Topps Launches BUNT® 2014, Fueling Growth of Digital Collecting

Topps sells more than 35 Million digital card packs in less than 12 months; now selling 3 digital packs per second.

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Mar 27, 2014, 11:29 ET

NEW YORK, March 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Topps Company, Inc. today released Topps^® BUNT^® 2014, the exclusive Major League Baseball digital trading card app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Available now on the App Store, BUNT 2014 expands on its digital collecting experience with an all new design, more features, and its very first spokesperson, Los Angeles Angels outfielder and MLB superstar, Mike Trout.

Hundreds of digital baseball cards to collect on your iPhone in Topps BUNT 2014. (PRNewsFoto/The Topps Company, Inc.) (PRNewsFoto/THE TOPPS COMPANY, INC.)

Digital baseball card collectors gather around their iPhones to trade on Topps BUNT 2014. (PRNewsFoto/The Topps Company, Inc.) (PRNewsFoto/THE TOPPS COMPANY, INC.)

MLB superstar and official spokesperson Mike Trout shows off his digital card in Topps BUNT 2014. (PRNewsFoto/The Topps Company, Inc.) (PRNewsFoto/THE TOPPS COMPANY, INC.)

BUNT, along with Topps' other digital collecting apps, Topps HUDDLE^SM and Topps KICK^SM, have collectively sold more than 35 million packs of digital trading cards in less than 12 months. Over a million people are collecting digital trading cards across Topps' apps.

"In the last 12 months, the growth of digital collecting has been outstanding. In July, we sold 1 digital pack per second, in December we sold 2 digital packs per second, and in February we sold 3 digital packs per second," said Michael Bramlage, Vice President and General Manager of Digital at Topps. "We believe we're on the leading edge of a digital collecting phenomenon."

In the same way that digital media is transforming reading books, listening to music, and watching television, BUNT 2014 is changing the game for baseball card collecting. BUNT users can collect digital cards, trade with friends, and complete sets, just like with classic cards. And because it is digital, BUNT users enjoy innovative new twists, like live baseball statistics, real-time card rarity, limited edition flash sales, and the ability to carry their entire card collection in their pockets. The app launches with fun new features, including:

Collection Score: think you have the best collection? Easily score your digital collection and compare with your friends and other users.
Trader Rating: think you're a trustworthy trader? Evaluate yourself and your potential trading partners with simple, user-generated star ratings.
Enhanced Card Play: drag-and-drop your way to better predictions and more points with improved card management.

"We're seeing users whose first Topps baseball card is a digital one," continues Bramlage. "In fact, 81 percent of our users are between the ages of 13 and 25 years old. It's no surprise that this digitally-savvy generation is embracing the thrill of the chase with digital collecting. And with Mike Trout helping to spread the word, we believe BUNT 2014 is a must-have app for anyone who considers themselves a baseball fan."

To see Mike Trout in the Topps BUNT 2014 commercial, visit: http://bit.ly/bunt2014launch.

Topps BUNT 2014 is available for free from the App Store on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch or at www.AppStore.com/Bunt.

Topps BUNT 2014 is officially licensed by MLB Advanced Media and by Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association's Player Choice group licensing program.

ABOUT THE TOPPS COMPANY, INC.
Founded in 1938, The Topps Company, Inc. is the preeminent creator and brand marketer of sports cards, entertainment products, and distinctive confectionery. Topps' leading sports and entertainment products include Major League Baseball, National Football League, English Premier League, Bundesliga, Indian Premier League, WWE, UFC, Wacky Packages, Garbage Pail Kids and other trading cards, sticker album collections, and collectible games. Topps' newest division is Topps Digital, which is focused on bringing the iconic Topps brand to new users through digital media. Visit www.topps.com for more information.

ABOUT MLBAM
Established in June 2000 following a unanimous vote by the 30 Major League Baseball club owners to centralize all of Baseball's Internet operations, MLB Advanced Media LP (MLBAM) is the interactive media and Internet company of Major League Baseball. MLBAM manages the official league site, MLB.com, and each of the 30 individual Club sites to create the most comprehensive Major League Baseball resource on the Internet. MLBAM also develops, deploys and distributes the highest-grossing sports app, At Bat, as well as manages live video content for dozens of clients. It captures, encodes and distributes tens of thousands of live video events annually, powering more live events on the Internet than any other property in the world.

ABOUT MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYERS ASSOCIATION (MLBPA)
The Major League Baseball Players Association (www.mlbplayers.com) is the collective bargaining representative for all professional baseball players of the thirty Major League baseball teams and serves as the exclusive group licensing agent for commercial and licensing activities involving active Major League baseball players. On behalf of its members, it operates the Players Choice licensing program and Players Choice Awards, which benefit the needy through the Major League Baseball Players Trust, a charitable foundation established and run entirely by Major League baseball players. Follow: @MLB_Players; @MLBPAClubhouse; @MLBPlayersTrust.

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SOURCE The Topps Company, Inc.