Post by Collector's Connection on Sept 28, 2004 16:25:19 GMT -5
Care Bears: Let's Have a Ball! Marks Second Release in a Series of Interactive Games from ValuSoft and American Greetings
MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 28, 2004--
Kids Will Have a Bouncing Good Time with Their Favorite Care Bears in PC and Mac CD-ROM Game
ValuSoft, a division of THQ(R) Inc. (Nasdaq:THQI) and a leading global publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and productivity software, today announced the release of Care Bears(TM): Let's Have a Ball!(TM) for PC and Mac. The game, created under a licensing agreement with American Greetings through The Joester Loria Group, the exclusive worldwide licensing agency for Care Bears, is the second computer game based on the ever-popular Care Bears. Care Bears: Let's Have a Ball! is rated "E" for Everyone and will be available at retailers throughout North America for $19.99 SRP.
"Care Bears is one of the most popular children's properties on the market and ValuSoft is proud to partner with American Greetings to bring an enriching, interactive play experience to children of all ages," stated Douglas Clemmer, President of ValuSoft. "Care Bears: Let's Have a Ball! brings magical, wholesome entertainment to kids, intertwined with the heartwarming, caring messages that have made Care Bears the preferred choice of both parents and kids for decades."
Care Bears: Let's Have a Ball! features 10 of the most popular Care Bears for rainbow-filled fun in their perfect play land. Catch all the Care Bears fun with eight exciting games which include bowling, soccer, and other games of skill that will entertain, challenge and inspire kids to explore their creativity, test their memory and exercise their reflexes while they learn a valuable lesson in caring and sharing.
In conjunction with the release of the Care Bears: Let's Have a Ball! computer game, the Care Bears will also star in a new DVD movie from Lions Gate Family Home Entertainment this October -- Journey to Joke-a-lot -- with several promotional tie-ins planned with major retailers nationwide. Additionally, the second annual National Care Week (NCW) is slated for the week of October 17. During NCW, preschool educators across the U.S. are encouraged to organize community activities for their classes that will empower the youngest Americans to carry out acts of caring and sharing. This year, NCW is expected to reach more than 31,000 schools and 20 million children, parents and teachers.
Mike Brown, Vice President of Licensing at American Greetings said, "October is shaping up to be the month of the Care Bears. On top of the first original motion picture in more than a decade and National Care Week, we're extremely pleased to be teaming once again with ValuSoft for another installment of a Care Bears PC and Mac game. Let's Have A Ball! is a great game that continues our pursuit of bringing high-quality products that incorporate the core values of the Care Bears and spread their values of caring and sharing to children everywhere."
To learn more about Care Bears: Let's Have a Ball!, go to www.valusoft.com.
About Care Bears
When introduced by American Greetings in 1982, the Care Bears property was truly ahead of its time. Never before had a property been introduced for children that was specifically designed to help teach them the importance of caring for others and sharing ones special feelings. The unique concept of each bear representing a feeling -- or caring-based relationship -- through a bright-colored symbol on its tummy -- proved to be incredibly popular.
Led by Cheer Bear, Tenderheart Bear, Share Bear and the other unforgettable characters, the Care Bears with their emotional underpinning truly connected with consumers, resulting in more than $1.5 billion in retail sales of licensed products, spawning three hit feature films and a top-rated Saturday morning animated series.
Since its re-launch in 2002, the Care Bears have achieved tremendous success both as a family character property and as a teen fashion property. Care Bears has received numerous industry awards and been a category leader in products ranging from toys to video games to teen ready-to-wear. Retail sales since 2002 total over $400 million.
About American Greetings
American Greetings is the world's largest publicly held creator, manufacturer and distributor of greeting cards and social expression products. Its staff of artists, designers and writers comprises one of the largest creative departments in the world and helps consumers "say it best" by supplying more than 15,000 greeting card designs to retail outlets in nearly every English-speaking country. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, American Greetings drives annual sales of more than $2.5 billion. For more information on the company, visit www.americangreetings.com on the World Wide Web.
