KONAMI CONDUCTS NATIONWIDE COMPETITION TO CROWN THE FIRST EVER VIRTUAL AMERICAN IDOL

Contestants Compete On Konami’s All-New PlayStation®2 Music Video Game -- Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol

Virtual American Idol Contest Winner Presented With An All-Expense Paid Trip To A Taping Of The American Idol Television Show

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – October 13, 2006 – Crooners everywhere are invited to compete to become the world’s first virtual American Idol. Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc., today announced that the company will be taking its highly anticipated music game Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol for PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system on the road to malls across the country in search of the very first virtual American Idol winner. The Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Virtual Contest will kick off with a bang on October 13 - 14 at the Jacob J. Javitz Convention Center in New York City during the Ziff Davis Digital Life event. The contest will then journey to nine other major US markets, including Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, San Francisco, Boston, Los Angeles and Chicago. The grand-prize winner, to be announced on January 2, 2007, will win an all-expense paid trip to a taping of the American Idol show in Hollywood, Calif.

At each location consumers will register to participate, perform their chosen song from the game and be judged using the game’s advanced artificial intelligence system -- which tracks the singer’s accuracy and pitch. The top finishers in each market, based on their score, will have videos of their performance posted on the Internet from November 25 – December 22, for a final public voting at the Web site http://www.musicineverydirection.com. The grand prize includes airfare, accommodations and tickets to a taping of the American Idol TV show. Regional winners will win a copy of the game, and all entrants will receive a contest T-shirt, and a coupon for $5.00 off when pre-ordering through http://www.konami.com.

“In the Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Virtual Contest everyone from the millions of American Idol fans to Karaoke buffs everywhere can put their singing skills to the test using one of the holiday season’s most anticipated video games,” said Matt Knoles, Product Manager at Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. “Consumers around the country will get a sneak peek at Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol, which combines the drama and personality of the top-rated television show with the most advanced karaoke video game engine around.”

“American Idol has always encouraged people to step forward and live out their superstar dreams,” said FremantleMedia’s David Luner, Senior Vice President, FLW, North America. “We’re pleased to collaborate on something that expands the American Idol experience in such an original way.”

The virtual American Idol contest will visit the following locations:


New York, NY Jacob J. Javits Convention Center October 13-14
Philadelphia, PA King of Prussia Mall October 21
Dallas, TX The Parks at Arlington October 22
Washington D.C. St. Charles Towne Center October 28
Houston, TX Willowbrook Mall October 28
Atlanta, GA Lenox Square November 4
San Francisco, CA Stonestown Galleria November 4
Boston, MA Northshore Mall November 11
Los Angeles, CA Glendale Galleria November 11
Chicago, IL Woodfield Shopping Center November 18


About Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol

Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol allows players to play the part of an American Idol contestant as they audition, earn an invitation to Hollywood and ultimately perform in front of a crowd on center stage at the finale. Players can choose to sing from 40 all-new songs, including hits from the show, and receive verbal feedback on their performance from Idol judges Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson. The evaluation by the game's judges, and the level of popularity with the crowd will affect whether or not they move on to the next round of competition. Players will be able to construct their contestant with new skin tones, clothing, hair styles and accessories in the updated Character Creator mode, creating a specialized look that is sure to catch the attention of the judges and the crowd. Players can also import images of their face with the EyeToy� USB camera (for PlayStation®2) to bring themselves directly into the actual competition.

Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol is scheduled to launch this winter for PlayStation 2. For more information, please visit http://www.konami.com.

About Konami
Konami is a leading developer, publisher and manufacturer of electronic entertainment properties. Konami’s titles include the popular franchises Metal Gear Solid®, Silent Hill® and Castlevania®, among other top sellers. The latest information about Konami can be found on the Web at www.konami.com. Konami Corporation is a publicly traded company based in Tokyo, Japan with subsidiary offices, Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. in the United States and Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH in Frankfurt, Germany. Konami Corporation, the parent company of Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. is traded in the United States on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol KNM. Details of the products published by Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. can be found at www.konami.com.

About FremantleMedia Licensing Worldwide, Americas:
FremantleMedia Licensing Worldwide, Americas (FLW, Americas) is the licensing arm of FremantleMedia for North and South America. FremantleMedia one of the largest international creators and producers of program brands in the world, with leading prime time drama, serial drama, entertainment and factual entertainment programming in over 40 territories. FLW, Americas exploits FremantleMedia’s many strong brands, including the award winning, American Idol, the world’s longest running gameshow The Price Is Right, the ever-popular Family Feud, and other classic gameshows, across multiple off-screen platforms including merchandising campaigns, live events, sponsorship, interactive and wireless support, home entertainment and music publishing. FLW, Americas is also responsible for additional business diversification initiatives including a pioneering wireless channel delivering original made-for-mobile video content on demand.

FLW, Americas is part of FremantleMedia North America (FMNA). FMNA is on the leading edge of global broadcast production, developing some of television's most innovative and watched new programming. Based in Santa Monica and with offices in New York, FMNA has produced such genre-bending shows as the musical/reality phenomenon American Idol. In 2005, FremantleMedia programs garnered 16 Emmy nominations, including six for American Idol. Other credits include The Price Is Right (CBS), the longest-running gameshow in television history, the daily syndicated gameshow Family Feud, Distraction (Comedy Central), American Inventor (ABC), The Gameshow Marathon (CBS), America’s Got Talent (NBC), and the upcoming Monarch Cove (Lifetime).

FremantleMedia is the production arm of the RTL Group, Europe's largest television and radio broadcast company. With interests in 34 television channels and 30 radio stations in 10 countries, RTL Group is a division of leading integrated media and entertainment company Bertelsmann AG. For further information, visit www.fremantlemedia.com <http://www.fremantlemedia.com> <http://www.fremantlemedia.com/> .

About American Idol:
Fourteen-time Emmy-nominated AMERICAN IDOL is created and executive-produced by Simon Fuller, founder of 19 Entertainment, Ltd.; and executive-produced by Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO, FremantleMedia North America, Inc.; Nigel Lythgoe, President, 19 Television; and Ken Warwick, Executive Producer, FremantleMedia North America, Inc.

About 19 Entertainment:
19 Entertainment, Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of CKX, Inc. (NASDAQ: CKXE), was founded by Simon Fuller 21 years ago and acquired by CKX in March 2005. The company is recognized as a leading creator, provider and promoter of globally successful, music-based entertainment, or "Entertainment Brands."

Simon Fuller, who serves as Chief Executive Officer of 19 Entertainment, is the creator of AMERICAN IDOL in the United States, "Pop Idol" in the UK, as well as versions of the IDOL format in more than 30 countries around the world. Fuller is also the co-creator of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, which aired in the U.S. on FOX during summer 2005 and was the top-rated television show in its time slot.

Fuller has made music history in the UK and the U.S.A., producing a stream of No. 1 hits and managing multi-platinum-selling acts. Fuller recently became the world's most successful manager - breaking a record set by the Beatles' manager Brian Epstein in the 1960s - when three of his artists occupied the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 positions on the U.S. single chart as well as the No. 1 position on the album chart.

19 Entertainment has been involved in the creation of 109 No. 1 singles and 87 No. 1 albums in the UK alone, with an impressive tally of 296 Top-40 albums and 465 Top-40 singles.

KONAMI is a registered trademark of KONAMI CORPORATION. ©2006 Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. All rights reserved.

“PlayStation” and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. EyeToy is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. Requires PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system (sold separately). All rights reserved. Sony Computer Entertainment America takes no responsibility for this offer.