August 24^th, 2002 (12:00am) - Keely Hopkins, Researcher, Guinness World Records, certified today’s record at Mario’s Spaghetti Plunge, an event celebrating the release of Super Mario Sunshine(TM) for NINTENDO GAMECUBE(TM) starring legendary Italian plumber and video game star, Mario.

"Nintendo surpassed the previous Guinness World Records of 2,564 pounds of pasta by more than 700 pounds," Hopkins said. "Nintendo served up 3,265 pounds of pasta and now holds the Guinness World Record."

The three-foot high, 10-foot wide bowl contained oodles of noodles prepared by Buca Di Beppo. Once the record was authenticated, six Nintendo fans all dressed as Mario, took a "delicio dive" into the delectable spaghetti to find Nintendo prizes, including a grand-prize trip to Hawaii.

"Today’s Mario Spaghetti Plunge proves how devoted people are to our lovable Mario," says Perrin Kaplan, vice president of marketing and corporate affairs, Nintendo of America Inc. "It was absolutely comical to see Mario look-alikes diving into a giant bowl of pasta like human meatballs."

As the worldwide leader and innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co. Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its popular home video game systems. The systems include Game Boy(R), Nintendo(R) 64, Game Boy Advance and NINTENDO GAMECUBE(TM). Since the release of its first home video game system in 1983, Nintendo has sold more than 1.6 billion video games worldwide, creating enduring industry icons such as Mario(TM) and Donkey Kong(R) and launching such franchises as Zelda(TM) and Pokemon(R). As a wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in the Western Hemisphere.

~ditto~