The following press release was published on Oddballz.com
Wacky Computer Petz Found All Over the Web!
Oddballz eat, sleep and crave attention like normal pets, but that’s where the similarities end. Like all pets, Oddballz will grow and change depending on how the user treats them. Oddballz can be trained to do amazing tricks. However, Oddballz are extremely unpredictable and have been known to transform before your very eyes and react and interact in wacky ways. With a full toy shelf of transformers, seismo-balls, gravitation devices, grubs, sno-blasters and other fun stuff, users can expect unexplained mutations and hysterical reactions. Oddballz owners of any age can enjoy hours of endless fun, surprise and laughter.
“When we discovered Oddballz, we soon found new, unpredictable and unique behaviors we didn’t even know about” said John Scull, managing director, PF.Magic. “The fun and surprises you get with Oddballz makes you want to play with them more — you want to see what you can make happen next.”
In the first online collectable program of its kind, PF.Magic has gathered leading web partners to make Oddballz available on the net. Through an extensive partnership agreement with Happy Puppy, Home PC, KidSoft, WorldVillage and Orbitz and others in the future, each of the seven characters in the full retail product will be available for consumers to “sample” in Oddballz Starter Kits and download for free from the various partners’ web sites. In addition to the original set, for a limited time after launch, new Oddballz will become available for people to collect at no charge.
“We believe that the unique Collectables program increases the fun, surprise, and overall play value of Oddballz and is only possible because of the World Wide Web,” said Scull. “We’ve pulled together an extremely impressive group of partners whose sites draw diverse audiences, with whom we hope to build a large forum for Oddballz and ultimately the entire Computer Petz line.”
As with all the Computer Petz, Oddballz have screen saver functionality, but with an added twist. These zany creatures have minds of their own, often sneaking on and off your computer when in screen saver mode, and occasionally showing off unique behavior and unusual transformations, dancing and singing. In addition, there is password protection.
Oddballz is the third product in the company’s highly successful Petz line, which includes Dogz and Catz. Dogz quickly rose to one of the top selling slots on leading national computer retail charts. Dogz has sold well over 100,000 copies in the U.S. and is a top seller in Europe and Asia. Released in June, Catz is well on its way to similar success. Almost one million people have visited the Computer Petz web site (www.pfmagic.com) as a part of the Petz Cyber-Adoption program.
Oddballz is available on CD-ROM for Windows 95, Windows 3.1 and the Macintosh through leading software stores nationwide through an affiliate label relationship with Virgin Interactive Entertainment. All Computer Petz can also be purchased through PF.Magic’s direct number, 1-800-48-ADOPT, and through the company’s web site (http://www.oddballz.com) where consumers can “sample” Oddballz and ultimately adopt their own zany pet through E-commerce for $19.95.
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PF.Magic (http://www.pfmagic.com) PF. Magic, from its toy and game-filled offices in San Francisco’s “Multimedia Gulch,” is known for its interactive living characters, and innovative entertainment products. Since its start in 1991, the Company has developed several award-winning, cutting-edge products. These include Ballz, the first truly 3-D fighting game on the Sega Genesis, SNES and 3DO; and Max Magic, the world’s first electronic magic kit, hosted by an intelligent 3-D character. In the Fall of 1995, PF.Magic introduced the top selling Dogz, the first product in the Computer Petz line and in the Summer of 1996, introduced Catz. Located in San Francisco’s Multimedia Gulch, PF.Magic is privately held.
Happy Puppy (http://happypuppy.com) Happy Puppy is the #1 game site on the Internet, offering the easiest, fastest place online for gamers and gaming information. Happypuppy.com offers downloads, reviews, previews, hints, and game related merchandise. Contact: Bridget Massey 617-482-5917; bmassey@attitude.net
Home PC (http://www.homepcmag.com) Home PC magazine is published monthly by CMP Media Inc. Home PC provides easy-to-understand information about home computers, and each issue is packed with engaging features, trouble-shooting tips and first-hand product reviews. The magazines editors and columnist are the foremost experts in education, entertainment, and productivity products for home computers. Contact: Leslie Dunbar 516-562-7040; or Catherine Jarrat Koatz 516-562-7827
KidSoft (http://www.kidsoft.com) Based in Cupertino, California, KidSoft delivers quality software to computing families through multiple channels including direct mail and online. As the trusted leader for kids’ software, KidSoft also licenses popular titles from leading software developers for distribution under the KidSoft name in retail stores nationwide or can be purchased through Kidsoft’s online store. Contact: Jody Takata 408-342-3561; jody@kidsoft.com
WorldVillage (http://www.worldvillage.com) WorldVillage is a leading family-oriented Internet web site, created by InfoMedia, Inc. of Plano, Texas. The site, founded at http://www.worldvillage.com, features family-safe software reviews, online games, live chat, contests, cool sites, and dozens of other features. WorldVillage recently received the FamilyPC family tester recommended seal of approval. Contact: Joel Comm 972-422-9738; jcomm@worldvillage.com
Orbitz (http://www.orbitz.com) Clearly Canadian Beverage Corporation is a publicly held company which trades on both NASDAQ and the Vancouver Stock Exchange. Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, the company currently produces four different product lines, including its “Core Brand” Clearly Canadian sparkling flavoured water, which is distributed extensively in the United States and Canada and numerous countries world wide. Contact: Kelly Lendvoy 800-663-565
