[E3][NINTENDO] NINTENDO AGAIN REDEFINES GAME CONTROL, PUTS SPOTLIGHT ON COMMUNITY BUILDING
July 15, 2008 by KNDY · Leave a Comment
Nintendo Unveils Wii Music, Wii Sports Resort, Animal Crossing: City Folk for Wii and Exclusive Grand Theft Auto, Guitar Hero Games for Nintendo DS
LOS ANGELES, July 15, 2008 – At the E3 Media & Business Summit today, Nintendo unveiled an enhancement for its iconic Wii Remote™ controller and new games that promise to further enrich and engage players around the world. These offerings build on Nintendo’s ongoing efforts to remove the barriers between expert and novice video game players, an approach that has been instrumental in creating a paradigm shift for the industry since the advent of the Nintendo DS™ portable system and the Wii™ home console.
“Much has been reported about the ‘expanded audience’ for games, but what’s really at play is an expanded experience,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “People of all ages having fun together-whether in the same room or from remote locations-puts smiles on faces and drives millions of new players into video game entertainment.”
Wii Sports™ Resort is not just a simple sequel to one of the world’s most popular console games, Wii Sports. It is the first title to make use of another Nintendo advance, the Wii MotionPlus accessory, which plugs into the base of the Wii Remote controller to provide an incredibly realistic motion experience. Scheduled for release in spring 2009, Wii Sports Resort includes new game experiences such as Sword Play, Power Cruising on a water scooter and Disc Dog, along with the new Wii MotionPlus accessory and Wii Remote Jacket at no additional cost. The Wii MotionPlus enhances precision and player immersion for the Nintendo-pioneered motion-controlled gaming trend that has drawn millions of new people to the world of video games.
This holiday season, Animal Crossing®: City Folk lets players move into a fun community populated by quirky animals. Players can improve their community, chat with the locals or just spend the day fishing and collecting fossils. There is also the opportunity to catch a bus into the new urban city area. Though you’ll never see other players in the city, you can connect with them in new ways using WiiConnect24™, such as bidding on your friends’ items at the auction house or visiting the Happy Room Academy headquarters to see the top-rated player house. Another new feature in Animal Crossing®: City Folk is the ability to visit friends’ towns and chat with one another using the new WiiSpeak™ microphone. The WiiSpeak microphone is sold separately at an MSRP of $29.99 and allows Internet voice chat among Wii Friends – not just from person to person but from room to room.
Wii Music™ makes it easy for people to jam to tunes, even if they don’t know anything about music. Wii Music transforms the Wii Remote and Nunchuk™ controllers into more than 60 different instruments, including a violin, steel drums, electric guitar – even a cowbell. Players strum, shake, tap and drum along to the music in a pressure-free musical playground where there are no mistakes. They can improvise on their arrangements by skipping a note – or adding 10. The music always sounds great, but it’s up to players to come up with creative arrangements that they can then send to friends and family who have Wii Music. Those Wii Friends can then put their own spin on the arrangement and send it back and forth over WiiConnect24. Wii Music will be available in the United States for the holidays.
In the portable category, Nintendo DS remains on top. Nintendo DS has sold more than 20 million units in the United States and more than 70 million worldwide. Third-party publishers continue to take advantage of that installed base. Coming this winter exclusively to the Nintendo DS is Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, a new entry in Rockstar Games’ award-winning and hugely successful Grand Theft Auto franchise. Activision’s exclusive Guitar Hero® On Tour: Decades makes its anticipated debut this fall, as does a collection of wild and wonderful critters from Electronic Arts’ Spore™ Creatures.
To view a video of Nintendo’s E3 2008 media briefing, please visit e3.nintendo.com.
About Nintendo: The worldwide innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ systems. Since 1983, Nintendo has sold more than 2.7 billion video games and more than 460 million hardware units globally, and has created industry icons like Mario™, Donkey Kong®, Metroid®, Zelda™ and Pokémon®. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, visit the company’s Web site at www.nintendo.com.
