LADYDRAGON.COM - Handmark Brings The MONOPOLY Game To Palm Powered Handhelds

Wednesday January 30, 2002

Handmark Brings The MONOPOLY Game To Palm Powered Handhelds

Handmark(TM) adds another leading brand name to its expanding line of premier retail titles for Palm Powered(TM) handheld devices.

For more than 65 years the MONOPOLY game has been one the world's best-selling board games with more than two hundred million copies sold. Now you can play the MONOPOLY game anywhere with the release of the new Handmark official MONOPOLY game for Palm Powered devices.

The MONOPOLY game is available for download from the Handmark web site and is also available on CD-ROM from most major retail stores that sell Palm OS(R) based devices. According to Handmark marketing vice-president, Douglas Edwards, "The game we've designed for the handheld is beautiful and easy to play. The MONOPOLY game makes a great use of the Palm OS and it's typical of the category leading national brands Handmark will continue to bring to the platform."

It's the Real MONOPOLY game!

The highly interactive game can be played by one Palm Powered device user competing against the handheld computer. The human player can play against any of six unique "identities", each having their own personality and playing style. The game is also designed for multiple players using one or several Palm Powered devices.

In multiple device play the built-in infrared beaming function allows silent play in any public space as players "beam" their move to each other's device. Games can include any combination of computer identities and real people up to four players per game.

    Score keeping is also automated so players can concentrate on their game skills. Each player's account is totaled and current status of all player accounts can be viewed at any time.

    Official Licensed Version

    The MONOPOLY board game is published in North America by Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS) and can be found in millions of American homes. MONOPOLY is the most successful branded game in the world, available in 80 countries and can be played in 26 languages.

The Palm OS version of the MONOPOLY game is produced by Handmark under a license agreement with Infogrames, Inc. (NASDAQ: IFGM), which publishes the electronic and interactive versions of Hasbro properties.

    "We are very pleased to extend our relationship with Handmark to include the MONOPOLY brand," commented Jon Leach, vice president of licensing for Infogrames, Inc. "The initial consumer response to the handheld version of the SCRABBLE game has reinforced our belief that this brand extension has an audience waiting."

    Availability of retail product

    Retail packages are expected to be available in stores in February. It will be offered through major retailers for $29.99 (USA estimated retail price) and in campus bookstores across North America. The MONOPOLY game for the Palm OS platform will be available at most retail chains where Palm Powered devices are sold.

    The MONOPOLY game is also available as an online download from the Handmark web site, http://www.handmark.com (also $29.99).

    About Infogrames

    New York-based Infogrames, Inc. (NASDAQ: IFGM) is the second largest third-party publisher of interactive entertainment software in the U.S. The Company develops video games for all consoles (Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft), PCs, and Macintosh systems. Infogrames' catalogue of more than 1,000 titles includes award-winning franchises such as Civilization', Deer Hunter", Driver', Roller-Coaster Tycoon", Test Drive", and Unreal", and key licenses including Survivor', Warner Bros. Looney Tunes', Nickelodeon's Blue's Clues', Dragon Ball Z", Mission Impossible", Harley-Davidson", Major League Baseball", and the National Football League", among many others. The Company's Humongous Entertainment and MacSoft labels are leaders in children's entertainment software and Macintosh entertainment software, respectively.

    Infogrames, Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of France-based Infogrames Entertainment SA (IESA) (Euronext 5257), a global publisher and distributor of video games for all platforms, as well as interactive digital television, mobile smart devices (WAP, HDML) and in-flight entertainment systems. In 2001, IESA acquired Infogrames Interactive, Inc. (formerly Hasbro Interactive), including its right to sell its line of software based on well-known licenses such as Monopoly", Jeopardy", Tonka", and Atari", which are published and distributed in the U.S. by Infogrames, Inc. For more information, visit the Company's Web site at http://www.infogrames.com.

    About Handmark

    Handmark, Inc., is rapidly emerging as the leading publisher of consumer applications for Palm OS handheld devices. Handmark offers consumer software for Palm Powered handhelds through major retail chains in North America as well as through its web site: http://www.handmark.com.

Handmark software is available in the U.S. and Europe and will soon be sold in Australia. In the U.S. Handmark sells through both national and regional retail stores including Best Buy, CompUSA, Fry's, Staples, Micro Center, J&R Music World, RCS and others. Handmark software is compatible with Palm OS handheld computers from Palm, Inc., Handspring, and IBM as well as other licensees of the Palm OS platform including new devices from Sony. The desktop components of Handmark applications are compatible with Apple Macintosh and Microsoft Windows personal computers. http://www.handmark.com