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Toshiba SD2300 DVD Player Racks Up Initial Sales
Consumer Electronics Show/LAS VEGAS, NV- VM Labs today announced several upcoming NUON™ interactive software titles from Hasbro Interactive and Taito Corporation. Initial Hasbro Interactive NUON titles will include MONOPOLY, THE GAME OF LIFE and BREAKOUT video games, all scheduled for release in Q2 of 2001. Taito also has at least three NUON games planned, including RC de GO! BUST-A-MOVE 4 and SPACE INVADERS 2001 scheduled for release in the second and third quarters. These games join a number of other NUON software and peripherals on shelves now, as well as previously announced titles slated to ship in the coming weeks. Similar to NUON software now on shelves, all games currently in the works are anticipated to ship with an MSRP of $29.95. "NUON is the choice for consumers who are looking to have the ultimate DVD player," said Paul Culberg Executive Vice President, VM Labs, developer of the NUON technology. "The next logical step in the future of NUON based home entertainment is the arrival of more NUON software, enhancing the package by offering consumers the best DVD has to offer, plus games and peripherals to go along with it." The MONOPOLY and THE GAME OF LIFE video games are based on the classic family board games. BREAKOUT is an all-new edition of the arcade classic. BUST-A-MOVE 4 offers dozens of new levels based on the classic puzzler, while SPACE INVADERS 2001 is also an enhanced classic arcade experience. RC de Go! is a top selling Japanese game, wherein players craft their own remote control racer and choose from more than a dozen on and off-road tracks. NUON game titles now in stores include, FREEFALL 3050A.D., TEMPEST 3000 and MERLIN RACING. Distributed by DVD International, these initial games are available at specialty retailers nationwide including the good guys!, Tower Records, The Wiz, and Laserland; and on line at Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, 800.com, DVDPlanet.com and CDNow.com. "Hasbro's properties are family classics with mass market appeal -- which is why we think they are perfectly suited for NUON DVD gaming," said John Hurlbut, General Manager, Hasbro Interactive, "The appeal of NUON to a broad market enables us to deliver our interactive products to an ever larger audience." "Partnering with NUON enables Taito Corporation to reach a very large untapped audience, bringing our games to consumers who don't own dedicated gaming platforms", stated Masaaki Ohzuno, Taito's Licensing Department Manager. "We are delighted to deliver classic arcade titles like BUST-A-MOVE 4 and SPACE INVADERS 2001, and other games like RC de Go!, and make them available for NUON enhanced DVD Players". A variety of NUON compatible peripherals and accessories are also now available from Hot Products. Inc. (HPI). The "Warrior" ($24.99 SRP) is a rugged gamepad controller that offers all of the functions required to play games on a NUON enhanced DVD player. The "Stealth" ($34.99 SRP) adds ergonomic advantages to game play including an integrated precision analog stick. An Extension Cable ($9.99 SRP) adds five feet to the length of any NUON controller, and HPI's Port Replicator ($19.99 SRP) enables consumers to relocate their built-in NUON controller ports to other locations. "Hot Products, Inc. is dedicated to supporting NUON hardware owners with the peripherals and accessories that will enhance their gaming experience," states Greg Struthers, Vice President of HPI's NUON Products Division. "We want consumers to enjoy their new interactive experiences on NUON enhanced DVD players as much as possible." DVD players that utilize NUON technology offer consumers a wide variety of new movie viewing features, such as the ability to use the menu while the movie plays, powerful zoom and pan, ultra-smooth forward and reverse shuttles, specialized film formatting and simultaneous multi-angle playback. NUON DVD players also have the ability to play games and display visual light shows while listening to music CDs. The first NUON enhanced player, the Samsung DVD N2000, made its debut in September 2000 with "Ballistic" software and a game controller packed in. The Toshiba SD-2300 was launched in October 2000 and includes "The Next Tetris" game as part of the DVD player package. Best Buy, the good guys!, Fry's Electronics, Ultimate Electronics, ABC Appliance, American TV and Appliance and The Wiz, as well as online e-tailers Amazon.com, Vanns.com and JandR.com report strong consumer interest and sales for the recently released Toshiba SD2300 player. "As the nation's leading retailer of DVD hardware and software, Best Buy is delighted to take the lead in presenting the latest in DVD technology", said James Koestler, Senior Buyer of DVD hardware at Best Buy. "We believe that the NUON advanced movie playback features, Virtual Light Machine, games and other future interactive capabilities make NUON enhanced DVD Players an affordable choice for consumers looking for something more than a basic DVD Player." About NUON: NUON is the technology behind the next generation of home video entertainment products. The powerful NUON media processor supports leading entertainment formats such as Dolby, MP3 and MPEG, improving the consumer experience with 128 bit processing. The NUON architecture provides the flexibility to support real-time upgrades for emerging content formats, as well as the digital rights management necessary for content providers. NUON transforms broadband set-tops and DVD players into total interactive entertainment systems with powerful movie playback features, NUON videogames and NUON enhanced movies. NUON can be found today in leading entertainment products including broadband set-top boxes from Motorola and DVD players from Samsung and Toshiba. NUON is a trademark of VM Labs, Inc. For more information about VM Labs or NUON, or to download artwork, please visit the website at http://www.nuon.tv About VM Labs: VM Labs is the developer and licensor of the NUON broadband entertainment platform, with applications including emerging broadband set-tops as well as cutting edge DVD players. The Company licenses its embedded semiconductor and software technologies to leading consumer electronics manufacturers, while licensing NUON authoring systems to movie and music studios, and interactive software publishers. VM Labs is a privately held company with offices in Mountain View, California, and Tokyo, Japan. NUON is a registered trademark of VM Labs, Inc. All rights reserved. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ###
Contact for VM Labs Incorporated:
Lee Hall
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