Tags: E3, Nintendo[NINTENDO] NINTENDO’S WARIO, KIRBY BRING THE FUN; SLEUTHS GET A NEW MYSTERY CASE FILES GAME
June 27, 2008 by KNDY · Leave a Comment
New Experiences on the Way for Wii and Nintendo DS
REDMOND, Wash., June 25, 2008 – While the game world awaits the E3 Media & Business Summit in Los Angeles next month, Nintendo isn’t waiting to announce new titles for its mushrooming libraries for the Wii™ console and Nintendo DS™. Classic Nintendo characters like bad-boy Wario™ and pink powerhouse Kirby® will star in their own platform games. A new Mystery Case Files™ game brings the best-selling Big Fish Games franchise to Nintendo DS for the first time. These games join the recently announced Mario™ Super Sluggers baseball game for the Wii console.
“Nintendo’s game libraries continue to grow at a rapid pace,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Wario stars in a great new platformer, Kirby enthusiasts get an updated version of a fan favorite, there’s a new mystery for Mystery Case Files aficionados and baseball gets a few new Mario-style twists.”
Wario Land™: Shake It!, a classic side-scroller for the Wii console launching Sept. 29, stars Wario, the smelly, bad-mannered alter ego of Mario™. With the Wii Remote™ controller turned sideways like an old-school controller, veterans and newcomers alike can run, jump and smash their way through hectic side-scrolling stages. Players shake the Wii Remote to help Wario take down his enemies, empty bags of treasure or cause earthquakes. Best of all, there are numerous stages each offering multiple missions to keep players coming back again and again to unlock everything, collect more coins or just improve their best times.
Kirby Super Star™ Ultra for Nintendo DS, launching Sept. 29, re-imagines one of the most beloved Kirby games of all time. Kirby Super Star Ultra features new graphics and fully rendered animated cut scenes. With so many adventures waiting to be unlocked, there will never be a dull moment as Kirby runs, floats, copies enemies and uses Helpers to fight King Dedede and Meta Knight. New modes like Revenge of the King and Meta Knight Ultra await, along with classics like The Great Cave Offensive and Milky Way Wishes. On top of the main modes, there are also three new touch-screen-controlled mini-games that can be played with up to three friends via DS Download Play. Not only that, but players can go on Kirby adventures with a friend via local wireless as well.
Mystery Case Files™: MillionHeir™, launching Sept. 8, uses the unique Nintendo DS interface to expand upon the seek-and-solve game play of the popular series from Big Fish Games. Players seek out cleverly hidden items in a multitude of painted scenes. Players progress through an interactive detective story investigating a cast of characters and uncovering new evidence to find the rightful heir to a million-dollar fortune. This new portable installment is available only for Nintendo DS. With interactive logic puzzles that use both the touch-screen interface and built-in microphone and include the first ever multiplayer mode for a Mystery Case Files game, Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir presents a new generation of seek-and-solve games for casual gamers and franchise fans.
Mario™ Super Sluggers, launching Aug. 25 for the Wii console, stars the ever-lovable Mario and his crew of friends. It builds on the social-gaming fun and movements people learned in Wii Sports™ and turns them into a full-fledged baseball game that can be played by every member of the household. Players make a throwing motion with the Wii Remote controller to pitch the baseball and make a swinging motion to swing at the pitch. The game boasts more than 30 playable Nintendo characters and all the madness of a Mario sports game. Just like Mario Kart® Wii, it bridges the gap between experienced players and those new to the Wii console, with fun challenges and beautiful graphics.
Remember that Wii features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other Wii features, visit Wii.com.
For more information about these and other Nintendo products, visit Nintendo.com.
[Nintendo] NINTENDO AND STARLIGHT’S NEW FUN CENTERS FEATURING WII GIVE SICK CHILDREN A BOOST
June 24, 2008 by KNDY · Leave a Comment
Partnership with Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation Brings Fun Centers with Wii Consoles to Hospitals Nationwide
REDMOND, Wash., June 24, 2008 – Determined to help lift the spirits of seriously ill children and their families, Nintendo of America Inc. and Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation have committed to placing hundreds of popular Fun Centers, now featuring Wii™ game systems, in hospitals across the United States and Canada this year. Nintendo of America is manufacturing 1,250 new Fun Centers in their first run, and Starlight expects to have about 500 of them placed in hospitals by the end of the year. In a continuation of the organizations’ 16-year partnership, the portable Fun Centers with the new Wii technology will be enjoyed by thousands of hospitalized kids.
