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TECHNOLOGY LEAPS INTO THE FAMILY ROOM WITH THE FIRST INTERNET/MULTIMEDIA BOX FOR TELEVISION--BANDAI DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT INTRODUCES THE @WORLD TO THE UNITED STATES May 16, 1996, Beverly Hills, CA--In one of the biggest product announcements of the year, Bandai Digital Entertainment (BDE) unveiled its plans for the United States launch of the Bandai @World--a Pippin-based product. With the @World, average American families will be able, for the first time, to access the Internet, surf the Web, exchange e-mail, and play a myriad of multimedia, interactive CD-ROMs designed for entertainment, education, health. education and fitness--all on their television in the comfort of their family room. Multimedia CD-ROMs designed for Bandai's @World can also run on Macintosh computers. The @World will be available in the United States in September--in time for a "Back-to-School" campaign and will be priced at $599. Mr. Makoto Yamashina, President of Bandai Corporation asserted, "The Pippin technology is a significant breakthrough for the world as it opens up entirely new markets and provides global technological options to average families. Up until today, families owning multimedia computers earned over $70,000 a year. With education and learning so closely linked with the technological revolution of the Web and multimedia software, parents can't afford to wait for more income or lower-priced multimedia computers. Now, the @World gives average families access to the world in their own family room." In today's world of increasing isolation among technology users, people will no longer be relegated to the small monitor in the home office to surf the net, play a game or use the encyclopedia. Bandai Digital Entertainment's @World enables families to enjoy an interactive experience together. And, even more important, families who have been left out of the many electronic solutions to life because they cannot afford a computer are now able to join the "technological elites" by using their TV and being spared the expense of spending thousands to install and configure a multimedia personal computer. The @World is the first device to enable the average consumer to access information and opportunities on the Web--from ordering airline tickets and doing research for term papers to looking for jobs and keeping in touch with friends across the globe. The @World levels the playing field among those who have a computer and those who do not. Jointly developed with Apple Computer, the @World is based on the Apple Pippin technology which is designed to provide a complete computer-style multimedia experience in a plug and play configuration. There are no operation systems or files for the user to deal with. The base unit is powered by a Motorola 603 Power PC RISC chip, with quad-speed CD ROM, a serial port, S/Video and composite video, and VGA support for the TV or VGA monitor. Multiple controllers may be plugged into the base unit simultaneously. "With Bandai's @World, using multimedia and the Internet becomes a more simple and more accessible experience for everyone," said Satjiv Chahil, senior VP of Corporate Marketing at Apple. "We are committed to our relationship with Bandai Digital Entertainment and look forward to seeing the @World become a common information appliance in the American home." Content Developer Support Hasbro, Inc. is looking forward to supporting the Pippin platform with its plans to port many of their popular games like Monopoly to the Bandai @World. Gary Carlin, Director of Marketing at Hasbro says, "The system looks wonderful. Our kinds of properties will make a great fit with the platform--moving from the office to the living room makes a lot of sense. I look forward to the platform being successful and working together with Bandai." Also, Digitoy Entertainment will be providing a couple of uniquely entertaining CD-ROMs which will allow movie enthusiasts to create their own movie using old movie clips and sound bites (Cine Noir) as well as a program that people can design human faces from digital images--giving them divine powers to age or "de-age" at their will (Mug O Matic). Of course, a host of new, hot interactive games will be coming out to exploit the full power of the @World. Power Rangers, Lunicus and Jump Raven are just a few that Cyberflix is developing and modifying for the Pippin platform. In addition to the consumer markets, the @World will make a profound impact on vertical markets such as health, education and fitness. InterCare, Inc., for example, has developed a CD ROM for the @World which will enable people who have been diagnosed with diabetes or asthma, for example, to manage their disease better by consulting with doctors, getting help with meal planning and exercise, all through a personalized treatment plan based on an initial interactive interview. Stewart Sutton, Director of Technology and Product Development at InterCare says, "Our reason for selecting the Pippin technology is threefold. First, the tools available on the @World are very robust and mature and there are a lot of them. Second, the product has a competitive consumer price point. And, most of all, the @World has a consumer-style operating system that hides the technical challenges of the application from the consumer. There is no other platform out there that has these consumer benefits as of now." Sutton predicts that once clinical trials are concluded, the software will be available to vertical markets in the healthcare industry by late summer. Fitness is also entering the world of high tech with the first "Pippinized" treadmill that surfs the net, calculates a personalized fitness prescription and allows advertisers the ability to market their services via digital, interactive product catalogs. This new machine is timed well, given the latest study recently reported by The Los Angeles Times: "The treadmill, a contraption synonymous with drudgery, burns more calories than a stair-climber, a cross-country skiing simulator, a rowing machine and two different cycling machines." Nat Findlay, President of Aerobic Technologies in Canada, says, "With the Pippin technology, we may be able to take the drudgery out of the treadmill by bringing the entertainment and information modules currently on the walls at fitness clubs and placing them directly in front of the consumer--giving the exerciser distraction from their workout and providing advertisers unique marketing opportunities. The end result may actually be exercisers in better overall condition due to their newly-found attention span on the treadmill." Distribution Plans, Pricing & Packaging As the first of its kind of the emerging Cyber-CD devices, the @World is perfect for the novice user because there is no knowledge required and it is a simple plug-and-play device that is easy-to-use. BDE is planning the @World units to be available to consumer markets beginning in September 1996. Priced at $599, the @World offers the experience of a game machine, the functionality of a multimedia computer and the ability to use Netscape to browse the Web for less than half the price of multimedia computers. Also included is Internet service with unlimited access for $24.95 a month, a high speed modem, e-mail, a keyboard, multi-function controller, and a built-in track ball and gaming buttons. Accessing the Internet will be as easy as inserting an Internet disk and turning the machine on. @World will do the rest. BDE has chosen to partner with PSI Services to offer the first true Internet appliance. Everything is done and configured for the consumer to provide the best possible consumer experience. BDE chose PSI Net as their Internet Service Provider because they have one of the largest Internet infrastructures in the U.S. and their entire infrastructure is ISDN ready. They offer over 300 local telephone numbers across the country, and they provide excellent customer service. Bundled with the @World upon its release will be several CD ROM titles. Prices for additional titles will range between $20-$40. Bandai expects to have at least 30-40 titles available at the product launch. The uniquely modern keyboard, which closes with a simple flap, has a dual purpose. The bottom half is the traditional keyboard and the top half is a digitizing stylus pad that works with the TV Works software program, enabling users to draw on the TV. The base system comes with a total of 6 MB of memory. Developing CDs for the @World is essentially the same as developing them for the Power Mac and CDs developed for the @World will also run on the Power Mac. CDs for the Mac, however, will have to be "Pippinized" before running on the @World--a process neither difficult nor costly. Bandai Digital Entertainment Founded in October of 1995, Bandai Digital Entertainment (BDE) is a new media company dedicated to producing a new generation of technology that brings interactive entertainment, educational multimedia content, and the wealth of information on the Internet to the family television. BDE is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bandai Co. LTD of Tokyo, Japan. Bandai Digital Entertainment's U.S. headquarters is located at 14241 East Firestone Blvd., Suite 210, La Mirada, CA 90638. The company can be reached by telephone at 310-404-1600.