Marriott and Nintendo Bring the Fun Back to Business Travel and Pilot New In-Room Entertainment Options for All Generations

Bethesda, Md. and Redmond, Wash. - September 30, 2008 - The Wii™ experience is just beginning for Marriott and Renaissance guests, who can now choose from 20 games, including the popular Mario Kart™ Wii, Super Mario Galaxy™, and Wii Sports™ as well as the revolutionary fitness game, Wii Fit™.  In a lodging industry first, Marriott International, Inc. is piloting a new specially built Wii hotel game system from Nintendo in select guest rooms and lounges.  Wii systems are available at six Marriott and Renaissance properties:

• New York Marriott Marquis
• Renaissance New York Hotel Times Square
• Boston Marriott Cambridge
• Bethesda (Md.) Marriott Suites
• Annapolis (Md.) Marriott Waterfront
• JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa, Phoenix (Lounge only)

Wii has been a hit with every age group.  The intuitive, motion-sensitive controls of the Wii Remote™ controller make the games easy to play, whether alone or in groups, making it an excellent fit for hotels and their guests.  With Wii Fit, guests can even burn calories while having fun, all in the comfort of their hotel rooms.

The new Wii hotel game system allows hotel guests to select from a library of games without inserting game discs.  With the intuitive games menu, guests can just point the Wii Remote at a game and begin playing immediately.  Popular new Wii games will be added to the menu as they become available.

The Wii guest room packages include unlimited Wii access for the entire stay. To book a Wii guest room package at these six hotels, subject to availability, please go to www.marriott.com, select your preferred hotel, then click on the “Deals at this Hotel” link or insert promotional code XY0 (zero).  There is a small premium for a room with a Wii hotel game system over the standard guest room rate.

The latest viral video created by Tinsley Advertising employee Giovanni Gutierrez of his girlfriend, also an employee of Tinsley, Lauren Bernat of her doing the aerobic “Wii Fit” hula hoop in her t-shirt and panties and put on youtube.com has generated over a million views.

Of course, a lot of media has done an article if Nintendo hired Tinsley Advertising to promote WiiFit and so forth. The LA Times recently asked Gutierrez about it and he responded by saying that his girlfriend was FURIOUS when she found out.

If anything, Tinsley Advertising has now received publicity and Giovanni who happens to be Director of Interactive Marketing for Tinsley Advertising, is the next person to have created a viral video. Especially a successful one that would receive so many Digg’s and featured on major blogs.

If anything, it has led to an increase of people looking for Giovanni’s work, his blog and even his Flickr account.

As for Lauren Bernat, it’s good to know that she is taking things in stride and will compliment her with the best hula hoop on the Wii Fit. Most people don’t have that smooth flow of hip movement (most people over rock it…). Nevertheless, sometimes the 15-minutes of fame leads to big things for those who create these viral videos so, will we see more of Lauren Bernat or even Giovanni Guiterrez. We’ll see…  But congrats to Giovanni for accomplishing the task of creating a viral video and for Lauren for being a good sport about it

My Wii Fit Girlfriend on TV. from Giovanny Gutierrez on Vimeo.

“At first glance, it may seem gimmicky but once you get involved into the yoga, strength and balance training, you realized how the purchase of Wii Fit was so worth it!”

VIDEO GAME: Wii Fit

COMPANY: Nintendo

RATING: E (Everyone): Comic Mischief

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

KEY INFORMATION
Step onto the Wii Balance Board and into a fun way to get fit.

• Control on-screen action with your movements on the balance board as you work your way through a variety of challenges aimed at getting you off the couch and into the action. Check your Body Mass Index (BMI), see your Wii Fit Age and keep tabs on your daily progress towards a more fit you.
• Get fit with more than 40 activities and exercises, including strength training, aerobics, yoga and balance games. Whether you’re doing a yoga pose or snowboarding down a slalom course, there’s an activity for everyone.
• Challenge your family and friends to get in shape! Create your own personal profile and set goals, test your balance, track your progress with daily workouts and unlock new exercises and activities.

