Santa Reeling in Wake of Nintendo 64 Deliveries

Business Wire, Dec 26, 1996

NORTH POLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 26, 1996--

Fastest-Selling Video Game System Even Overwhelms

North Pole Operations

Complaining of strained muscles and a near-mutinous workforce of elves, Santa Claus today confirmed that Nintendo 64 is the fastest-selling new video game system in history.

Looking little like the jolly, happy soul of legend, St. Nick groused, "according to our people in sleigh-freight, we have every reason to believe that at least 1.6 million Nintendo 64 systems moved between launch and the end of the year. The fact of the matter is that this is way beyond the 500,000 we were told to expect during our talks with these people last spring. I'm getting a little too old for these kinds of surprises."

Executives at Nintendo of America confirmed the numbers. "The folks at Claus are right -- we just didn't foresee this kind of demand," confesses Peter Main, Nintendo executive vice president of sales and marketing.

"Nintendo 64 hardware and software retail sales will have averaged more than $5 million a day from our Sept. 29th launch through Dec. 31st. And the 1.6 million system sales in just three months makes Nintendo 64 easily the fastest selling system ever. Our sales rate is three times that of our nearest competitor when its system launched a year ago."

For those consumers unable to find a Nintendo 64 before the holidays, Main promised that another 500,000 - 700,000 Nintendo 64 systems will be shipped to North America between Jan. 1 and March 31.

"Not my problem," said a weary Claus. "They'll just have to move them through retail. I'm off the clock until next winter."

North Pole sources also confirmed the Nintendo 64 as the season's most-wanted present. Fourth quarter sales of 1.6 million units at $199.95(a) compared favorably with those of the season's other hot item, the Tickle Me Elmo doll, whose shipments, according to published reports, totaled about one million units at an average retail price of under $30.

"With a half billion dollars in total revenue in just three months time, Nintendo 64 became a sizable industry all by itself," Main says.

Furthermore, the product launch helped reinvigorate the entire video game sector. Independent sales data show that since the Nintendo 64 introduction, total monthly industry sales have jumped about 30% over last year. Total video game revenues for all of 1996 should wind up about 17% ahead of 1995.

"You're not telling me anything I don't already know," concluded Santa. "Every time I settle down for my long winter's nap, the visions dancing in my head are little Italian plumbers. I need my rest!"

Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan is the leader in the worldwide $15 billion retail video game industry. Nintendo and its international subsidiaries have sold more than one billion video games worldwide. As a wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere, where more than 40 percent of American homes own a Nintendo System. -0-

(a) NOTE: ALTHOUGH NINTENDO OF AMERICA INC. MAY SUGGEST RETAIL PRICES OF PRODUCTS, THE DEALER IS FREE TO DETERMINE ON ITS OWN THE PRICES AT WHICH IT WILL SELL PRODUCTS.

CONTACT: GOLIN/HARRIS

Eileen Tanner, 509/628-1993