Neopets to Invade Game Aisle! Wizards of the Coast Releases Trading Card Game Based on One of the Web's Hottest Properties

Business Wire, Oct 1, 2003

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RENTON, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 1, 2003

With almost 60 million registered accounts, it's no secret that Neopets(R) are poised to take over the universe. Neopets.com(R) continues its advance on pop-culture with this month's release of the Neopets Trading Card Game from Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE: HAS).

"Neopets.com is the Internet's largest and fastest-growing youth community and one of the most popular websites of any kind in the world," explained Christopher Erb, brand manager at Wizards of the Coast for the Neopets TCG. "The huge array of Neopets characters and species lend themselves extremely well to a trading card game. Our goal with the Neopets TCG is to transform the wildly popular Neopets online activities into an entertaining offline game."

The Neopets TCG is the result of an inspired collaboration between the renowned Wizards of the Coast game designers and the talented fantasy artists of Neopets, Inc.

"Neopets, Inc. is excited to be working with Wizards of the Coast, the premier trading card game company in the world, and inventors of the category, in our continuing strategy to bring Neopets into the real world with innovative offline entertainment products - like the Neopets TCG," said Lee Borth, chief operating officer of Neopets, Inc. "The card artwork is highly creative, and the game play rivals some of the best TCG game play ever designed."

Neopets At-A-Glance

Neopets - the fun, fantastical "virtual pet" creatures found at www.Neopets.com - are stepping out of laptops and into living rooms this September with Wizards of the Coast's Neopets TCG. Below is a brief overview - including previously unreleased details - of the Neopets TCG.

Neopets TCG Base Set:   The base set will include 234 cards with four
                        levels of rarity (Common, Uncommon, Rare and
                        Foil). There will be a "Virtual Prize Code" in
                        every booster pack that players can take to
                        the Neopets.com site to get a special virtual
                        item or Neopoints(R) for their online Neopets.

Neopets Starter Game:   With an MSRP of $9.99, the Neopets Starter
                        Game will contain:

                        --  Two 30-card decks, with two exclusive foil
                            cards
                        --  Rulebook
                        --  Playmat
                        --  Six-sided dice
                        --  One 8-card booster pack

Neopets Booster Packs:  With an MSRP of $3.49, Neopets Booster Packs
                        will contain:

                        --  8 playable cards
                        --  1 Virtual Prize Code (to be redeemed at
                            Neopets.com for an online Neopets virtual
                            item or Neopoints(a))

Object of the Game:     Have your Neopets win contests in strength,
                        agility, magic and intelligence. When they win
                        a contest, you can put an Item or Equipment
                        card in your bank. Put 21 points of Items and
                        Equipment in your bank and you win the game.

Neopets.com, consistently ranked among the top-10 "stickiest" sites on the Web by Nielsen/NetRatings, generates over 2.5 billion U.S. page views per month. Neopets, Inc. created Immersive Advertising(R), the innovative advertising concept that integrates advertisers' products, brands, and services into the site's content in a highly interactive and engaging manner. Numerous Fortune-1000 and other prominent advertisers, such as General Mills, McDonald's, Warner Bros., Hasbro, Kraft Foods, Thinkway Toys, and Hershey's have embraced Immersive Advertising on the www.Neopets.com website as a means of reaching the youth market. Neopets, Inc. is a privately held corporation based in Glendale, California. For additional information, visit the Neopets website at www.Neopets.com, or go to info.Neopets.com/aboutus.

Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS), is a worldwide leader in the trading card game and tabletop roleplaying game categories, and a leading developer and publisher of game-based entertainment products. The company holds an exclusive patent on the method of playing trading card games (TCGs) and produces the premier trading card game, Magic: The Gathering(R), among many other trading card games and family card and board games. Wizards is also a leading publisher of fantasy series fiction with numerous New York Times best-sellers. For more information, visit the Wizards of the Coast website at wizards.com.

(a)Virtual items and Neopoints have no cash value