Hasbro Arrives at 2003 Toy Fair with Some of the Hottest Toys

Hasbro Arrives at 2003 Toy Fair with Some of the Hottest Toys and Games in Family Entertainment; A Combination of Classic Brands, New Innovation and Technology Highlight 2003 Offerings

PAWTUCKET, R.I.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Toy Fair 2003

PAWTUCKET, R.I.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--February 10, 2003--With the hottest new technology and innovation, unique products for "tweens" and new twists on classic toys and games, Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS) will unveil its 2003 product line-up at the American International Toy Fair in New York City on February 16th. Also among Hasbro's line are new items from this past holiday season's hottest brands including FURREAL FRIENDS, G.I. JOE and BEYBLADE.

Highlights of Hasbro's 2003 toy and game lines include:

THIN-TRONIX

In 2003, "thin will be in" as Hasbro's Tiger Electronics brand introduces THIN-TRONIX - a revolutionary new line of fun, ultra-thin products sure to be a hit with tweens and teens alike.

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  POSTER PHONE - This is a radical twist on the standard wall phone. It's a real working speakerphone that's just over one inch thick and meant to be hung on a wall or door. The Poster Phone makes group calls easy and fun. The eye-catching design comes in two colors, hot pink and neon green. You can program up to five numbers into the Speed Dial memory and write those names in the erasable spaces on the poster. It's battery operated and comes with all accessories included. Just plug it into any existing phone line and dial away for endless hours of hands-free talk time. (Available: Spring; Approximate retail price: $24.99)

  
  
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  POSTER RADIO - Listening to your favorite radio station just got a little cooler with this tunable analog FM stereo that's just over one inch thick. Kids can decorate their rooms with it by hanging it on any door or wall. Comes with adjustable volume control and is battery operated. (Available: Spring; Approximate retail price: $24.99)

TWISTER MOVES Game

TWISTER MOVES is sure to get players on their feet and moving to the direction called out by two recorded DJs. The DJs (a male who directs the left side and a female who directs the right) engage in comedic banter as they provide dance move directions to the players. First players listen for the dance sequence as called out by the DJs, then they follow the moves on the TWISTER MOVES mat. Miss a move and you're out! Complete with three CDs, each with 60 minutes of dance-style music, and mats, the game has 200 different dance moves.

To personalize the experience and increase the challenge, at the beginning of each CD, players are allowed to make up their own special moves to incorporate into the game. Each CD increases in challenge and at the end of each there are three to six Super Sessions, where players have to successfully complete four sets of moves together as one sequence. (Ages: 8 & up; Approximate retail price: $19.99;

FURREAL FRIENDS

The FURREAL FRIENDS line from Hasbro's Tiger Electronics brand was one of 2002's blockbuster toy introductions. Kids across the country fell in love with FURREAL FRIENDS Cats and Kittens. And in 2003, FURREAL FRIENDS GO GO MY WALKIN' PUP joins the FURREAL FRIENDS family. Kids will have hours of fun playing with and loving their new family "pet." The incredible FURREAL FRIENDS line of electronic plush animals convincingly mimic the mannerisms unique to "real" household pets through life-like organic movements and sounds.

FURREAL FRIENDS GO GO MY WALKIN' PUP - Brand new for 2003, the FURREAL FRIENDS GO GO MY WALKIN' PUP toy is highlighted by Tiger's proprietary technology, including lifelike movements and actions - her head moves from side to side, her mouth and tail move as she walks towards you. Pet her and her tail wags; pet her side and watch her turn toward you! In addition, when you talk to her, she tracks your sound and moves to where you are! FURREAL FRIENDS GO GO MY WALKIN' PUP features a range of real dog sound effects, including barking and panting, and comes complete with a brush, bandana and bone. (Ages: 6 & up; Available: Fall; Approximate retail price: $49.99)

G.I. JOE

Hasbro's reintroduction of the G.I. JOE vs. COBRA theme was a tremendous hit with kids in 2002 and brought another year of excitement for the G.I. JOE brand. This year, kids will be introduced to the new SPY TROOPS -- an elite force of G.I. JOE members disguised as the enemy to stop COBRA from the inside - fantasy through an action-packed product line. And, for the first time since the 1980s, Hasbro will introduce a new G.I. JOE movie! The 44-minute DVD movie, called "SPY TROOOPS: The Movie," will be included with each NINJA SHOWDOWN 12-inch figure 2-pack this fall. Of course, a fleet of vehicles with brand new ACTION ATTACK electronic battle and engine sounds will also be available so kids can really get into the SPY TROOPS fantasy. (Approximate retail price: $3.99 and up; many items available now)

