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MEAN HAMSTER SOFTWARE ACQUIRES RIGHTS TO ENTIRE LINE OF ARCADE LEGEND EXIDY

MEAN HAMSTER SOFTWARE TO REVAMP AN OLD CLASSIC

Deer Park, WA, U.S.A., March 1, 2006 – Mean Hamster Software, Inc., the Spokane area, Washington based developer of the award wining Myst And Riven for Pocket PC, revealed today the acquisition of development rights to the entire line of Arcade game pioneer Exidy. Originally released between 1976 and 1996, Exidy created many innovative titles, which at the time were considered revolutionary. The first title to be worked on is Crossbow, the first game with fully digitized sound and graphics (previous games featured only pre-recorded cassette tape based sounds sound). It also featured some of the most advanced graphics for the time.

Crossbow™ will be an upgraded scene for scene remake of the original arcade classic but will feature enhanced 1024x768 resolution graphics, sounds and music for today's high powered PCs and mobile devices.

Mean Hamster Software's president John Swiderski commented: "We have always found Exidy historically interesting and it has been a lot of fun revamping one of our own personal favorite games of all time. It's been great to work with such a pioneer of the industry. Exidy was known for trying new and innovative things, regardless of how the public would accept it, now more then ever the industry is desperately in need for new and innovative ideas."

About Exidy – One of the largest creators of arcade video games during the early period of video games, from 1975-1983. Some of the most notable games released included Crossbow, Fire One, Star Fire, Venture, Pepper II, and Mouse-Trap. Exidy was most famous for its light gun games, beginning with the game Crossbow. They were unusual because the goal is to protect characters walking through the scenes by shooting down ghosts and other creatures which are trying to attack them. These games were also the first to feature fully digitized sound, for all sound effects and for music (much more advanced than any other games at the time up until the 16-bit generation). Exidy also made a brief entry into the computer market, with the Exidy Sorcerer computer released in 1978.

About Mean Hamster Software – Since 1985 Mean Hamster Software has developed and published numerous titles for the Commodore 64 and Amiga computers. Mean Hamster Software has focused on supporting the ‘Retro Gaming’ community, writing new software and supporting the ‘retired’ systems, releasing the world’s first new title for the aged Atari 5200 system since 1985. Mean Hamster Software more recently converted the award wining Myst and Riven (Myst 2) for Pocket PC and is currently developing several titles with other valued partners for most portable/hand-held platforms as well as for Online and Windows PCs. For more information please visit http://www.meanhamstersoftware.com

For more information, please contact:

John Swiderski
Mean Hamster Software Inc.
++509 276 1550
Support@meanhamstersoftware.com

 

FIRST STAR SOFTWARE AND MEAN HAMSTER SOFTWARE ANNOUNCE CO-DEVELOPMENT OF ‘GREATEST HITS’ COMPENDIUM

14-TITLE COMPILATION CD-ROM FOR WINDOWS FEATURES ORIGINAL 1980’S AND 90’S RETRO GAMING HITS

CHAPPAQUA, NY, U.S.A., November 22, 2004 -- First Star Software, Inc., the Westchester, New York developer and publisher of award winning games, today announced their co-development agreement with Mean Hamster Software of Deer Park, Washington. The companies have joined together to create the first compilation of First Star’s classic games from the 1980’s and 1990’s. First Star Software’s Greatest Hits will be released in time for Christmas and contains fourteen of First Star's early best-selling titles on a single disc. Millions of units of these classics been sold, with four titles having been released into the coin-operated arcades.

All games are their original versions, launched automatically by emulation software enabling players to enjoy Commodore 64; Atari 8 bit and 16 bit; as well as DOS versions of these retro-gaming masterpieces on their Windows computers supporting these minimum system requirements: Windows® 95 or higher (Windows 98 or higher recommended); Pentium® 166 MMX Processor (300 MHz Pentium® II, Celeron or AMD processor recommended); 16x CD ROM Drive; 32 MB Ram (64 MB recommended); Video Card and Sound Card with DirectX® 6.1 compatible drivers; 640x480 Resolution with 16-Bit Color or higher; and, 2 MB Hard Disk space for saving games.

First Star’s president, Richard M. Spitalny states: "Now, for the first time ever, 14 of First Star's early releases can be purchased all together. The compilation includes one game never released before; the never-before-released Commodore 64 version of a game originally licensed to Radio Shack; and, the sorts of 'extras' collectors value and enjoy such as scans of foreign and domestic boxes, memorabilia, original instruction booklets; prototype art; even video clips of interviews with the company's founders. Up until now, we were not able to satisfy the requests of fans who want to play our older games on their Windows computers."

Mean Hamster Software’s president John Swiderski commented: "It's both an honor and a privilege to be working with such an historic company as First Star Software to produce this compilation. One has to appreciate the original programmers’ efforts involved in the production of these games; this was the golden age of gaming when games were all about game play and creativity. Now fans of all ages can enjoy their classic, First Star favorites on their modern-day PC."

About First Star Software, Inc. Founded in 1982, First Star develops, licenses and publishes games across all platforms including cell-phones, hand-held devices, home computers and next generation consoles. A privately held corporation, First Star’s titles are distributed extensively worldwide. For more information please visit http://www.firststarsoftware.com.

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