats.

-- Time-lapse mode adjusts to let the
user take photos

continuously or up to 60 minutes
apart.

VIEW:

-- Snapshots can be viewed one at a
time or as a slide

show in sequential or shuffle order.

-- Shots can also be arranged and
viewed as an animated

short (up to 47 frames).

PLAY:

-- Decorate the photos using Stamps
-- fun items such as

horns, goofy facial features, antennae,
and letters.

-- Use paint functions to draw or
retouch a photo.

-- Designate "hot-spots" on a photo,
which, if activated,

can change the music or jump to
another photo.

-- Once the perfect image is created,
link to a friend's

Game Boy Camera and transfer the
snapshot.

-- Use the Game Boy Printer to print
saved images

onto stickers.

The Game Boy Camera comes bundled
with four mini-games -- Space Fever
II, Ball, D.J. and Run! Run! Run! -- that
allow the user to put an image of his
or her choice on the face of the main
game character. The D.J. option lets
kids create their own music
compositions as well.

Since its initial release in 1989, Game
Boy has dominated the worldwide
market for handheld video game units,
selling more than 60 million units in less
than 10 years time. In the U.S., Game
Boy products claimed nearly 90% of all
category revenues in 1997.

Nintendo Co. Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, is
the leader in the worldwide $15 billion
retail video game industry. Nintendo
manufactures and markets hardware
and software for its best selling home
video game systems, including the
hand-held Game Boy, the 16-bit Super
Nintendo Entertainment System, and
the 64-bit Nintendo 64, the fastest
selling video game system in history.
As a wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo
of America Inc., based in Redmond,
Wash., serves as headquarters for
Nintendo's operation in the Western
Hemisphere, where more than 40
percent of American households own a
Nintendo game system. For more
information about Game Boy or any
other Nintendo products, visit
Nintendo's web site on the Internet,
www.nintendo.com.