Create a Profile: Before you jump into doing exercises and activities, you’ll start by creating your own profile. Choose a Mii, enter your height and age information, and do a few quick tests:

• BMI Check: BMI, or Body Mass Index, is a measure of body fat based on height and weight that is the standard used by agencies such as the World Health Organization and the National Institute of Health. To check your BMI, you’ll enter your height then stand on the Wii Balance Board and let it read your weight.
• Wii Fit Age: After you’ve checked your BMI, you’ll do a basic balance test and find out your current Wii Fit Age. This basic balance test measures how well you can control your left and right balance. Based on the results, you’ll be assigned a Wii Fit Age.

Categories: Wii Fit features four main categories to choose from: Strength Training, Aerobics, Yoga and Balance Games. As you spend time exercising, you’ll earn Fit Credits that unlock additional exercises and activities within these categories. Wii Fit also tracks the activities you do the most and puts them into the Favorites category.

• Strength Training: Put your strength to the test with muscle-toning exercises like Single Leg Extension, Sideways Leg Lift, Arm and Leg Lift, Single-Arm Stand, Torso Twists, Rowing Squat, Single Leg Twist, Lunge, Push-Up and Side Plank, Jackknife, Plank and Tricep Extension. Challenges include Push-Up Challenge, Plank Challenge and Jackknife Challenge.
• Aerobics: Get your heart pumping with fun, interactive Aerobic exercises like Hula Hoop®, Basic Step, Basic Run, Super Hula Hoop, Advanced Step, 2-P Run, Rhythm Boxing, Free Step and Free Run.
• Yoga: Work on your balance and flexibility with Yoga poses and activities like Deep Breathing, Half-Moon, Dance, Cobra, Bridge, Spinal Twist, Shoulder Stand, Warrior, Tree, Sun Salutation, Standing Knee, Palm Tree, Chair, Triangle and Downward-Facing Dog.
• Balance Games: Get into the action with fun, balanced-based games like Soccer Heading, Ski Slalom, Ski Jump, Table Tilt, Tightrope Walk, Balance Bubble, Penguin Slide, Snowboard Slalom and Lotus Focus.

Tracking Results:

• Keep tabs on your daily progress with easy-to-understand graphs and charts. Using your personal profile, you can set goals, view a graph of your BMI results over time, see how many Fit Credits you’ve earned, check your Wii Fit Age and even enter exercise time you’ve done outside of Wii Fit. It’s all about coming back and exercising a little every day, and the personal profile makes tracking your daily progress simple and easy.
• You can quickly check your Wii Fit Age and BMI without even putting the game in the console by going directly to the Wii Fit Channel.
• Up to eight family members can create their own profiles in Wii Fit. On the profile-selection screen, everyone in the family can see each other’s recent BMI progress and Fit Credit total. This will allow families to have a friendly competition to exercise and get fit.

I have to admit that I’m enjoying the interactive nature of the Nintendo Wii. I’ve credited the console for helping me shed many pounds via Wii Sports and various other games.

So, when I first heard of Wii Fit, I wasn’t too sure. Mainly because I’ve bought so many Nintendo accessories such as the Power Glove all the way to the Wii Zapper and really, you never know what you’re going to get with these type of accessories and what seems very cool, ends up collecting dust the next day on.

But I’m going to say it right now, Wii Fit is one of the best things to come for the Nintendo Wii console and I would not be surprised if sales in America do quite well.

When opening the box, I was amazed how hefty and durable the board was. I figured that with the modification by Nintendo for the US market to take American body weight versus Japanese body weight in mind, they would have to create a device that would allow people a little over 300 pounds to take part in the workout. So, kudos to Nintendo for that.

Upon adding the four accessories to go underneath the board for thicker carpets, syncing the board to the Wii was quick and I had no problems.

You are then greeted by a animated Wii Fit board who takes you through the steps of adding your data. From there, the board starts to incorporate your Mii and through several tests, will pretty much tell you where you’re at (fit, overweight and obese) and also how you perform, what age you are performing at

The next step is by selecting a trainer. A man or a woman who will help guide you through your training, specifically yoga and strength training.

The first games I wanted to try is balance. Since I train on an Indo Board for surfing, I figured my balance should be good.

