PF.Magic's 'Dogz' Barking Up the Right Tree at Retail

Business Wire, Feb 12, 1996

announced that Dogz, the first wildly popular interactive desktop pet, has anchored positions on the Top Ten seller lists for three leading national retail chains: Babbages, Software Etc. and Electronics Boutique.

PF.Magic, an award-winning publisher of character-based interactive games and toys, released Dogz in November, 1995, carving out a new software category for their Computer Petz products.

"Dogz was the surprise hit for Christmas 1995," said Jerry Madaio, software buyer, Electronics Boutique.

"This is just the first in a series of Computer Petz you'll see from PF.Magic," said John Scull, managing director for PF.Magic. "It's clear from the phenomenal success of our introduction that Americans love Dogz."

According to January PC Data, PF.Magic's nationwide success also placed Dogz among the top 100 selling PC CD-ROM titles in the United States for the 1995 Christmas season. In addition to Dogz' availability in-store, PF.Magic won the attention of thousands of users on the Internet. Since the product's release in November, over 250,000 people visited the company's web site, www.pfmagic.com/dogz, and over 100,000 people took advantage of the first-ever downloadable online "Adoption Kit."

Dogz are born as puppies, and through a mix of sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) and a little bit of magic, develop individual and distinct personalities. Dogz are available in several breeds, and can be "sampled" before they're "adopted" by prospective owners. Computer users can download a free Adoption Kit from PF.Magic's website, and spend time choosing the right pet from one of five different breeds of puppies. Then users can "adopt" a Dogz for $19.95 either at retail or through the company's adoption hot line at 800/48-ADOPT. The company will release a Macintosh version of Dogz end of February, 1996.

PF.Magic, established in 1991, creates action games and digital toys for CD-ROM-based game systems and personal computers. The company has developed some of the most innovative games in the market today. These include Ballz, the first truly 3-D fighting game on the Sega Genesis, SNES and now 3DO; PaTaank a "point-of-view" 3-D pinball game on the 3DO; and Max Magic, the world's first electronic magic kit, hosted by an intelligent 3-D character. Located in San Francisco's Multimedia Gulch, PF.Magic is privately held.

CONTACT: Connors Communications

Staci Strauss, 212/807-7500

staci@connors.com

Rachel Hassard, 415/771-3940

rachel@connors.com

or

PF.Magic

Brooke Boynton, 415/495-0400

www.pfmagic.com