The new Fun Centers feature a Sharp AQUOS™ flat-screen television, a DVD player, a Wii system and a selection of family-friendly Wii games like Super Mario Galaxy™, Wii Sports™ and Mario Party® 8. The Fun Centers were created specifically to offer children an entertaining respite during difficult hospital stays.
To help mark the introduction of the new Fun Centers, two units, donated by Nintendo, will be presented to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles at a special Super Mario Galaxy-themed launch event on June 25. Child star Allen Alvarado, of Discovery Kids’ Flight 29 Down, and video game icon Mario™ will be in attendance. Allen has had personal experience with Fun Centers, which kept him company and aided in his recovery when he was hospitalized for several weeks at Childrens Hospital after an automobile accident last fall.
Previous versions of the Fun Center, most recently featuring Nintendo GameCube™ video game systems, earned praise from families, doctors and hospital staffers alike for their ability to brighten moods, boost morale and reduce feelings of isolation among ailing children. Since the first model was created in 1992, more than 5,000 units have been distributed to over 1,000 hospitals across North America. The new Fun Center offers an enhanced entertainment experience by incorporating the Wii console’s distinctive motion-sensing controls and an array of popular games.
“We’re extremely proud to make Fun Centers a part of our collaboration with Starlight,” said Don James, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Operations. “The inclusive fun of Wii is especially valuable for families in need of a tension reliever while dealing with serious pediatric illness. We hope the new Fun Centers will give kids and their loved ones an opportunity to play, laugh and connect with each other amid trying circumstances.”
“Our patients at Childrens Hospital benefit greatly from the Fun Centers,” said Linda Garcia, Manager, Child Development Services, for Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. “The Fun Centers serve as a diversional tool for Child Life Specialists to provide to patients and families in the playrooms, at bedside and throughout the hospital, including medical units, clinics and waiting rooms. The Fun Centers promote socialization, mastery and fun. Through this play, children learn about cooperation, positive thinking and problem-solving skills. The Fun Centers also provide opportunities for hand strengthening and finger dexterity, an important therapeutic value for our patients undergoing physical rehabilitation.”
“Everyone who has spent time in a hospital knows how scary and lonely it can be,” said Paula Van Ness, CEO of Starlight. “Our Fun Centers transform the hospital experience for children, bringing enjoyment and laughter to an otherwise daunting experience. And as an added benefit of this new Fun Center model, the Wii technology can be used to encourage children to do physical therapy and motor coordination exercises.”
People who want to help support the mission of Nintendo and Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation can visit Starlight’s Site of a Million Stars at www.millionstars.org. Click on Mario’s star to place a star in Nintendo of America’s Galaxy. Starlight’s goal is to unite 1 million caring people and organizations to bring seriously ill children and their families out of the dark. Placing a star in Nintendo of America’s Galaxy is free and includes space for a message about the nature of your support and a link to your favorite Web site. You can also choose to add special features to your star or upgrade to a constellation for a tax-deductible donation of $5 to $100.
For more information about Fun Centers, visit www.starlight.org/funcenters.
Tags: Nintendo[VIDEO GAMES] NY Times article on Nintendo’s Miyamoto
May 26, 2008 by KNDY · Leave a Comment
The New York Times reported, “IT’S O.K. to liken Shigeru Miyamoto to Walt Disney.”
“When Disney died in 1966, Mr. Miyamoto was a 14-year-old schoolteacher’s son living near Kyoto, Japan’s ancient capital. An aspiring cartoonist, he adored the classic Disney characters. When he wasn’t drawing, he made his own toys, carving wooden puppets with his grandfathers’ tools or devising a car race from a spare motor, string and tin cans.”
“Even as he has become the world’s most famous and influential video-game designer — the father of Donkey Kong, Mario, Zelda and, most recently, the Wii — Mr. Miyamoto still approaches his work like a humble craftsman, not as the celebrity he is to gamers around the world.”
Tags: Miyamoto Shigeru, Nintendo, Shigeru Miyamoto[WII] NINTENDO’S NEW WII FIT MAKES FITNESS FUN
May 19, 2008 by KNDY · Leave a Comment
Wii Balance Board Forms the Centerpiece of 40+ Activities; Launches during National Physical Fitness and Sports Month
REDMOND, Wash., May 19, 2008 - The path to fitness begins with a single step.
