Tetrisphere

TETRISPHERE: IT'S OUT OF THIS WORLD

First Puzzle Game for Nintendo 64 Brings a New, Unique, 3-D Spin to a Classic

REDMOND, Wash., August 7, 1997 -- Tetris is the most popular -- and compulsive -- puzzle video game of all time. And with the release of Tetrisphere for Nintendo 64, Tetris has arrived in 3-D. On August 11, Nintendo of America Inc. will launch Tetrisphere, and change the world of home video puzzle games. The one- or two-player game will have a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $69.95.

Tetrisphere features several immersive game play modes, including a frenetic multi-player mode; gorgeous Nintendo 64 graphics, including brilliantly colored 3-D puzzle pieces; unique special effects; awesome explosions and mesmerizing backgrounds; and 14 different pulsating, techno-funk soundtracks.

"The Tetris phenomenon is back," says Peter Main, Nintendo of America's executive vice president, sales and marketing. "This is a game that will appeal to people across the board: kids and adults, male and female, new and experienced game players, puzzle game fans and action game fans. It's got something for everyone."

Developed by the Canadian software developer H2O Entertainment, Tetrisphere will take a minute to learn and a lifetime to master. Similar to the previous versions of Tetris, the game play requires players to drop a puzzle piece onto the playing surface, in this case a rotating sphere, in order to create a match with other pieces, thereby removing them from the sphere. The challenge comes as players attempt to remove several layers of the puzzle, piece by piece, to reach the core of the sphere before time runs out. In order to remove pieces, players must match three or more identical pieces. Players have the ability to move the pieces on the sphere to best position them with the piece being dropped.

Tetrisphere includes training for each of the different play modes. There are five games for individual players: Rescue, Hide & Seek, Puzzle, Time Trial and VS. CPU, and also a practice mode for players to hone their Tetrisphere skills.

The multi-player VS. mode adds elements not found in the one-player games, including the added surprise of Dark Pieces -- shapes which drop on an opponent's sphere after combination moves are performed. VS. mode allows up to eight people to register to play, with each new player rotating in to play the winner of the previous match. A scoreboard shows the win and loss totals of all of the players.

Tetrisphere includes futuristic robot characters to choose from, with each robot possessing different degrees of power and speed, enabling players to tailor their puzzle piece movement. In the Rescue and Hide & Seek modes, the robot characters are trapped inside the sphere until a space big enough is cleared on the core to set the character free.

Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, is the leader in the worldwide $15 billion retail video game industry. Nintendo manufactures and markets hardware and software for its best-selling home video game systems, including the hand-held Game Boy, the 16-bit Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and the 64-bit Nintendo 64, the fastest selling video game system in history. As a wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere, where more than 40 percent of American households own a Nintendo game system. For more information about Tetrisphere, Nintendo 64, or any other Nintendo product, log on to Nintendo's Web site on the Internet, www.nintendo.com.

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Press Release

What would you do if your friends were trapped at the core of a sphere layered in hundreds of Tetris pieces? You'd have a BLAST! Tetrisphere is a whole new way to play Tetris, the world's most popular home video puzzle game.

Explore over 300 levels of unique 3-D gameplay charged with high-voltage action. Choose to take control of Wheels, Jak, Rocket, Gear, Turbine or Stomp to experience 3-D puzzle excitement like never before!

• Amazing 3-D imagery features fluid animations and awesome special effects!
• Over 300 levels of play!
• Seven different robots, each with a unique personality!
• Try all five different one-player modes.
• Go head-to-head with a friend in the high intensity Vs. mode!

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Back Cover - N64 (US)

The first puzzle game for the N64 is a spinning and flashing 3-D blast!

In Tetrisphere, you blast your way to the core of a giant sphere. But that's a bit like saying Mario is just another guy with a moustache. Tetrisphere looks to be another dazzling time-killer in the tradition of Tetris and Tetris Attack. It's no surprise to find out that Alexei Pajitnov, the creator of the original Tetris, consulted on the game's development.

The basic objective is to drop pieces next to two or more like-shaped pieces. All the pieces must be flush -- touching corners doesn't count! All the pieces in a successful combo will explode, opening up a path into the sphere. On all the but easiest settings, it will take lots of explosions to clear a path to the core.

Drop a piece that fails to make a combo, and you'll lose a life. Lose three lives and the the game is over. You'll have to watch your Speed Meter -- if you don't move fast enough, the sphere will grow and grow like a Japanese movie monster. When it gets big enough, it will bump into your screen, forcing you to drop a piece and loose a life.

You can move pieces around on the Tetrisphere to set up huge combos, which, believe us, are very very good. That's because the more pieces are in a combo, the bigger the score in your Combo Counter. Successful combos will create glowing Power Pieces.

You can actually pick up Power Pieces, moving them up one level on the Tetrisphere. You can't do that with regular pieces. What's more, combos with Power Pieces explode more slowly than regular combos. If you're quick, you can fire off additional combos, giving you even a bigger Combo Count.

Whopping big Combo Counts also earn you Magic boom-boom devices such as a Firecacker, Bomb and Ray Gun.

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www.nintendo.com – Nintendo 64