For Wizards of the Coast, Nine is the Number! Magic: the Gathering Now

For Wizards of the Coast, Nine is the Number! Magic: the Gathering Now Featured in Nine Editions, Nine Languages.

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    RENTON, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 9, 2005--Nine is the number! Seattle-based hobby game leader Wizards of the Coast (NYSE:HAS) today announced it will celebrate the summer release of the much-anticipated Ninth Edition of its iconic MAGIC: THE GATHERING (R) Trading Card Game (TCG) by expanding the range of languages in which the game is published to include a ninth: Russian. Ninth Edition is scheduled for a July 27 release in English with the premier Russian-language release scheduled to hit retail shelves in late September in the Russian Federation. This release will be supported by an official launch event to be held in Moscow, as well as nationwide in-store tournaments.
    "MAGIC: THE GATHERING has over six million active players worldwide and that number is growing daily," said Wendy Wallace, Brand Manager for MAGIC at Wizards of the Coast. "With the international popularity of MAGIC at an all time high, it's appropriate we expand the range of languages in which the game is offered."
    MAGIC: THE GATHERING is a game inseparably tangled with the creative independence synonymous with global youth culture. Developed by American mathematician Dr. Richard Garfield in 1993, it counts itself the first trading card game ever created -- a fact recognized in 1997 when Wizards of the Coast was granted an exclusive patent on trading card games and their method of play. Featured in film, television and art, MAGIC has been a voice of postmodern culture for over a decade; its fantastical, otherworld settings have spawned the creative energies of a whole generation. In 2003 the Toy Industry Association ranked MAGIC: THE GATHERING among its "Top 100 Games of All Time."
    The international flavor of MAGIC was on hand at the 2004 MAGIC World Championship in San Francisco as players from over fifty countries gathered to witness 15-year old Julien Nuijten of the Netherlands win top billing. This year's World Championship, scheduled for December in Yokohama, promises to be better than ever with qualifying national championship tournaments scheduled in 29 countries from Australia to Uruguay. The ninth annual MAGIC Invitational, to be held at the E3 Convention in Los Angeles beginning May 17, brings together sixteen of the top MAGIC: THE GATHERING players' from nine nations with the two top contenders winning the opportunity to design a MAGIC card in their likeness. In addition to English and the newly added Russian language, MAGIC is currently produced in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese and Chinese (simplified).
    Ninth Edition is a 350-card Core Set for MAGIC: THE GATHERING. The set features the return of several surprising cards from MAGIC's rich history and sensational new artwork on many traditional fan favorites. Ideal for the beginning player and expert alike, Ninth Edition includes some of MAGIC's Greatest Hits.
    For more information on MAGIC: THE GATHERING, visit magicthegathering.com.

    Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS), is a worldwide leader in the trading card game and tabletop role-playing game categories, and a leading developer and publisher of game-based entertainment products. The company holds an exclusive patent on trading card games (TCGs) and their method of play and produces one of the world's best-selling TCGs, Magic: The Gathering (R), as well as the celebrated Dungeons & Dragons (R) role-playing game. Publisher of adventure games, family card and board games, and electronic media products, Wizards of the Coast is also one of the world's premier book publishers of fantasy series fiction whose novels have made numerous appearance on The New York Times bestseller list and have sold millions of copies worldwide. For more information, visit the Wizards of the Coast website at wizards.com.

    Wizards of the Coast, Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons, and Ninth Edition Core Se, are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All rights reserved.

    (C) 2005 Wizards.

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CONTACT: Wizards of the Coast Toby Nelson, 425-687-2111 (North America) toby.nelson@wizards.com or Helene Bergeot, +32 2 467 3360 (worldwide) helene.bergeot@hasbro.be

KEYWORD: WASHINGTON RUSSIA INTERNATIONAL EUROPE INDUSTRY KEYWORD: CONSUMER/HOUSEHOLD ENTERTAINMENT ELECTRONIC GAMES/MULTIMEDIA PRODUCT PHOTO PHOTOWIRE SOURCE: Wizards of the Coast PHOTO: 44913

Copyright Business Wire 2005