Christmas/Chanukah 2000 Brought To You By 4Kids Entertainment: The Company Who Helped Make Pokemon A Household Name Makes Major Splash At Toy Fair

Business Wire, Feb 28, 2000

Business Editors

Toy Fair 2000

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 28, 2000

Over 75 Companies, Including Big Three -- Hasbro, Mattel, and Toy

Biz -- Exhibited Products Licensed Through 4Kids Entertainment

The first Christmas and Chanukah of the new millennium will be brought to you by Leisure Concepts Inc. (LCI), the licensing division of 4Kids Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ:KIDE).

Indeed, at the American International Toy Fair in New York last week, more than 75 companies, including the "Big Three" of Hasbro, Mattel, and Toy Biz, exhibited hundreds of games, books, action figures, electronic toys, computer software, children's furniture and other merchandise that were the result of licensing agreements brokered by LCI/4Kids Entertainment, Inc.

This panoply of (toy) products ran the gamut from USHRA Monster Trucks to Pokemon. 4Kids, along with Nintendo, brought Pokemon out of Asia, making it a household word around the world. As the exclusive licensing agent for Nintendo, the LCI division of 4Kids has licensed the franchise to more than 150 U.S.-based companies, as well as others outside America, bringing smiles to countless millions of children across the globe.

At Toy Fair, LCI/4Kids teamed up with Hasbro and Nintendo for "Pokemon 2000: A Sneak Pikachu," a "runway fashion show" at which hundreds of new Pokemon toys and games were debuted.

And as the licensing company for World Championship Wrestling, the professional wrestling home of such legendary grapplers as Hulk Hogan, Sting, and Goldberg, LCI/4Kids brokered a long-term alliance between Mattel, Inc, WCW, and Pace Motor Sports for a new line of Hot Wheels die-cast cars and other toy vehicles featuring Pace's line of Monster Trucks, including those bearing the colors and likenesses of WCW superstars.

"We're very excited to be teaming up with Leisure Concepts Inc. to develop merchandise for such top-notch properties," said Jim Wagner, senior vice president of Hot Wheels Marketing & Licensing at Mattel, Inc.

"Mattel produces awesome children's products and boasts a portfolio of lifestyle brands - like Hot Wheels - which are household names," said Al Kahn, president of Leisure Concepts Inc. "It's a great opportunity for us to partner two of the hottest licenses with the number one toy manufacturer in the world."

This new line was launched at Toy Fair when the WCW Monster Machine, a Monster Truck, showed that the best way to beat New York's taxi traffic is to run over and crush the yellow cabs.

While children will clamor for Pokemon merchandise, not to mention the new Hot Wheels Monster Trucks at holiday time, Santa's sleigh will also be filled with other LCI/4Kids licensed products which are also being touted as the "hot" items this year.

Toy Biz will be stocking store shelves with an array of WCW action figures and WCW toys and games that were developed through an agreement established by LCI/4Kids. If last year is any indication, all are sure to be on every boy's wish list. Indeed, at last year's Toy Fair, Toy Biz introduced the electronic interactive "Tuff Talkin' Wrestlers" and they flew off the shelves at holiday time.

Other LCI/4Kids Entertainment licensed products introduced at this year's Toy Fair included: Tiger Electronics' Zelda electronic board game; Golden Books' Pokemon children's books; American Greetings' Pokemon gift wrap and bags; Hedstrom Corporation's Pokemon slumber bags, bean bag chairs, and balls; Oddz On/Cap Toys' Pokemon candy and toys; Wizard of the Coast's Pokemon trading card game; Interplay Productions' Nintendo computer software; Bensussen Deutsch's Nintendo game music CDE, tattoo sheets, lapel pins, key chains, watches, and action figures; Tomy Corporation's Nintendo vending toys; Figure Toy Company's WCW replica belts and placques; and Funomenon! LLC's WCW mugs, cups, bowls, and jars.

Nintendo originally launched Pokemon in Japan for the world's best-selling "Game Boy" hand-held game system and watched the 150 creatures evolve into a cultural phenomenon. The franchise arrived in North America in September 1998 with the release of the Pokemon Blue and Red Game Boy games and has grown into a $7 billion industry worldwide. Nintendo and its licensing agency Leisure Concepts, Inc., a division of 4Kids Entertainment, have licensed the franchise to more than 150 U.S.-based companies whose products entertain millions of fans all over North America.

Headquartered in New York City, 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:KIDE) is a vertically-integrated entertainment company whose wholly-owned subsidiaries include: Leisure Concepts, Inc., a leader in domestic and international merchandise licensing and product development; 4Kids Productions, a television, film, music and home video production company; and Summit Media, a domestic and international television distribution, media buying, and planning company.

World Championship Wrestling is a subsidiary of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company. WCW produces and markets television programs and live events featuring wrestling superstars. WCW produces eight hours of original programming seen each week throughout the U.S. and over 25 countries around the world. Check out WCW's Web site at www.WCW.com.