Nintendo’s new Wii Fit™, launching today, combines fun and fitness in ways that will have people getting up off their couches, moving around, having fun and maybe even breaking a sweat. Wii Fit gets everyone pumped up about making enjoyable physical activities a part of their daily routines. Wii Fit even tracks users’ progress, which lets people see how they have improved while challenging them to better their scores and stay motivated to keep going.
At an MSRP of $89.99, Wii Fit comes packaged with the Wii Balance Board™ accessory, a precisely engineered platform that senses both weight and shifts in movement and balance. The Wii Balance Board connects wirelessly to the Wii™ console and serves as the centerpiece for more than 40 fun activities that challenge users in areas like yoga, aerobics, strength training and balance. Helpful virtual trainers in the game talk users through the different activities and make suggestions for improvement.
“Wii Fit will get you moving whether you’ve been playing video games for years or this is your first time,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Wii Fit is easy for anyone to try and is yet another example of how Nintendo continues to expand the world of video games to new audiences.”
To celebrate the launch of Wii Fit, Nintendo is holding an interactive release party today for the public in the southwest corner of New York’s Central Park, near the Merchants’ Gate. “We’re looking for everyone to ‘get on board’ and get excited about their fitness,” said celebrity trainer Ashley Borden, who will be on hand to do personal Wii Fit demos and training.
Wii Fit, which has sold more than 2 million in Japan, starts with a simple measurement that calculates an adult user’s Body Mass Index, or BMI. From there, the Wii Balance Board accessory can be used as a platform for twirling a virtual Hula Hoop®, shredding on a virtual snowboard, performing leg extensions or doing a downward-facing dog yoga pose. Wii Fit contains a wide variety of fun games and physical activities that target the body’s core.
Different people in the same household can use Wii Fit and track their progress separately. Users’ Mii™ caricatures even reflect their fitness levels and change as people become more proficient at the activities.
Wii is the first video game system ever included in the President’s Challenge, a program of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports that encourages all Americans to make physical activity a part of their daily lives. Wii Fit builds on that honor by encouraging people to keep their bodies moving.
Wii Fit is available today exclusively at the Nintendo World store in New York, and will be at retail stores across the country May 21.
Remember that Wii features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other Wii features, visit Wii.com.
For more information about Wii Fit, visit WiiFit.com.
Tags: Nintendo, Wii Fit[NINTENDO] CELEBRITIES HAVE FUN WITH METALLIC ROSE NINTENDO DS
May 19, 2008 by KNDY · Leave a Comment
May 16, 2008 Nintendo is making Metallic Rose a regular part of the Nintendo DS™ color palette with the help of some celebrity spokespeople. Starting Monday, May 19, America Ferrera and Carrie Underwood will be featured in commercials for the Metallic Rose version of Nintendo DS. Metallic Rose debuted in late 2007 as part of a Nintendogs® bundle and will be available as a standalone hardware system at retailers nationwide late this month. Liv Tyler also will appear in Nintendo DS commercials that feature the two-toned Crimson/Black version.
Nintendo DS continues to add new games and applications that make it the system of choice for moms on the go, longtime gamers, kids and travelers. The newly launched Crosswords DS, for instance, offers a fun, pick up and play experience for everyone.
According to information from the independent NPD Group, in the United States Nintendo DS:
• topped sales of 414,000 in April.
• has sold more than 19.6 million since the system launched on Nov. 21, 2004.
• has a library of more than 560 games.
• has 18 games that have sold more than 1 million units in the United States, including New Super Mario Bros.® that has sold more than 3.9 million copies.
For more information about Nintendo DS, please visit www.NintendoDS.com.
Tags: Nintendo, Nintendo DS[NINTENDO] NINTENDO’S WII SITS ATOP APRIL U.S. SALES
May 19, 2008 by KNDY · Leave a Comment
May 15, 2008
Wii™ emerged as the top-selling console in April, according to the independent NPD Group, which tracks U.S. video game sales. Wii sold more than 714,000 units in April alone, bringing its lifetime sales in the United States to more than 9.5 million.
“Wii sales were buoyed in part by the strong launch of Mario Kart Wii, which sold more than 1.1 million units,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Our belief in appealing to a broad, diverse audience of players continues to resonate with consumers, and we look forward to continuing our outreach to an expanded audience with the launch of Wii Fit next week.”
