PorchLight Entertainment and Multicom Publishing bring the story of "The First Christmas" to the interactive world of children

Business Wire,  June 23, 1997  

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LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 23, 1997--"The First Christmas", the premier title in PorchLight Entertainment's new "My Amazing Bible Journey" CD-ROM series for children, is scheduled for retail release in September 1997, it was jointly announced by Bruce D. Johnson, President of PorchLight and Tamara Attard, CEO of Multicom Publishing, (NASDAQ:MNET), who will be marketing and distributing "The First Christmas" to mass merchandising and computer retail channels.

With multiple games, activities and hands-on crafts, "The First Christmas" is unique in the children's CD-ROM category, bringing the evergreen, timeless material of the best-selling book of all time, "The Bible", within the easy grasp of children worldwide. With non-denominational storytelling that appeals to people of many faiths, the click-and-explore format encourages interactivity, exploration and imagination.

"This CD-ROM is endlessly entertaining," said Johnson, "and creates real excitement for the whole family about the entire Christmas season."

Targeted to children 4-10, "The First Christmas" places a strong emphasis on family activities, encouraging friends and families of the user to join together for unlimited hours of interactive storytelling, activities, songs and educational games.

"We really like the unique approach PorchLight took in designing this rich product," said Tamara Attard, chairman and CEO of Multicom. "It doesn't focus solely on keeping kids in front of the computer, but rather on enriching their lives through crafts, activities and games. `The First Christmas' will be a welcome addition to our line of quality titles."

This holiday CD-ROM uniquely integrates a creativity center, activity center, game area, and interactive storybook to form an entertaining and multifaceted software title. Featuring a richly illustrated interactive storybook, "The First Christmas" will engage users in a faithful, yet entertaining telling of the classical Biblical story of the nativity, with multiple animated clickables and read-along audio.

In addition, "The Cardmaker" allows users to create their own holiday cards, using background images, sticker objects, people, animals, and unique drawing tools. "The Storymaker" allows users to write their own holiday stories, and illustrate them with images from the title, providing the perfect opportunity for kids to create their own, personalized holiday gifts for family members and loved ones. "The Invitation-maker" is the perfect outlet for kids and family members to create colorful, personalized invitations for the holidays, birthdays and other party events!

In the game area, the title brings entertainment and education together through classic games and thought-provoking activities. From fast-paced hand-eye coordination challenges and memory concentration activities to word fun and puzzlemaking, "The First Christmas" provides hours of play to kids and adults alike.

Also unique to "The First Christmas" are the multiple activities provided for days of off-line use. Touching on favorite holiday practices such as Christmas caroling, making arts & crafts gifts, holiday baking and outdoor games, "The First Christmas" provides both indoor and outdoor fun for the whole family.

"We wanted to capture the spirit of Christmas," said Karen Butler, executive producer of the title. "We found that to most people Christmas is about spending quality time with family and loved ones, so we really focused on that aspect of the title."

"The First Christmas" will be available in the mass market in September 1997 for the Mac/Win formats.

Founded in 1995 by veteran entertainment executives Bruce D. Johnson and William T. Baumann, PorchLight Entertainment is committed to the creation, development, production and distribution of high quality entertainment for worldwide family audiences in a variety of media. Since its formation, PorchLight has garnered a great deal of attention from broadcasters and press alike for its unique and high quality family programming. In addition to its animated and live action series for children, the company also produces telefilms, documentaries, CD- ROMS, and technologically advanced entertaining episodic content for the Internet.

Multicom Publishingr Inc., founded in 1991, creates and distributes high quality, award-winning titles, developed with the most respected consumer brands in the world. Working with companies such as Better Homes and Gardens(R), American Express Publishing(R), The Home Depot(R) and world renowned authors, the company delivers the most highly regarded lifestyle multimedia. The company specializes in offering a variety of high-quality culinary, do-it-yourself and educational interactive products at attractive consumer price points.