So, I did some of the skiing based workout games. One which you have to lean to the left and lean to the right on the Wii Fit board to go through the ski slalom. First time, I did miserable but afterwards, I started doing well. Almost had a 100 percent but first day, I got too confident and missed two. I’ll do better the next time.

The next was the ski jump. This was fun. You bend your knees while slightly moving forward. You see an indicator on the right showing a blue ball and a red ball which is your body placement. Move forward to get that red ball on the blue and you speed up. Right before you jump, you put your legs straight and then lead your body forward to get your score. You get two tries and on the first day, I fail one of the two by getting too confident and the other, I get around 159. So, first day for that was ok.

After spending 25 minutes with the ski-based games, I started messing around with soccer heading. Soccer players kicking a ball and you moving your body to the left and right by hitting the ball with your head.

So many balls and obstacles flying towards you that you have to dodge and I did well but this was a challenge.

The next was balancing on a tight rope which was easy. Lean your body left and right to move up on the tight rope and walking across to another building. There is an obstacle of a munching monster but you avoid it by bending your knees and then standing up to jump.

Next was going for a jog. No need for the Wii board for this one. Just put the wiimote in your pocket or hand and start jogging and the screen will show you jogging with a guide. This alone was pretty interesting because the jog was not very short. So, expect to get a good workout with this.

Then did some workouts with the yoga instructor and this was very neat as she goes through the process of communicating what the exercises do for your body and how to breathe and so forth. Very helpful and I did very well on the yoga and strength training.

And the better you do, you get time added to a bank. The time added will then open up more mini-games in the various sections and by an hour of working out, it told me to rest, get a drink of water and I felt I did a pretty good workout and actually felt refreshed after working out ala Wii Fit.

If there is one caveat I will mention is that the wii board does run on AAA batteries. Four of them. Reviews of the board have mentioned that the batteries do not last long.

Thus I purchased the Intec rechargeable battery pack and cable for $19.99. This is a third party device and so far the only rechargeable battery for the Wii board but it plugs in ala USB through the back of the console. Leave it on for six hours for the initial charge and four hours after. Unfortunately, there is no light indicating recharge is done.

Granted, not everyone is going to buy a device at $89.99 to work out. But I went to a local department store early in the morning and there was a line. Mainly adults who were buying it for the workout and they sold like more than half of their shipment within the first 15 minutes.

I was amazed and also found it pretty cool to see this. Typically when I’m in line for a video game, it’s a totally different demographic.

But after my first day and first hour on WiiFit, I feel good and full of energy and really enjoyed the overall experience.

This is not a gimmick device, this is actually a fun device similar to Wii Sports but more interactivity with working out.

I can see why this has done so well in Japan and I can see it doing well in America. Sure, it’s not for everyone but the benefits of helping people, training people and how fun it is with Wii Fit, its definitely worth owning and investing your $89.

There is a game called We Ski currently available for the Nintendo Wii for $29.99 which can also be used for the Wii Fit board but there is a lot of potential for Wii Fit.

Highly recommended!

+ A great interactive device for the Nintendo Wii

+ Durable and easy to set up

+ Many mini-games and easy instructions and information from the trainers

+ Very fun and a great workout

- $89.99 might be too expensive for some people and a game on working out may not be for everyone

Images and key information courtesy of Nintendo

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.

April 15, 2008

In anticipation of the U.S. launch of Wii Fit™, the new interactive fitness game for the popular Wii™ system, Nintendo of America Inc. has announced pricing details for this groundbreaking release. Available at Nintendo World store starting on May 19, Wii Fit and the innovative Wii Balance Board™ accessory will be bundled and sold together at a suggested retail price of $89.99.

Boasting a dynamic mix of more than 40 yoga, aerobics, strength training and balance activities, Wii Fit provides consumers with a fun, easy and affordable way to incorporate exercise into their daily routines. Using the included wireless Wii Balance Board accessory, every member of the household can step up and stay active, setting individual fitness goals and tracking their progress over time.

