NewKidCo Announces 2003 Product and Organizational Plans
Wednesday May 7, 8:08 pm ET
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 7, 2003--NewKidCo, International (OTCBB:NKCIF - News; TSE:NKC - News) a developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software, today provided an update of the company's product release plans for the remainder of 2003.
NewKidCo has ten new titles slated for release during calendar year, 2003 which will be displayed at the E3 Expo in Los Angeles from May 14-16 by it's distribution partner, Take Two Interactive / Jack Of all Games (South Hall Booth #724). These titles and their expected release dates are listed below:
* Dora the Explorer(TM) Super Spies for Game Boy Advance (Q2) and PlayStation One (Q4)
* The Super Stoo Pendus World of Dr. Seuss for GameBoy Advance (Q2) and PlayStation One (Q4)
* Dr. Seuss: the Suesssational Journey for Game Boy Advance (Q4)
* Little League Baseball® World Series for Game Boy Advance (Q3)
* Tom & Jerry(TM) Infurnal Escape for Game Boy Advance (shipped Q1)
* Tom & Jerry(TM) War of the Whiskers for Game Cube and XBox (Q4)
* Sesame Street® 2Pak --Elmo's Letter Adventure and Elmo's Number Journey for PlayStation One (Q3)
The company has also been working on restructuring it's balance sheet and is reviewing a range of strategic alternatives and financing opportunities. The company will have no further obligation to publicly comment on this subject unless there is a proposed transaction that is recommended by the Board. There can be no assurance that there will be any such transaction, or, that if one is recommended, it will be completed.
As part of it's ongoing restructuring, senior management has agreed to reduce their 2002 and 2003 cash compensation in exchange for increased equity participation.
In addition, Barry Fried, Chief Financial Officer, and Eric Feiner, Vice President of Sales have recently resigned their positions to pursue other opportunities. Arthur Levine and Henry Kaplan will manage their responsibilities. Overhead and operating expenses have been reduced substantially. Licensing and development agreements have also been restructured so that advances and payments are more directly related to revenues received.
The audit of 2002 financial results is being completed and will be reported at a future date.
"Our cost cutting and restructuring measures have substantially lowered our break even," said Henry A. Kaplan, Chief Executive Officer of NewKidCo, International. "The current competitive video game market conditions demand that smaller companies must focus on a specific segment of the market. Fortunately for NewKidCo, the young children's video game market is forecasted to grow as the different platforms installed bases grow and mature. With our ten new releases and catalogue titles being shipped throughout the year and our distribution agreement with Take Two Interactive and Jack of All Games in place NewKidCo has taken steps to improve its position in a challenging business environment."
About NewKidCo
NewKidCo International Inc. (OTC BB: NKCIF; TSE: NKC) publishes children's video games based on popular licensed characters and brands, such as Dora the Explorer(TM), Tom and Jerry(TM), Little League Baseball®, Dr. Seuss, Dragon Tales(TM) and Sesame Street®, for interactive entertainment gaming systems from Nintendo, Sony Computer Entertainment of America and Microsoft. The company publishes and distributes its product directly in North America, in Europe through its distribution partner, Ubi Soft Entertainment SA, and in Japan through Success Corp. NewKidCo titles have garnered critical acclaim and distinguished honors, including the PlayStation Choice and Nintendo Power Awards. Most recently, six NewKidCo games received the esteemed "approval" rating from the Parents' Choice Association.
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Contact:
NewKidCo Contacts:
Henry Kaplan, 212/581-1555 x224
Arthur Levine, 212/581-1555 x235
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Source: NewKidCo, International |
