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Pokemon Fans Can Now Choose Yahoo! Auctions To Bid On 's "I Choose You Pikachu™" Toys Charity Auction of "Must Have" for Holiday Season to Benefit Hasbro Children's Hospital

Pokemon Fans Can Now Choose Yahoo! Auctions To Bid On Hasbro's "I Choose You Pikachu™" Toys Charity Auction of "Must Have" Toy for Holiday Season to Benefit Hasbro Children's Hospital CINCINNATI, OH -- December 2, 1999 -- Consumers can help make a difference in the lives of children this holiday season by heading to Yahoo!® Auctions (http://auctions.yahoo.com). Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE: HAS) today announced that it has teamed with Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) to host a series of online auctions of Hasbro's "I Choose You Pikachu," already a hot toy since making its retail debut in November. "I Choose You Pikachu" is the first in a series of electronic plush Pokémon toys to be released by Hasbro, 's worldwide master toy and board licensee for Pokémon. "Pokémon, The First Movie " opened to record box office attendance in November. "I Choose You Pikachu" is no ordinary plush toy; it is an electronic plush version of the most popular Pokémon character of all, #25 Pikachu. The adorable eight-inch huggable Pikachu is the ultimate combination of today's hot electronic plush toy and the even hotter Pokémon phenomenon. All proceeds from the Yahoo! charity auction will benefit Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island. The more that kids interact with their "I Choose You Pikachu," the more talkative it gets. Squeeze its hand and Pikachu's mouth wiggles while saying its name (at first, "Pi," then "Pi-ka," then "Pikachu!"). Pikachu also shows its affection back to the child with ears that wiggle and electronic cheeks that glow bright red. "I Choose You Pikachu" even gives its owner a spoken reminder when it's been left alone for a few minutes. "We're thrilled to be able to offer our 'I Choose You Pikachu' through these Yahoo! Auctions to aid such a worthy cause," said Perry Drosos, vice president of marketing for Hasbro. "We believe Pokémon will be on just about every child's holiday wish list this year, and we hope people will bid generously to benefit Hasbro Children's Hospital."

The auctions began November 22 and will run through December 15. During this time people can visit Yahoo! Auctions at http://auctions.yahoo.com to bid on one of 50 "I Choose You Pikachu" Electronic Plush toys that will be auctioned for charity. There are three remaining auctions left in the Hasbro Charity Auction series, each running one week and with bids opening at $35. All 50 "I Choose You Pikachu" toys will come in packaging affixed with a limited edition sticker identifying each item as one of 50 offered during the auctions. Winning bidders will also receive a bonus gift -- the Pokémon Trading Card Game: Starter Gift Box from .

Hasbro Children's Hospital is the pediatric division of Rhode Island Hospital. Hasbro Children's Hospital, which is licensed for 87 beds, opened in 1994. "We are thrilled to once again be working with Yahoo! Auctions during the holiday season to raise money for our young patients and help improve the lives of seriously ill children. Last year, we received more than $45,000 as the beneficiary of the collaborative efforts of Hasbro, Inc., and Yahoo! Auctions. This year, we look forward to reaching out to even more children and to spreading holiday cheer to our nations' young patients in need," said Trisha Winton, special event manager, Hasbro Children's Hospital. "Pokémon is one of the fastest growing categories and one of the most searched items on Yahoo! Auctions, and we are thrilled to team up with Hasbro to offer one of the "must have" toys for this holiday season to our millions of users. By hosting the 'I Choose You Pikachu' charity auction, we can enable parents and Pokémon fans to easily find this unique toy," said Rich Godwin, brand manager, Yahoo! Auctions. "At the same time, Yahoo! Auctions can help a tremendous organization like Hasbro Children's Hospital continue to reach out to and meet the needs of the vital communities and the thousands of children they serve in a way that is fun, innovative, and life changing." In addition to bidding on "I Choose You Pikachu" through Yahoo! Auctions, consumers can also visit Yahoo! Shopping (http://shopping.yahoo.com), the Web's one-stop shopping destination for finding, comparing and buying just about anything. On "Black Friday," November 26, 1999, Pokémon was the most searched-for term on Yahoo! Shopping. Through Yahoo! Shopping, holiday shoppers can find more than 7,000 Pokémon-related merchandise from more than 150 Yahoo! Shopping retailers. In addition, people can click on Yahoo! Classifieds (http://classifieds.yahoo.com), the most popular classifieds' offering on the Web, for related Pokémon products. Nintendo originally launched Pokémon in Japan for the world's best-selling Game Boy® hand-held system, and watched the 150 creatures evolve into a cultural phenomenon. The franchise arrived in North America in September 1998 with the release of the Pokémon Blue and Red Game Boy , and has grown into a $5 billion dollar industry worldwide. Nintendo and its licensing agency, Leisure Concepts, Inc. (a division of 4Kids Entertainment), have licensed the franchise to more than 90 U.S.-based companies, whose products entertain millions of fans all over North America The Yahoo! Charity Auctions program is part of Yahoo! Auctions, the fastest-growing, globally-branded free auction site on the Internet. Yahoo! Auctions offers convenient access to more than 1.2 million simultaneous daily auctions and more than 3,600 diverse buying and selling categories. Through Yahoo! Auctions, sellers and buyers have access to an ever-expanding world of collectibles, a global community, a comprehensive set of tools, and unique programs such as Featured Auctions, Auctions Express, My Auctions Booth and Charity Auctions. Since May 1999, Yahoo! has rolled out 15 auction services in 11 languages. Hasbro is a worldwide leader in children's, family leisure time and entertainment products and services, including the design, manufacture and marketing of games and toys ranging from traditional to high-tech. Both internationally and in the U.S., its , KENNER, , ODDZON, , MILTON BRADLEY, , TIGER, HASBRO INTERACTIVE, MICROPROSE, GALOOB and WIZARDS OF THE COAST brands and products provide the highest quality and most recognizable play experiences in the world. # # # © 1995, 1996 and 1998 Nintendo, CREATURES, GAME FREAK. ™ and ® are trademarks of Nintendo. © 1999 Nintendo.