Acclaim Entertainment And Golden Books Family Entertainment Announce Licensing Agreement With Playmates Toys Inc. To Produce Turok Toys

Business Wire, June 25, 1997

GLEN COVE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 25, 1997--Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKLM), a worldwide interactive entertainment company, and Gold Key, a division of Golden Books Family Entertainment, the exclusive licensing agent, today announced that they have entered into a master licensing agreement with Playmates Toys Inc. to manufacture and market toys based on Acclaim Comics' Turok(R) property, the basis of the best-selling Acclaim video game Turok(R) Dinosaur Hunter.

Since its release at retail in North America and Europe on Turok Tuesday, March 4, and in Japan on May 30, worldwide retail sales of Turok: Dinosaur Hunter for Nintendo 64(TM) have exceeded $60 million, and the game has consistently been one of the two top weekly video game rentals, holding the No.1 spot for seven consecutive weeks.

This long-term licensing agreement gives Playmates the rights to create an extensive line of Turok toys across several categories, including action figures, vehicles and playsets.

"We believe that the Turok toy line has tremendous sales potential with its well-defined characters, strong story elements, dinosaur villains -- and one awesome-looking hero," said Leslie Levine, vice president, licensing, Playmates Toys. "We look forward to working with Acclaim and Gold key to bring Turok off of the comic book pages and video game screens and onto kids' playroom floors and backyards."

"Expanding Turok's character into a line of toys with Playmates is the next logical step in his evolution as an entertainment phenomenon," said Fabian Nicieza, president, Acclaim Comics. "Turok has already made the leap from the 2-D world of the comic page to the 3-D world of video games, and with the help of Playmates, we'd like to see him move into the mainstream of pop culture."

"This is the first license and an important step towards developing Turok as a major property," said Leigh Anne Brodsky, senior vice president of marketing for Gold Key.

Turok: Dinosaur Hunter Character Profile and Gameplay

Turok: Dinosaur Hunter puts players in the role of the Native American Turok. For generations, the eldest-born male of the Fireseed family has served as Turok to protect humanity against the threats from the residents of the Lost land. An interdimensional "sewer of the universe," the Lost Land is a place out of time where past, present and future collide: where alien races struggle for dominance alongside rampaging "Bionosaurs," highly intelligent bionic dinosaurs -- a place which, throughout time, has been tamed by one man: Turok.

In the game, players venture through a spectacular 3-D universe infested with vicious enemies, including raptors, subterranean, worms and artillery-equipped cyborgs. Turok packs a devastating arsenal of weapons, ranging from a hunting knife for hand-to-hand combat to a quad rocket launcher, a fusion cannon and the ultimate secret weapon, the Chronoscepter, which Turok assembles by finding hidden pieces throughout the game.

"Based on initial sales of the game and media and consumer response, Turok has established himself as a hero with widespread appeal," said Gregory Fischbach, Acclaim Entertainment co-chairman and chief executive officer. "We continue to build the Turok franchise with the adaptation of the game for PC and GameBoy in the fall of 1997 and a sequel to the N64 phenomenon in development by the original creative team."

Playmates Toys Inc. Background Information

Playmates Toys Inc. is a leading marketer of many of America's best-selling toys, action figures and dolls, and is acclaimed throughout the industry for its sculpting, craftsmanship and attention to detail. Its core brands include the classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles(R); "Star Trek(R)" action figures, accessories and collectibles; and the Waterbabies(R) and Baby So Beautiful(TM) lines of dolls.

Golden Books Family Entertainment, Inc. Background Information

Golden Books Family Entertainment, Inc., is the leading children's book publisher in North America. The company owns one of the world's largest libraries of Family Entertainment and copyrights and creates, publishes and markets entertainment and educational products for children and their families through all media.

Acclaim Entertainment Background Information

Acclaim Entertainment, Inc., a leading worldwide publisher of software for Nintendo, Sony Sega and personal computer hardware systems, also publishes comic books under a variety of imprints. In addition, Acclaim develops coin-operated arcade games; operates motion capture studios; and through A.D.I., globally sells and distributes products from a variety of entertainment software publishers including Interplay and others. Visit Acclaim's web site, www.acclaimnation.com . -0-

This press release contains forward-looking statements. There are certain important factors that could cause results to differ materially from those anticipated by the statements made above. Such risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the growth of the installed base of 32-bit and 64-bit gaming and PC systems, the timely availability and acceptance of Acclaim's future products for such systems, the competitive environment in the consumer software and related industries, the management of inventories and growth, the Company's short- and long-term liquidity, the Company's ability to operate as a going concern, and other risks and uncertainties that may be detailed from time to time in Acclaim's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.