About The Joester Loria Group
The Joester Loria Group, www.joesterloriagroup.com, is a full-service licensing and marketing agency providing its clients with a full array of services including: strategic planning, competitive analysis, implementation of licensing strategy, management of publicity, advertising and marketing for licensing programs. The Joester Loria Group represents Berltiz, Boeing, DaimlerChrysler Corporation for Jeep and Chrysler, American Greetings for Care Bears and Get Along Gang, Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gruner+Jahr including Parents Magazine and YM, Schering-Plough, Inc. brand Coppertone, New York City Police Department, and the family of Rodale Inc. magazines including Men's Health and Prevention.
About ValuSoft(R)
ValuSoft, a division of THQ Inc., is a leading global publisher and distributor of consumer-priced software. Based in suburban Minneapolis, MN, ValuSoft markets a wide variety of interactive entertainment and productivity software to the mass-market audience. ValuSoft can be found on the World Wide Web at www.valusoft.com.
About THQ(R) Inc.
THQ Inc. (Nasdaq:THQI) is a leading, worldwide developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software. The company develops its products for all popular game systems including the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system from Sony Computer Entertainment, the Xbox(R) videogame system from Microsoft(R), Nintendo(R) GameCube(R) and Game Boy(R) Advance, personal computers as well as wireless devices. The THQ web site is located at www.thq.com. THQ, ValuSoft and their respective logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of THQ Inc.
This press release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the release and features of Care Bears: Let's Have a Ball!. Such statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the business of THQ Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively referred to as "THQ") and are based upon management's beliefs and certain assumptions made by management. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements, including, but not limited to economic, competitive and technological factors affecting the operations, markets, products, and pricing of THQ. Unless otherwise required by law, THQ disclaims any obligation to update its view on any such risks or uncertainties or to revise or publicly release the results of any revision to these forward-looking statements. Readers should carefully review the risk factors and the information that could materially affect THQ's financial results, described in other documents that THQ files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal period ended March 31, 2004, and particularly the discussion of risk factors that may affect results of operations set forth therein. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release.
All brand and product names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 28, 2004--
Kids Will Have a Bouncing Good Time with Their Favorite Care Bears in PC and Mac CD-ROM Game
ValuSoft, a division of THQ(R) Inc. (Nasdaq:THQI) and a leading global publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and productivity software, today announced the release of Care Bears(TM): Let's Have a Ball!(TM) for PC and Mac. The game, created under a licensing agreement with American Greetings through The Joester Loria Group, the exclusive worldwide licensing agency for Care Bears, is the second computer game based on the ever-popular Care Bears. Care Bears: Let's Have a Ball! is rated "E" for Everyone and will be available at retailers throughout North America for $19.99 SRP.
"Care Bears is one of the most popular children's properties on the market and ValuSoft is proud to partner with American Greetings to bring an enriching, interactive play experience to children of all ages," stated Douglas Clemmer, President of ValuSoft. "Care Bears: Let's Have a Ball! brings magical, wholesome entertainment to kids, intertwined with the heartwarming, caring messages that have made Care Bears the preferred choice of both parents and kids for decades."
Care Bears: Let's Have a Ball! features 10 of the most popular Care Bears for rainbow-filled fun in their perfect play land. Catch all the Care Bears fun with eight exciting games which include bowling, soccer, and other games of skill that will entertain, challenge and inspire kids to explore their creativity, test their memory and exercise their reflexes while they learn a valuable lesson in caring and sharing.
In conjunction with the release of the Care Bears: Let's Have a Ball! computer game, the Care Bears will also star in a new DVD movie from Lions Gate Family Home Entertainment this October -- Journey to Joke-a-lot -- with several promotional tie-ins planned with major retailers nationwide. Additionally, the second annual National Care Week (NCW) is slated for the week of October 17. During NCW, preschool educators across the U.S. are encouraged to organize community activities for their classes that will empower the youngest Americans to carry out acts of caring and sharing. This year, NCW is expected to reach more than 31,000 schools and 20 million children, parents and teachers.