Other Nintendo highlights from April’s NPD report include:
• Mario Kart® Wii finished as the No. 2 game of the month.
• Six of the top 10 games of the month are for Nintendo systems: Mario Kart Wii (No. 2), Wii Play™ (No. 4), Super Smash Bros.® Brawl (No. 5), Pokémon® Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness (No. 7), Pokémon® Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time (No. 
and Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (No. 9).
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl crossed the 3 million sales mark in the United States.
• Wii and Nintendo DS™ again finished as the two top-selling hardware systems.
For more information about Nintendo, please visit www.Nintendo.com.
Tags: Nintendo, Nintendo Wii[NINTENDO] WESTIN HOTELS WANT TO PLAY…WESTIN ANNOUNCES INDUSTRY-FIRST PARTNERSHIP WITH NINTENDO
May 4, 2008 by KNDY · Leave a Comment
Becomes the First to Adopt Nintendo’s Specially Designed Wii Console for Hospitality Industry; Announces Plans for Integration of Wii Fit
REDMOND, Wash., and WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – [May 1 , 2008] Tennis, anyone? Nintendo and Westin Hotels & Resorts announce a partnership today that will allow guests to experience the Wii™ sensation with a special version of the console ideally suited for use in the hotel environment. Westin Hotels is the first hotel company to partner with Nintendo for its Wii console and will feature this specially designed console as part of the brand’s WestinWORKOUT program at 10 hotels across the United States. The special game console is pre-loaded with many popular games, including the groundbreaking Wii Sports™ game, and today debuts at WestinWORKOUT fitness centers at The Westin Times Square in New York City and The Westin Bellevue in Washington state.
Using the innovative motion-sensitive Wii Remote™ controller, WestinWORKOUT users can get both body and brain moving with a variety of interactive games, including Wii Sports (featuring tennis, golf, baseball, bowling and boxing activities), Big Brain Academy™: Wii Degree and Wii Play™ and others, all played with natural, intuitive movements of the Wii Remote. The special Wii system will be updated automatically with hot new Wii games as they become available and includes features to simplify system management for the hotel property. A simple new game menu makes it easy to jump in and play without inserting game discs, and each property can manage what games are offered and how game data is stored.
“We jumped at the chance to be the first hotel to partner with Nintendo and add interactive entertainment to our successful WestinWORKOUT program,” said Sue Brush, Senior Vice President, Westin Hotels & Resorts. “We think our guests will be eager to make Wii a part of their workouts during their stay with us.”
With this partnership, Westin will be among the first hotel brands in the United States to receive delivery of Wii Fit™, the highly anticipated interactive fitness game, set to release during the week of May 19 in North America. Using another Nintendo innovation, the Wii Balance Board™ accessory, hotel guests will be able to participate in a dynamic mix of more than 40 yoga, aerobics, strength training and balance activities.
“Delivering an active entertainment experience is what Wii is all about,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Games like Wii Sports and the upcoming Wii Fit are ideal for business travelers and families who want to stay energized while on the road.”
Eight additional Westin properties will join the program in May: The Westin Hilton Head; The Westin Crown Center, Kansas City; The Westin Harbor Castle, Toronto; The Westin Diplomat, Hollywood; The Westin St. Francis, San Francisco; The Westin St. Louis; The Westin Galleria, Houston; and The Westin Savannah Harbor. Westin plans to roll out additional Wii systems following guest feedback from the initial hotel pilot.
WestinWORKOUT was developed in partnership with worldwide fitness leaders to develop the travel industry’s most extensive fitness and wellness program. Last month WestinWORKOUT was extended with the addition of BrainBody Fitness, a program connecting mental and physical fitness through a series of original exercises distributed at each Westin throughout North America. By placing expert-recommended mind and body stretches in a variety of strategic hotel touch points, including the front desk, guestrooms, public spaces and WestinWORKOUT fitness centers, Westin is providing guests with simple and effective ways to sharpen their thinking and calm their minds and bodies for better health.
WestinWORKOUT state-of-the-art equipment and high-performance workouts provide the perfect solution for people committed to maintaining personal wellness. Customized WestinWORKOUT guestrooms feature full-body equipment for all levels of performance where guests can elevate their well-being with a challenging and exhilarating workout. Also available at select hotels is runWESTIN, a complimentary program offering guided, scenic three-mile morning runs three days a week. Led by Westin’s trained Running Concierge, the run includes a warm up session with training tips and can be customized into a fun individual or group run.