BEYBLADE

One of the hottest toys of 2002, the BEYBLADE phenomenon spun swiftly across the globe, winning fans, awards and rave reviews, including the Toy of the Year Award in the UK. More than two million BEYBLADE tops have been sold in the U.S. alone! Kids everywhere are playing with Hasbro's customizable, high-performance tops that battle. The BEYBLADE brand gets even more exciting in 2003 with new feature-based BEYBLADE tops coming out throughout the year, new deluxe launchers to enhance strategic play, and unique BEYSTADIUM arenas for new twists in the competition. There is even a new remote controlled top and launcher to take BEYBLADE matches to a whole new level of challenge. (Approximate retail price: $29.99; Ages: 8 & up; available in August)

EASY-BAKE REAL MEAL Oven

The EASY-BAKE Oven, the original kid's oven brand introduced in 1963, has been delighting the young and young-at-heart with pint size cooking fun for 40 years! To celebrate this exciting milestone and honor America's most beloved cooking toy and pop culture icon, Hasbro is introducing a brand new light bulb free oven! Now, you can make an entire meal from appetizer to dessert with the EASY-BAKE REAL MEAL Oven. Some of the new recipes include delicious cheese pizza, soft pretzels and mouthwatering macaroni and cheese. The EASY-BAKE REAL MEAL Oven comes with a special thermal indicator so you know when the oven is preheated and a working timer tells you when cooking time is up. (Ages: 8 & up; Available: Fall; Approximate retail price: $34.99)

MY LITTLE PONY CELEBRATION CASTLE

Little girls around the world have reason to celebrate as Hasbro brings the MY LITTLE PONY brand to life for a new generation in 2003. This treasured brand has been lovingly updated and returns with an extensive line of products that enable little girls to create their own magical MY LITTLE PONY world where fun and friendship reign! Girls will find all the magic of PONYVILLE in one beautiful castle! The MY LITTLE PONY CELEBRATION CASTLE includes the reason for the celebration

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  an exclusive baby pony figure - PINK SUNSPARKLE! This playful pony loves to explore all the rooms of her pretty castle and go for a ride in the hot-air balloon. Open the door and rainbow stars twinkle to beautiful MY LITTLE PONY music. To become part of the fun, girls can even remove the crown from the tower and wear it! Ponies can "magically" open the toy box with a touch and when she touches the stove, the top flips open to reveal a sink. The playset includes the PINK SUNSPARKLE figure, two turrets, crown, hot-air balloon, heart-shaped arch, rounded arch, moat, balcony, staircase, spinning disk, bed, toy box, vanity, comb, brush, wardrobe, hanger, tutu, pony crown, storage drawer, stove, two plates, two tea cups, tea pot, saucepan, label sheet and charm. (Ages: 3 & up; Available: Fall; Approximate retail price: $39.99)

TRANSFORMERS

The re-introduction of the TRANSFORMERS ROBOTS IN DISGUISE and new TRANSFORMERS ARMADA themes have again captured kids' imaginations, as the TRANSFORMERS brand has for nearly 20 years.

Kids and adult fans alike will be thrilled with the fall 2003 return of UNICRON, the most evil TRANSFORMERS character ever, in Hasbro's toy line and in new episodes of the animated program on Cartoon Network, "TRANSFORMERS ARMADA: THE UNICRON BATTLES." The toy version of UNICRON is a huge 16-inch robot -- one of the biggest TRANSFORMERS character ever created! UNICRON is a planet that changes into a robot, trying to take over control of all TRANSFORMERS. This most evil character can hold up to 24 MINI-CON figures, and has projectiles, light-up hands and eyes, traps and hiding places for MINI-CON figures and much more. (Approximate retail price: $49.99;

MAGIC: THE GATHERING

Few games have such a pervasive presence in our society as the MAGIC: THE GATHERING trading card game. Since its introduction a decade ago, a whole subculture, made up of more than 7 million players in 52 countries, has grown up around the MAGIC game and today, with interest in the fantasy genre of games, books and movies at an all-time high, MAGIC is getting even more attention.

