ThrustMaster Gets Silver Ball Fever, Introduces Wizzard™ Pinball Controller

PORTLAND, OR, October 23, 1995 -- ThrustMaster, Inc. (NASDAQ: TMSR) once again leads the way in innovation with the new Wizzard Pinball Controller. Now PC pinball wizards can forget about playing pinball with their keyboards, the Wizzard was designed to give the ultimate game advantage by providing more realistic interaction with pinball software games.

The Wizzard Pinball Controller is designed with two flipper controls that attach to either side of the player's keyboard. Each control features dual-stage flipper buttons which activate the upper and lower flippers independently in supported software titles. The Wizzard also features a custom designed optical potentiometer that senses table nudging and then relays that information to the software, just like a good hip-check on the real thing. If the player nudges the controls too hard, however, the player will tilt in the game.

"Currently, pinball games make the gamer use the left and right Ctrl or Shift keys for flipper buttons and the Alt keys to bump the table," said Alan Smith, Marketing Director for ThrustMaster. "The Wizzard eliminates the keyboard and provides much more realistic interaction with the game. We're pleased to introduce another innovative product that demonstrates our commitment to provide realistic and fully functional controllers for computer-based entertainment software."

In addition to the controls, ThrustMaster will also include the classic pinball game, Royal Flush™ by Amtex Software Corporation. Available on CD, Royal Flush features the original table design with authentic sounds, scrolling and stationary playfields, table tilt and slope adjustments, and high resolution capability.

Available for IBM and compatible PCs, the Wizzard Pinball Controller with software will be sold at a suggested retail price of $39.95 (U.S.). ThrustMaster expects to begin making its first shipments of the product in November.

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