Consumers in the New York area who pre-order Wii Fit from the Nintendo World store in Rockefeller Plaza will receive a special bonus item. From April 18-20, the first 1,000 consumers who place a $5 deposit for Wii Fit will receive a limited edition Wii Fit T-shirt featuring the image and reproduced autograph of legendary Nintendo video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto.

Through mid-February, Wii Fit had sold more than 1.4 million copies in Japan since its Dec. 1, 2007 launch. For more information about Wii Fit, please visit www.WiiFit.com.

According to an article on Daily Yomiuri, “Nintendo Co.’s exercise-oriented “Wii Fit” was the country’s best-selling game software in fiscal 2007 while its portable DS gaming device captured the top spot in hardware sales for the third year in a row, extending the firm’s lead over Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., according to research by a Tokyo-based game magazine publisher.”

“In other information released by Enterbrain Inc. Thursday, the publisher said the domestic home video-game market, comprising software and gaming devices, grew by 3.8 percent to 676.9 billion yen in fiscal 2007–a record since the publisher began researching the market in fiscal 1997.”

“Sales of Nintendo’s “Wii Fit,” which was released in December and comes with a Balance Board controller, came top with 1.76 million units. Of the best-selling 10 titles, nine titles were made by the gaming giant or one of its affiliates, the only outsider being Square Enix Co.’s “Dragon Quest IV,” which ranked eighth.”

More on this article

WiiWare, Wii Fit, Super Smash Bros. Brawl Shown at Game Developers Conference

REDMOND, Wash., Feb. 20, 2008 – The Game Developers Conference in San Francisco attracts the top creative minds in the video game industry. With that audience on hand, Nintendo announces news that reinforces its commitment to provide entertaining and enriching experiences for veteran and new gamers alike. WiiWare™, Nintendo’s new downloadable game service, launches May 12 and expands development opportunities for developers the same way Wii™ expanded the world of video game players. Wii Fit™, the upcoming title for Wii, launches May 19 and introduces the Wii Balance Board™ peripheral. And Super Smash Bros.® Brawl draws in fans of all kinds.

“We are excited to participate in the Game Developers Conference this year to share with developers and consumers alike our upcoming unique services and products,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “We are hopeful that they will appreciate our offerings of WiiWare, Wii Fit and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which represent a trio that will continue to attract new players to the world of video games.”
At the conference, Nintendo speakers will outline a number of plans for the coming months on their respective panels:

WiiWare: Nintendo’s upcoming WiiWare changes the way both developers create and consumers access video games. Through WiiWare, Nintendo hopes to offer developers a virtual laboratory that serves as a breeding ground for new games, which encourages great ideas that creators always wanted to develop. The combination of low development barriers and unique game experiences found only on Wii should enable developers to try new ideas with lower risk in a quicker, more creative and affordable way.

Meanwhile Wii owners can download a multitude of cool new games from different genres, including some that are unprecedented, which can be purchased from home at a dynamic price range. WiiWare also empowers consumers to determine with their Wii Points which games have the right stuff to become the next big thing.

WiiWare will be a repository for all types of experiences – literally, something for everyone. Early WiiWare games will come from celebrated developers like Square Enix, which is creating FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: My Life as a King, a simulation game for all ages. Also watch for games from up-and-coming developers like Frontier with its fresh, enchanting platform adventure LostWinds and a new episodic game series from Telltale. The first U.S. WiiWare games will be available on May 12.

Wii Fit: Wii Fit demonstrates Nintendo’s commitment to gamers of all kinds. It combines fun and fitness for every member of the family to keep active and play together. Wii Fit launches May 19 in the United States and comes with the weight-and-motion-sensing Wii Balance Board that Nintendo representatives demonstrated could hold great promise for future game development as well. Third-party publishers are already working on new games and applications that will make use of the Wii Balance Board. Additionally, Wii Fit includes access to the Wii Fit Channel, an interactive channel that lets users check in each day to track their fitness progress through weight and BMI. In Japan, Wii Fit has sold more than 1.4 million units since its Dec. 1 launch.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl: This action game launches March 9. With dozens of characters, settings, options and ways to play, it has something for everyone. The game includes characters from all across the Nintendo universe. The previous installment in the franchise went on to become the best-selling game of all time for Nintendo GameCube™.

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.