Los Angeles, CA - July 18, 2002 - Hero Factory and Harmony Gold are proud to announce an all-new line of Robotech® trading cards.

Hero Factory will produce trading card collector sets based on the popular Robotech television series, featuring classic illustrations and brand new artwork by Harmony Gold. The trading card set will use the highest quality printing techniques and Hero Factory plans to include autographed cards from artists and voice actors. The trading cards release date has been targeted for Fall 2002.

Robotech exploded onto syndicated television in 1985, and introduced an entire generation of viewers to anime. Robotech has maintained a loyal fan base over the last 17 years through TV syndication, releases of toys, comic books, novels, role playing games, home videos and next-generation console games. In 2001, Harmony Gold launched their new web site Robotech.com, which soon had the largest anime community on the Internet with hundreds of millions of hits to date.

"I was a huge fan of the Robotech TV series and we moved as quickly as possible when we learned that the trading card license was available. Our company is very excited about working with Harmony Gold to create unique collectible items for the fans of Robotech" said James Takenaka, Director of Operations of Hero Factory.

"We are extremely pleased to be working with Mr. Takenaka and Hero Factory in the development of Robotech trading cards, said Alan Letz, Executive Vice President, Business Development, Harmony Gold. "With Hero Factory's expertise in the development and marketing of collectible trading cards (Ice Age, Stuart Little 2) combined with the tremendous popularity of the Robotech franchise worldwide, we are confident that the Robotech trading cards will be in high demand by the devoted fans of this successful series," commented Letz.

About the Hero Factory
The Hero Factory specializes in the category of children's toys and collectibles, and partners with top licensing companies to manufacture and market popular licensed products. Hero Factory is a new division within Itochu International Inc., a subsidiary of Itochu Corporation, which is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About Robotech
Produced by Harmony Gold in 1985, Robotech fueled the transforming robot craze and drew legions of loyal fans with its richly detailed Japanese animation featuring dazzling science-fiction drama. Robotech continues to be one of the most recognized animated television series to this day. Its ground-breaking production design also launched a worldwide licensing phenomenon that has spawned several toy lines, musical soundtracks, dozens of novels, role-playing games, collectibles, and apparel and over 300 comic books. More information about Robotech is available at Robotech.com.

About Harmony Gold
Formed in 1983, Harmony Gold is a leading production, acquisition and distribution company of quality international television programming, producing some of the most classic and history-making programs in the industry. Harmony Gold is a division of The Harmony Gold Companies, whose interests range from theater management, real estate and finance to film and television production.