Mike Brown, Vice President of Licensing at American Greetings said, "October is shaping up to be the month of the Care Bears. On top of the first original motion picture in more than a decade and National Care Week, we're extremely pleased to be teaming once again with ValuSoft for another installment of a Care Bears PC and Mac game. Let's Have A Ball! is a great game that continues our pursuit of bringing high-quality products that incorporate the core values of the Care Bears and spread their values of caring and sharing to children everywhere."
To learn more about Care Bears: Let's Have a Ball!, go to www.valusoft.com.
About Care Bears
When introduced by American Greetings in 1982, the Care Bears property was truly ahead of its time. Never before had a property been introduced for children that was specifically designed to help teach them the importance of caring for others and sharing ones special feelings. The unique concept of each bear representing a feeling -- or caring-based relationship -- through a bright-colored symbol on its tummy -- proved to be incredibly popular.
Led by Cheer Bear, Tenderheart Bear, Share Bear and the other unforgettable characters, the Care Bears with their emotional underpinning truly connected with consumers, resulting in more than $1.5 billion in retail sales of licensed products, spawning three hit feature films and a top-rated Saturday morning animated series.
Since its re-launch in 2002, the Care Bears have achieved tremendous success both as a family character property and as a teen fashion property. Care Bears has received numerous industry awards and been a category leader in products ranging from toys to video games to teen ready-to-wear. Retail sales since 2002 total over $400 million.
About American Greetings
American Greetings is the world's largest publicly held creator, manufacturer and distributor of greeting cards and social expression products. Its staff of artists, designers and writers comprises one of the largest creative departments in the world and helps consumers "say it best" by supplying more than 15,000 greeting card designs to retail outlets in nearly every English-speaking country. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, American Greetings drives annual sales of more than $2.5 billion. For more information on the company, visit www.americangreetings.com on the World Wide Web.
About The Joester Loria Group
The Joester Loria Group, www.joesterloriagroup.com, is a full-service licensing and marketing agency providing its clients with a full array of services including: strategic planning, competitive analysis, implementation of licensing strategy, management of publicity, advertising and marketing for licensing programs. The Joester Loria Group represents Berltiz, Boeing, DaimlerChrysler Corporation for Jeep and Chrysler, American Greetings for Care Bears and Get Along Gang, Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gruner+Jahr including Parents Magazine and YM, Schering-Plough, Inc. brand Coppertone, New York City Police Department, and the family of Rodale Inc. magazines including Men's Health and Prevention.
About ValuSoft(R)
ValuSoft, a division of THQ Inc., is a leading global publisher and distributor of consumer-priced software. Based in suburban Minneapolis, MN, ValuSoft markets a wide variety of interactive entertainment and productivity software to the mass-market audience. ValuSoft can be found on the World Wide Web at www.valusoft.com.
About THQ(R) Inc.
THQ Inc. (Nasdaq:THQI) is a leading, worldwide developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software. The company develops its products for all popular game systems including the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system from Sony Computer Entertainment, the Xbox(R) videogame system from Microsoft(R), Nintendo(R) GameCube(R) and Game Boy(R) Advance, personal computers as well as wireless devices. The THQ web site is located at www.thq.com. THQ, ValuSoft and their respective logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of THQ Inc.
This press release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the release and features of Care Bears: Let's Have a Ball!. Such statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the business of THQ Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively referred to as "THQ") and are based upon management's beliefs and certain assumptions made by management. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements, including, but not limited to economic, competitive and technological factors affecting the operations, markets, products, and pricing of THQ. Unless otherwise required by law, THQ disclaims any obligation to update its view on any such risks or uncertainties or to revise or publicly release the results of any revision to these forward-looking statements. Readers should carefully review the risk factors and the information that could materially affect THQ's financial results, described in other documents that THQ files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal period ended March 31, 2004, and particularly the discussion of risk factors that may affect results of operations set forth therein. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release.
All brand and product names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective holders.