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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