October 16, 2003 (SEATTLE) — The world’s hottest new game
company moves up to the big leagues today. WizKids, Inc, a subsidiary
of The Topps Company, has unveiled plans to market a collectable baseball
game under a licensing agreement with Major League Baseball™ and
the Major League Baseball Players Association.
MLB™ SportsClix™, the company’s first sports-themed
entry into the collectable miniatures game (CMG) market, will hit store
shelves during baseball’s 2004 spring training. It features real
major leaguers sculpted as two-inch-high 3-D game pieces. MLB SportsClix
gameplayers act as team managers, collecting and trading the miniature
baseballers to face each other on a ballpark playmat.
“We think the combination of fun strategic game-play, and the excitement
of collecting your favorite players, will appeal to fans of all ages,”
said Scott Silverstein, executive vice president of The Topps Company.
MLB SportsClix simulates real game situations by using specially-designed
dice together with actual statistics that are contained in each player-specific
figurine. The Alex Rodriguez figure, for example, will be a more powerful
player in the SportsClix world just as he is in real life. And
Mark Prior will be an intimidating presence on the mound.
“In our game, anyone can decide starting lineups, where to play
the fielders and what kinds of pitches to throw. It simulates what it’s
like to make the important decisions that affect the outcome of a real
big-league game,” said Jordan Weisman, founder and CEO of WizKids.
“Anyone who enjoys baseball will have fun playing MLB SportsClix.”
MLB SportsClix will be available at leading retailers nationwide
in March 2004. It will be sold in Starter Sets and Booster Packs. Starter
Sets will contain a full team of nine figures, a stadium playmat, dice,
rules, and everything else one player needs to field a team. The suggested
retail price will be $19.99. Booster Packs allow collectors to add major
leaguers to their teams. Two-figure Boosters will retail for $4.99, three-figure
Boosters at $6.99.
Acquired by The Topps Company Inc. in July 2003, WizKids manufactures
and distributes collectable miniatures games. The company invented the
category, and its games are now played in more than 56 countries worldwide.
To date, WizKids has sold more than 100 million miniature figures under
the Mage Knight™, MechWarrior® and HeroClix™ game
brands, making it one of the fastest-growing game companies in the United
States. For more information, visit www.wizkidsgames.com.
The Topps Company (www.topps.com),
founded in l938 as Topps Chewing Gum, is an international marketer of
kids' entertainment products, principally candy, collectable trading cards,
sticker album collections and miniature games. ©2003 WizKids Inc.
All rights reserved. MechWarrior, SportsClix, Mage Knight, HeroClix and
WizKids are trademarks of WizKids Inc.
Official Licensee—Major League Baseball Players Association. www.bigleaguers.com
Major League Baseball trademarks and copyrights are used with permission
of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. MLB.com.
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Name: Ichiro
Collector's Number: AL Promo #1
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