Wednesday October 13, 1:02 pm Eastern Time

### Company Press Release

## PlayDate Announces Retailers' Predictions for the Hottest Toys and Games for the Holiday Season

### First-Ever Event Brings Retailers and Manufacturers Together to Showcase Holiday Toys & Games

NEW YORK--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Oct. 13, 1999-- Pokemon Cards and Figures, the LEGO Star Wars Droid Kit, ``Donkey Kong'' (for N64) and ``Quake III: Arena'' (for PCs) were announced and showcased today as the number one toys and games for the coming holiday shopping season, as compiled in a recent retailer survey.

PlayDate Inc. polled top executives at leading toy and game retailers to compile objective lists of their predictions for the top-sellers in five categories: toys (overall), video games, PC games, toys sold online, and toys sold in specialty stores. The contents of these lists -- along with the products themselves were revealed today at PlayDate '99.

PlayDate `99 organizers Sean McGowan and Jon Salisbury began the process of compiling the Best Seller lists by contacting retailers across the United States to determine which toys and games would be top-sellers during November and December -- when more than half of the annual volume of toys and games are sold.

The retailers that contributed to the poll include Amazon.com Toys & Games, Electronics Boutique, ebworld.com, FuncoLand, eToys, K-B Toys, kbkids.com, Noodle Kidoodle, Toys `R' Us, toysrus.com and Zany Brainy.

``The PlayDate best-seller lists give consumers the shopping advantage of knowing what retailers are expecting to be the most popular toys and games,'' said Jon Salisbury, toy expert and co-founder of PlayDate Inc. ``Retailers are a great objective source for these predictions, as their buy-orders are based on extensive experience in following consumer trends.''

Toy and Game manufacturers exhibiting at PlayDate '99 include: Hasbro, Mattel, Nintendo, Sega, Activision, GT Interactive, Jakks Pacific, K'NEX, Learning Co., Leap Frog, LucasArts Entertainment, Rumpus Toys, Sound Bites, Take Two, Toymax, THQ, Trendmasters and Zowie Intertainment.

PlayDate Inc. is a privately owned, independent marketing services company organized by principals McGowan and Salisbury, who, combined, have more than 40 years of experience in the United States and international toy industries.

McGowan has been an analyst following the toy and game software industries on Wall Street since 1986. Salisbury has published news/trade journals on the international toy industry since 1985 and has hosted numerous events similar to PlayDate `99 in the United Kingdom since 1997.

Following are the predicted hot selling toys for 1999, as predicted by retailers:

                          Best Selling Toys (Overall)
            Toy                               Manufacturer
    No. 1 Pokemon Cards/Figures               Wizards/Hasbro/Topps et al
    (others in top 12, in alphabetical order)
    Amazing Ally                              Playmates Toys
    Barbie (Millennium)                       Mattel
    Furby (and Babies)                        Tiger (Hasbro)
    LEGO Mindstorms                           LEGO
    Pop Radio                                 Sound Bites
    Sesame Street Rock-n-Roll Ernie           Tyco (Mattel)
    Star Wars -- Episode 1                    Hasbro et al
    Toy Story 2                               Mattel
    WCW Tuff Talkin' Wrestlers                Toy Biz
    WWF Titantron                             Jakks Pacific
    QX-3 Microscope                           Mattel/Intel

                            Best Selling PC Games
             Game                             Manufacturer
    No. 1 "Quake III: Arena"                  Activision
    (others in top 12, in alphabetical order)
    "Backyard Football"                       Humongous Entertainment
    "Blue's Treasure Hunt"                    Humongous Entertainment
    "Cabela Big Game Hunter"                  Head Games (Activision)
    "Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun"          Westwood (Electronic Arts)
    "Daikatana"                               Eidos
    "Deer Hunter 3"                           Wizard Works
    "Diablo II"                               Havas
    "Easy Bake Oven CD Playset"               Hasbro Interactive
    "Grand Theft Auto 2"                      Take Two Interactive
    "Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine"  LucasArts Entertainment
    "Pokemon"                                 The Learning Co. (Mattel)

                           Best Selling Video Games
                Game Title                    Publisher
    No. 1 "Donkey Kong" (N64)                 Nintendo
    (others in top 12, in alphabetical order)
    "Crash Team Racing" (PSX)                 Sony
    "Driver" (PSX)                            GT Interactive
    "Final Fantasy VIII" (PSX)                Electronic Arts
    "Gran Turismo 2" (PSX)                    Sony
    "Madden 2000" (PSX)                       Electronic Arts
    "NFL 2K" (Dreamcast)                      Sega
    "Pokemon" (Various)                       Nintendo
    "Resident Evil Nemesis" (PSX)             Capcom
    "Sonic Adventure" (Dreamcast)             Sega of America
    "Tomb Raider -- Last Revelation" (PSX)    Eidos Interactive
    "WCW Mayhem" (PSX)                        Electronic Arts
    "WWF Wrestlemania 2000" (N64)             THQ

                          Best Selling Toys (OnLine)
                Toy                           Manufacturer
    No. 1 Lego Star Wars Droid Kit            LEGO
    (others in top 12, in alphabetical order)
    Amazing Ally                              Playmates Toys
    Brio Trains                               Brio
    Furby (and Babies)                        Tiger (Hasbro)
    K'NEX                                     K'NEX
    Lego Mindstorms                           LEGO
    Lincoln Logs                              K'NEX
    Little Tikes                              Little Tikes
    Redbeard's Pirate Quest                   Zowie Intertainment
    Playmobil                                 Playmobil
    Pop Radio                                 Sound Bites (Hasbro)
    Thomas the Tank Engine Trains             Learning Curve

                     Best Selling Toys (Specialty Stores)
               Toy                            Manufacturer
    No. 1 Pokemon Cards/Figures               Wizards/Hasbro/Topps et al
    (others in top 12, in alphabetical order)
    Beanie Babies                             Ty
    Ellie's Enchanted Garden/                 Zowie Intertainment
    Redbeard's Pirate Quest
    Explorer Globe                            Leap Frog
    Furby (and Babies)                        Tiger (Hasbro)
    Handheld JumpStart                        Toymax
    LEGO Star Wars Droid Kit                  LEGO
    Master Builder Set                        K'NEX
    Rokenbok                                  Rokenbok
    Thomas The Tank Engine Trains             Learning Curve
    WWF Digital Camera                        Toymax
    QX-3 Microscope                           Mattel/Intel Play

                              Hot Ones to Watch
               Toy                            Manufacturer/Publisher
    Wuvvies                                   Trendmasters
    Carmen Sandiego ThinkQuick Challenge      The Learning Co. (Mattel)
    Deluxe Galaxy Megazords                   Bandai
    Harry Hairball                            Rumpus
    Interstate 82 (PC)                        Activision
    Laser Tennis                              Tiger (Hasbro)
    Miss Party Surprise                       ToyBiz
    NeoGeo Pocket                             SNK
    Pokemon C-Watch                           Trendmasters
    Pop-Up Game Center                        Playhut
    R/C Super Rebound                         Tyco (Mattel)
    Soul Calibur (Dreamcast)                  Namco

Contact:

         Golin/Harris International
         Emily Killmer/Karen Tetherow, 213/623-4200
         At the Showroom: 646/638-4073

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Article is quoted from Yahoo News and is not edited in any way.
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