KONAMI SHIPS MARVEL TRADING CARD GAME FOR THE PSP SYSTEM TO RETAIL STORES NATIONWIDE

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. today announced that it has shipped Marvel Trading Card Game for the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system to retail stores nationwide. Based on the hit collectible card game from Upper Deck Entertainment, Marvel Trading Card Game lets players assemble their own original team of Super Heroes and Super Villains and wage battle in a deep single player campaign as well as massive online tournaments.

Marvel Trading Card Game puts the forces of the Marvel Universe into players' hands as they create a custom team of Super Heroes and Super Villains and do battle in strategic card-based clashes. With Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, the Avengers, The Incredible Hulk and hundreds more at their disposal, players will be able to experience incredible battles made possible by Upper Deck's "Vs. System," a dynamic card-based game engine. With numerous card types, players can produce decks that follow a number of different strategic options that will lead them down different paths to victory.

The single player story mode of Marvel Trading Card Game lets players choose a path of good or evil as they progress with a team of heroes or villains through a story penned by Marvel writer John Layman. In between each epic battle, players will accumulate more cards to incorporate into their deck and also view detailed comic book cut scenes drawn by Marvel artists Dave Ross, Keron Grant, Pat Olliffe and others that progress the game's story.

Highlighting the online infrastructure functionality of the PSP system, Marvel Trading Card Game features a persistent online community where players can compete with others in special game modes and tournaments, trade for cards and purchase new packs from the game's online store. New sets of cards will be available exclusively through the online store, letting players explore new strategic possibilities while refining their deck with the most up to date game content. Frequent tournaments sanctioned by Konami will let players put their skills and decks to the test, with the winners securing valuable prizes such as rare card sets.

Marvel Trading Card Game for the PSP system is rated "T" for Teen by the ESRB and carries a suggested retail price of $29.99. The game will also be released for the Nintendo DS™ and PC this spring. For more information, please visit www.konami.com.

And keep your eyes peeled to Marvel.com for more on the game, including a hands-on with the PC version.