NINTENDO TO TAKE EXHIBIT SPACE AT VSDA CONVENTION IN JULY

DAN ALAIMO

REDMOND, Wash. -- For the first time, Nintendo of America has taken exhibit space at the Video Software Dealers Association convention, which will run July 24 to 27 in Las Vegas. This follows Nintendo's decision last month to sell directly to the rental trade. Before that, Nintendo had long opposed the rental of its video games. Nintendo will have a 30-foot by 40-foot booth at the show, the same size as the one taken by Sega of America, Redwood City, Calif., said Kelli Clayton, a spokeswoman for VSDA. "We think this is good for our members and good for Nintendo. We have a lot to learn about each other," said Clayton. "We also feel this helps the VSDA members and the industry as a whole move forward to new technological formats that build and expand our home video industry into a home entertainment industry." "This fits logically with our decision to begin working with the rental trade," said Perrin Kaplan, Nintendo's manager of corporate communications. "We are pragmatic business people and we know that a lot of our consumers rent before they buy, so we will be at the convention showing all of the great products for the second half of 1994." Nintendo and Sega will be part of a video game section at the show that will also include game developer Capcom U.S.A., Sunnyvale, Calif., among others, said VSDA's Clayton. "The size of the video game section is growing, and we expect it to grow rapidly with Nintendo's presence," she said. Nintendo has not yet decided whether it will take a more active role in the show, such as participating in seminars or sponsoring social events, said Kaplan. Sega is sponsoring a dinner on Tuesday night, July 26.