Sybex Partners with Nintendo of America to Publish Officially Licensed "Novelization" of Pokémon™ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE San Francisco, CA, March 3, 1999
Sybex Inc., one of the country's leading publishers of video and computer game strategy guides, announced today that it will publish an officially licensed "novelization" of Nintendo's best-selling Game Boy title, Pokémon™. Video game expert Jason R. Rich has been tapped to write the book. "Very few games have created a world wide phenomenon like Pokémon," said Rich. "
This novel will appeal to Pokémon fans of all ages." Scheduled for publication in March 1999, Pokémon - Pathways to Adventure™ ($9.99) will be lavishly illustrated with full-color art featuring characters from the game. "While this retelling of Pokémon in story form provides readers with the clues they need to find the best pathways through the game, as well as how to catch, train and fight Pokémon, it can also be enjoyed completely on its own for the exciting adventure," said Roger Stewart, associate publisher at Sybex.
The book will be the second title in Sybex's new Pathways To Adventure series, which places characters from the hottest selling video and computer games into stories based on the games. "What makes this concept different from other licensed game novels is that, as someone reads the story, they'll discover valuable gameplay strategies and secrets that will actually help them beat the game," explained author Jason Rich. With consumers snapping up more than 200,000 copies of the Pokémon game in its first two weeks of availability, it has become the fastest-selling portable game in American history.
The Pokémon game craze, centered on the collection, nurturing, training and interaction among 150+ different small monsters with unique skills, first hit store shelves September 28th. Its arrival followed a 30-month period of fanatical popularity in Japan, where more than 10 million Pokemon games have been sold.
About the author: Jason R. Rich is the author of more than 25 video and computer game strategy guides, as well as other books that target kid and teen audiences. He is associate producer of the Emmy Award-winning Kids Talk Sports television show (New England Cable News) and has worked as a co-producer of the Peabody Award-winning Kid Company and Kids America radio shows. His video game-related articles appear in Disney Adventures, GameWeek, The Chicago Tribune, Family PC, ESPN magazine and other national publications.
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