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To: blake_paterson who wrote (9091)	11/2/1998 10:17:00 PM
From: froland	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 93625

All: Nintendo News Nintendo Beats Sony for Star Wars The Associated Press Monday, November 2 1998 07:20 PM EST NEW YORK (AP) -- Nintendo of America Inc. beat out rival Sony for the initial rights to video games based on the first of the three new ''Star Wars'' movies. Nintendo is expected to announce Tuesday that it was awarded the rights for two video games tied to ''Episode I: The Phantom Menace,'' which is due out next May. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The games will be available on Nintendo 64, its 3-D video game player, and its new portable Game Boy color handheld game system. ''Star Wars'' is already the best-selling toy license to date, with millions of dollars in revenues each year. The ''prequels'' from Lucasfilm Ltd., which include three new films, will track the early life of villain Darth Vader. ''The ''Star Wars'' franchise is undeniably one of the gold-plated entertainment properties of the 20th century,'' said Howard Lincoln, chairman of Nintendo of America. Under the deal, LucasArts Entertainment Co. will develop and publish the Nintendo 64 games, while Nintendo will develop the same titles for Game Boy. Nintendo will market each of the games and hold exclusive distribution rights following the release of each game. The first game, which has not been named, will be released in May in conjunction with the movie premiere. The agreement also includes the licensing for ''Star Wars: Rogue Squadron,'' a new Nintendo 64 game based on the original ''Star Wars'' movie that will be released on Dec. 7. For Nintendo, the deal comes at the start of the important holiday shopping season, giving it an edge over market leader and fierce rival Sony PlayStation. ''This is a big deal because it gives Nintendo the opportunity to put out ''Episode I'' games before anyone else,'' said Sean McGowan, an analyst at Gerard Klauer Mattison. ''It also gives ''Star Wars'' maniacs a reason to buy Nintendo (systems) over their competitor.'' LucasArts, however, will still produce computer games based on the movie, and other video game makers, like Sony, will eventually have the opportunity to produce games tied to the movie. ''This gives Nintendo limited exclusivity,'' said Mary Bihr, director of sales and marketing at LucasArts. ''That doesn't preclude it coming out on other platforms eventually.'' froland.