MAGIC: THE GATHERING CORE GAME - A brand-new MAGIC card set that includes everything new players need to get started. The new core game will include both physical MAGIC cards and a MAGIC ONLINE CD-ROM, giving players the option to play tabletop or online - or on both platforms. (Ages: 12 & up; Available: Late July; Approximate Retail Price: $14.99)

DISNEY THEME PARKS

If there were one word to sum up the total experience of a visit to any of the incredible Disney parks, it would have to be magic! In 2003, Hasbro captures that unforgettable feeling with its new DISNEY THEME PARKS playsets featuring all sorts of surprises to unlock with a special KEY TO THE KINGDOM. Kids will love to recreate their most cherished memories of a visit to a Disney park, and even if they haven't experienced the magic yet, the Hasbro DISNEY THEME PARKS playsets will help them imagine a visit with Cinderella, Mickey Mouse and the whole gang of beloved Disney characters. There are three playsets included in the line, which will be available in July: MAGICAL WORLD OF DISNEY PLAYSET, IT'S A SMALL WORLD PLAYSET and DISNEY'S CINDERELLAS' GOLDEN CAROUSEL PLAYSET. (Approximate retail price: $14.99-24.99)

THE LION KING

Walt Disney Picture's "The Lion King" is the biggest animated feature film of all time and the "circle of life" will continue with Hasbro's all new line of adorable and interactive plush toys, figures and play sets. Hasbro brings to kids the movie's most memorable lines, the wacky characters, and the touching moments of SIMBA'S much-loved coming-of-age story. The star of the line will be MY SINGIN' SIMBA. This 13-inch plush SIMBA really hams it up, with his swishing tail and moving head, both rocking side-to-side as he sings! MY SINGIN' SIMBA also speaks signature lines from the movie, and "asks" kids questions and dances to any music he "hears"! (Approximate retail price: $29.99;

PROJAX

The PROJAX game is the collecting, catching, battling version of the classic game of Jacks. In PROJAX, players compete to be the first to get all five jacks out of the playing area. To do this, on each turn, a player bounces the ball in the air, and with his/her throwing hand must retrieve his/her jacks from the play area and the ball before it bounces.

Special power play cards are included in each of the PROJAX sets, and when a player removes a jack as indicated on the card from the play area, a power is unlocked. A player can use the power to reduce his/her opponent's moves or even add extra moves that the opponent must do when it's his/her turn.

PROJAX is available in three sets - Starter Set (5 ProJax, 3 Power Play Cards; ProJax Ball; 10 ID Bands & Instruction Booklet); Battle Arena Set (10 ProJax, 2 ProJax Mines, 6 Power Play Cards; ProJax Ball; ProJax Travel Carrier; Pop-Out Battle Arena; 20 ID Bands & Instruction Booklet); and Booster Set (4 ProJax, 2 Power Play Cards; 10 ID Bands, Quick-start Instructions) (Ages: 8 & up; Players: 1 or more; Approximate Retail: $4.99 (Starter); $9.99 (Arena); $2.99 (Booster);

NAKNAK

The hottest new way to play is here - the vertical, clickable world of Hasbro's NAKNAK, the first ever STACKING BATTLE action figures. NAKNAK combines creativity, coordination, competition, collectibility and coolness into a world of stackable action figures with names like GROOVYNAK, CHILLYNAK, ZO'NAK and GRUNTNAK. Kids' creativity will shine through while competing with others in captivating stacking contests called "NAKNAK Challenges," or engaging in a solo stacking challenge. The object, to have the most NAKNAK figures left at the end of the challenge, is accomplished by creative clicking and stacking and a steady hand that doesn't knock the stack over!

NAKNAK figures have a distinctive clicking sound that is sure to make NAKNAK a household sound as well as a household word. Each NAKNAK character can be posed into 80 different positions and belongs to groups called NAKNAK CLIKS, such as ROBO-NAKS, HUMANAKS, ALIENAKS figures and more. Hasbro will introduce more than 90 different NAKNAK figures throughout 2003, with each NAKNAK CLIK bringing new sculpts and designs that give kids additional stacking options and new challenges. In addition, playsets and accessories will be available later this year to bring the fun to a new "level." (Approximate retail price: $3.50-24.99; many items available now)

BULLZ-EYE BALL

Tiger Electronics new BULLZ-EYE BALL game brings back the great memories of those trips to the arcade where you couldn't walk away until you got a bulls-eye and even then it was still hard to leave. BULLZ-EYE BALL is that addictive target game that kids love and adults can't seem to get enough of. Players simply bounce marble-sized balls onto a mini trampoline-like platform in order to hit one of three targets built into the backboard of the game unit. A bulls-eye earns a player three points; the next target is worth two points and the bottom target is worth one point.

Players can choose from three game play options - how many points can you score in 30 seconds; how many bulls-eyes can you hit before you get 10 misses; and how long does it take for you to reach 25 points. The object is to beat the best score as recorded by the game. (Ages: 9 & up; Players: 1 or more; Approximate retail price: $19.99;

ABOUT HASBRO, INC.

Hasbro (NYSE:HAS) is a worldwide leader in children's and family leisure time 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 PLAYSKOOL, TONKA, MILTON BRADLEY, PARKER BROTHERS, TIGER and WIZARDS OF THE COAST brands and products provide the highest quality and most recognizable play experiences in the world.