NAMCO HOMETEK INC. TO PUBLISH FIRST 3D "HELLO KITTY(R)" VIDEO GAME

"Hello Kitty(R) Roller Rescue" to Roll Exclusively onto Nintendo GameCube(TM) This Summer

News by GamesIndustry International Contributor

Published on April 21, 2005

SANTA CLARA, Calif., (April 21, 2005) - Leading video games developer and publisher Namco Hometek Inc. announced today the upcoming North American release of "Hello Kitty^® Roller Rescue" exclusively for the Nintendo GameCube^TM entertainment system. Developed by XPEC Entertainment Inc. and published by Namco Hometek Inc.,"Hello Kitty Roller Rescue" will enchant and delight fans of the beloved international icon in August 2005.

"The 'Hello Kitty' property is recognized and loved on a global scale," said Jeff Lujan, Business Unit Director of Namco Hometek Inc. "We are very excited to bring 'Hello Kitty' to life and give fans the chance to interact with her and other Sanrio character favorites in a delightful adventure."

"Hello Kitty Roller Rescue" is a 3D action-adventure game filled with endless exploration, whimsical worlds and more than 20 lovable Sanrio characters. In a quest to save Sanriotown from the menacing king of Block Planet, Hello Kitty and her friends must complete missions to thwart Block-O and his legions of evil - yet clumsy - troops from taking over their hometown. Players are immersed in a fully interactive 3D world, complete with beautiful 3D environments, sophisticated AI, zany character interactions and amusing puzzles.

For more information about Hello Kitty Roller Rescue, please visit

http://www.namco.com/games/hellokitty.

To download screenshots for Hello Kitty Roller Rescue, please visit

www.kohnkecomm.com/dl/namco/hello_kitty_announcement.zip.

About Namco Hometek Inc.

Namco Hometek Inc. is the U.S. consumer division of Namco Limited, a Tokyo-based world leader in the high-tech entertainment industry. Based in Santa Clara, CA, Namco Hometek Inc. is an award-winning video games publisher for next generation game consoles. Namco has created some of the industry's greatest video game franchises: "Tekken^®," "SOULCALIBUR^®," "Dead to Rights^®," "Pac-Man World^TM," "Ridge Racer^®," "Time Crisis^®" and "ACECOMBA ^TM." For more information about Namco and its products log onto www.namco.com.

About SANRIO

SANRIO develops, distributes and licenses a unique collection of over 12,000 gift, stationery and fashion accessory items for women of all ages. SANRIO was founded in 1960 based on the concept that a small gift can bring a big smile to a child of any age. Today there are over 300 SANRIO boutiques throughout the Western Hemisphere with 120 in the United States. In addition, SANRIO character-branded products are sold in over 10,000 U.S. locations including department, specialty stores and national chain stores. For more information, please visit www.sanrio.com.

"TEKKEN^®," "SOULCALIBUR^®," "PAC-MAN WORLD^TM," "Ridge Racer^®," "Time Crisis^®" and "ACECOMBAT^TM" are trademarks or registered trademarks of Namco Limited in the United States and/or other countries. "Dead to Rights^TM" is a trademark or registered trademark of Namco Hometek Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.

Hello Kitty^® is a Trademark of Sanrio Co., Ltd., used under license.