VIZ Names New VP of Sales

Date: Friday, April 16, 2004

Executive joins company bringing 20 years of experience in gaming and multimedia entertainment arenas.



San Francisco, Calif, April 15, 2004 ? VIZ, LLC, one of the leading publishers and distributors of manga and anime content for North American audiences, announced today that it has named Joseph Morici as the company's new vice president of sales.



In his new role, Morici will tap his 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry to help continue to establish VIZ as the dominant distributor of manga content for North American audiences. As vice president of sales, Morici will be responsible for the overall coordination, functional management and leadership of all of sales activities. He will also lead a sales force in the development and implementation of all sales strategies across a variety of vertical markets and work closely with VIZ's nationwide network of vendors. Morici was previously the senior vice president of sales of Metro3D, Inc., San Jose-based a multi-platform video game developer and publisher.



"We are pleased to have Mr. Morici join our executive team," states Mr. Seiji Horibuchi, president and CEO of VIZ. "Joseph's experience in sales management and business development will be an asset in helping VIZ to continue to be a leader in its existing markets while simultaneously incubating new arenas for the company's products. I look forward to him working closely with the entire VIZ team and making great contributions to the company's future."



A 20-year veteran of the entertainment and gaming industries, Morici possesses an extensive professional background, serving in a variety of executive management roles for companies that have included Metro3D, Inc., BAM Entertainment, Fujitsu Interactive, Inc., Simply Interactive, Gametek, Inc., Capcom USA, and Bally Distributing. Most recently, Morici served as senior vice president of sales and was a founding member of Metro3D, where was responsible for the entire North American and international distribution channels for Metro3D, as well as managing all national marketing, public relations, sales and distribution operations. Among his accomplishments, Moroici also served as the 1993 to 1994 vice chairman elect of the Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA).



"I am pleased to become a part of the VIZ team, and I look forward to using all of my business acumen to help drive the company's success," adds Morici. "VIZ possesses one of the most successful and established legacies in offering anime and manga titles for English-speaking audiences. I am committed to growing the company's market share to make it the dominant distributor and look forward to working with the entire VIZ executive team."




About VIZ, LLC

Founded in 1986, VIZ is a multi-media entertainment company specializing in Japanese entertainment properties for U.S. audiences. VIZ offers an integrated product line including magazines, graphic novels, videos, DVDs and audio soundtracks. Each month, VIZ publishes three magazines ? ANIMERICA, ANIMERICA EXTRA and SHONEN JUMP; over 20 graphic novel titles, including ALICE 19th, BOYS OVER FLOWERS, DRAGON BALL Z, FUSHIGI YÛGI, GUNDAM, INUYASHA, RANMA 12, and YU-GI-OH!; and distributes home video for BOYS OVER FLOWERS, HAMTARO, INUYASHA, POKéMON, PROJECT ARMS, and ZOIDS.



Based in San Francisco, VIZ is one of the top five comics publishers in the U.S. and a subsidiary of Shogakukan and Shueisha Inc., two of the top publishers in Japan. VIZ is the leading publisher of manga for English speaking audiences, serving a growing market of dedicated fans of all ages. Estimating a core audience of nearly 15 million fans, the company holds more than a 50% market share of Japanese comics in the U.S. With some of the most innovative products in the industry, VIZ has expanded its offerings to its loyal fans through web sites such as www.animerica-mag.com, www.shonenjump.com, and its corporate site, www.viz.com.