NEWS RELEASE
DECIPHER TRADING CARD GAME STUDIO
DECIPHER UNVEILS MEGAMAN AND SPOILS INFO
ON TWO NEW GAMES PLUS ENHANCED RETAIL PROGRAMS
(Norfolk, VA–March 24, 2004)–At the 2004 GAMA Trade Show (GTS),
Decipher shared their plans for the remainder of 2004 with distributor and
retailer partners.
MEGAMAN NT WARRIOR
GTS was the first chance for retailers and distributors to playtest the
new MegaMan NT Warrior TCG from Decipher. "MegaMan NT Warrior TCG's game
mechanics feature a brawl between two Net Navis, the virtual avatars that
the main characters use when they 'jack in'. The cards allow you to power
up for maximum destruction in a single blow, or whittle your opponent's
deck down with smaller attacks each turn," says Mike Reynolds, Lead Designer
for MegaMan NT Warrior TCG. Decipher revealed plans to launch MegaMan NT
Warrior TCG exclusively to the hobby market on June 23rd. Their plan is
to give hobby retailers the entire summer to establish their customer bases
and develop communities through both league and tournament play. Decipher
will support hobby retailers with an exclusive promotional card program
throughout the summer; consumers will receive two exclusive cards each month
in June, July and August with the purchase of $10 in MegaMan NT Warrior
TCG product. Cynthia Money, Vice President of Consumer Products of ShoPro
Entertainment was on hand to announce that the Kids' WB! have committed
to a Saturday morning time slot for MegaMan NT Warrior television show that
follows Pokemon and precedes Yu-Gi-Oh! – two extremely popular programs
for the network. The MegaMan NT Warrior cartoon premieres Saturday, May
1st and is expected to capture a very large audience. Money also hinted
that the 300% sales increase Capcom experienced with the video game category
last year is a hint of things to come from the MegaMan franchise in 2004.
THE RETURN OF 'WARS' GAME MECHANIC
During summits with distributors and retailers, Decipher announced plans
to launch a TCG utilizing the proprietary game mechanic created in 1995
for Decipher's popular Star Wars CCG. The proprietary 'Wars' mechanic involves
battles spread across a landscape of site and system locations and was the
first to feature a flow of deck resources. The mechanic is also noted for
original concepts like destiny numbers, site control, forfeiture and storyline-based
objectives.
"Many in the industry have compared Decipher's Star Wars CCG mechanics
to chess and other card games to checkers," said Tim Ellington, Director
of Decipher's TCG Studio. "Movement, placement, resource allocation, and
deep strategy are staples of this system. Since Decipher's Star Wars CCG
ended, we have received thousands of emails from players asking us to bring
back those mechanics. We believe now is the time." More detailed information
about the return of Decipher's ground-breaking game mechanic will be released
soon.
UNIQUE PROPRIETARY GAME
At the same time, Ellington announced that Decipher will be releasing
a proprietary trading card game in 2005 that is based upon a concept that
Decipher CEO President Warren Holland has been working on for several years.
Holland promises the game will be "unlike anything the trading card game
industry has never seen before." Sneak previews of the game, hosted by Holland
and Lead Designers of the game, are scheduled for Gen Con in August.
LORD OF THE RINGS AND STAR TREK STILL SELLING STRONG!
Decipher also announced product sell-outs for the latest expansions for
The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game and STAR TREK Second Edition
CCG. Siege of Gondor and Necessary Evil both sold out within a week of their
street date.
"Pre-orders were very strong on both sets reflecting a new shift in our
design philosophy that enhances game play. Consumers were very excited by
the preview cards we posted on Decipher.com and this translated to the retail
level," said Scott Gaeta, Director of Sales and Marketing for Decipher.
"We stress that the product is only sold out of our warehouse and is still
available in the distribution chain."
ENHANCED RETAIL PROGRAMS
Lastly, Decipher announced two new programs designed to benefit their
retail and distributor customers. For retailers, the Platinum Retail program
will provide any participating retailers that carry all Decipher hobby products
with free sales incentives, free POP items, information access, and a listing
on Decipher's Platinum Retail Locator which will be advertised on all Decipher
products and materials starting in August. The Master Distributor is an
elevated level of distributor that benefits from free shipping, promotions
and a featured listing on retailers.decipher.com. Distributors can get more
information on the Master Distributor program by emailing Scott.Gaeta@decipher.com.
For more information about the Platinum Retailer program, retailers should
email Mark.Tuttle@decipher.com.
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