The worldwide innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii™, Nintendo DS™, Game Boy® Advance and Nintendo GameCube™ systems. Since 1983, Nintendo has sold nearly 2.5 billion video games and more than 430 million hardware units globally, and has created industry icons like Mario™, Donkey Kong®, Metroid®, Zelda™ and Pokémon®. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, visit the company’s Web site at www.nintendo.com.
Westin Hotels & Resorts, with more than 150 hotels and resorts in more than 31 countries and territories, is owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT). Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with approximately 890 properties in more than 95 countries and 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood® Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels and resorts with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, Sheraton®, Westin®, Four Points® by Sheraton, W®, Le Méridien® and the recently announced AloftSM and ElementSM Hotels. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.
(Note: This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities regulations. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and involve risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated at the time the forward-looking statements are made. These risks and uncertainties are presented in detail in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although we believe the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that our expectations will be attained or that results and events will not materially differ. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.)
Tags: Nintendo[NINTENDO] NINTENDO NEWS: NPD REPORTS NINTENDO FINISHED MARCH WITH TOP GAME, TOP HARDWARE
April 18, 2008 by KNDY · Leave a Comment
April 17, 2008 - In March, Nintendo again defined industry momentum in both home and portable video games sales, according to the independent NPD Group, which monitors retail activity in the video game industry. More than 720,000 Wii™ systems sold in March, representing the highest monthly sales total outside of holiday months (November or December) to date, while Nintendo DS™ also sold through nearly 700,000 systems.
Nintendo also finished with the top-selling U.S. game of March. Super Smash Bros.® Brawl, which launched March 9, came in at No. 1 with 2.7 million units sold.
“Nintendo systems represented 58 percent of all video game hardware sold in March in the United States,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “We expect our momentum to continue with big upcoming game launches like Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, Mario Kart Wii and Wii Fit.”
Other March U.S. statistics, according to NPD, include:
- Three Wii games finished in the top 10, including Super Smash Bros. Brawl at No. 1, Wii Play™ at No. 4, and Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock at No. 7.
- Nintendo DS has now sold more than 19 million units in the United States alone since it launched in November 2004.
For more information about Nintendo, please visit Nintendo.com.
Tags: Nintendo[WII] NINTENDO HITS A HOME RUN WITH MARIO SUPER SLUGGERS
April 10, 2008 by KNDY · Leave a Comment
Nintendo Announces Surprise Addition to Wii Lineup
REDMOND, Wash., April 10, 2008 - The ongoing excitement over Nintendo’s groundbreaking Wii™ system gets a surprise springtime boost with the announcement of a new game. Kicking off its semiannual media summit in San Francisco near the company’s new sales and marketing offices in Redwood City, Calif., Nintendo of America today revealed plans for Mario Super Sluggers™ for Wii, giving baseball fans even more reason to root this season.
“Mario is truly a one-of-a-kind character; clearly fans can’t get enough of him and his friends,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “We’re giving Wii users brilliant new ways to enjoy him while expanding our series of active-play games.”
In the same spirit as other sports-themed Mario™ games on Wii like Mario Strikers® Charged and Mario Kart® Wii, Mario Super Sluggers blends richly interactive baseball action with eccentric characters and elements from across the popular Mario universe. Players can swing the wireless Wii Remote™ just like a real bat or wave it toward the plate to deliver a masterful pitch, enjoying the same intuitive, easy-to-learn controls that helped make Wii Sports™ a living room hit. With Mario and his unpredictable pals filling out the roster, imagination and active-play innovation are sure to dominate the diamond in this lively title, scheduled for release later this year.
Remember that Wii features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other Wii features, visit Wii.com.
About Nintendo
The worldwide innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii™, Nintendo DS™, Game Boy® Advance and Nintendo GameCube™ systems. Since 1983, Nintendo has sold nearly 2.5 billion video games and more than 430 million hardware units globally, and has created industry icons like Mario™, Donkey Kong®, Metroid®, Zelda™ and Pokémon®. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, visit the company’s Web site at www.nintendo.com.
