Press Release: LodgeNet, Nintendo Sign N64 Agreement
From Video Game Morgue File
LODGENET, NINTENDO SIGN N64 AGREEMENT
10-year Licensing Agreement with Video Game Leader to Bring New Game Technology to Millions of Hotel Guests
SIOUX FALLS, SD, June 16, 1998 -- LodgeNet Entertainment Corporation today announced a 10-year licensing agreement with Nintendo of America, Inc. to become the first provider of Nintendo 64 (N64©) video games, the world's most advanced video game technology, to hotel, casino and resort guest rooms. LodgeNet anticipates an aggressive rollout of N64 , making it available to the Company's entire GP room base of over 500,000 hotel rooms, domestically and internationally, beginning in late 1998. LodgeNet serves a broad spectrum of properties, including, among others: Sheraton, Ritz-Carlton, Embassy Suites, Holiday Inns, Red Roof Inns and La Quinta Inns. LodgeNet introduced Nintendo video game technology to the lodging industry in 1993, with Super Nintendo Entertainment System® (NES) games as part of its b-LANSM interactive systems. The game platform went on to become the most successful new product rollout in the history of the hotel pay-per-view industry. To date, LodgeNet has installed 500,000 guest rooms with Super NES® games. This summer alone, approximately 35 million hotel guests will view the Nintendo name on a LodgeNet hotel system and purchase 54 million minutes of game playing time. "LodgeNet's patented delivery system technology allows us to make this unique product available to the lodging industry," said Tim C. Flynn, President and CEO of LodgeNet. "What really excites us is that this agreement comes with N64 very much at the front of its product life cycle. We anticipate N64 to be a major differentiator and revenue enhancer for LodgeNet and its hotel customers for years to come. We also expect a great demand for the N64 product as we renew existing properties and sign new hotel agreements." "Through our partnership with LodgeNet, we've introduced Mario 64™, Donkey Kong© and other favorite video game characters to new game players and provided a familiar entertainment experience for millions of veteran gamers," said Howard Lincoln, chairman, Nintendo of America Inc. "Now, we look forward to expanding that reach by bringing our patented Nintendo 64 technology and library of best-selling 3-D video games to an ever-growing audience of vacation and business travelers worldwide." Nintendo 64 game titles to be introduced initially include: Yoshi's Story 64™ , Pilotwings© 64, and 1080° Snowboarding 64™ . LodgeNet Entertainment Corporation (http://www.lodgenet.com) is a specialized communications company that serves more than 4,100 lodging properties in the United States and selected international markets. Through its proprietary b-LANSM technology, LodgeNet delivers guest pay services including on-demand movies, in-room video games and shopping, Internet access and other interactive applications, as well as digital-quality PRIMESTAR by LodgeNet free-to-guest programming. LodgeNet is listed on NASDAQ and trades under the symbol LNET. Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, is the leader in the worldwide $15 billion retail video game industry. Nintendo manufactures and markets hardware and software for its best-selling home video game systems, including the hand-held Game Boy, the 16-bit Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and the 64-bit Nintendo 64, the fastest-selling video game system in history. As a wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Washington, serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere, where more than 40 percent of American households own a Nintendo game system.
