World of Nintendo Tour

World of Nintendo Tour Brings Top Games and Systems Directly to Consumers

As the hustle and bustle of the holiday season draws near, Nintendo is making it easier for consumers to sample and experience some of the year’s most talked-about games and game systems. This past weekend, Oct. 2-4, the new World of Nintendo sampling tour kicked off with an appearance at the annual Long Beach Comic Con in Long Beach, Calif., treating attendees to a firsthand look at a variety of recent and forthcoming games for the Wii™, Nintendo DS™ and Nintendo DSi™ systems.

Less than a week after consumers discovered a new suggested retail price of $199.99 for Wii, World of Nintendo participants in Long Beach gathered for hands-on demonstrations of games like Wii Sports Resort™, Wii Fit™ Plus and Punch-Out!! ™, as well as the upcoming New Super Mario Bros. ™ Wii. The event also highlighted new hand-held games such as Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box™ and the highly anticipated The Legend of Zelda™: Spirit Tracks, both playable on Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi systems. World of Nintendo visitors also enjoyed a glimpse into a selection of downloadable game titles on the WiiWare™ and Nintendo DSiWare™ services.

Upcoming World of Nintendo tour stops include America’s VideoGame Expo in Philadelphia (Oct. 9-11) and the Big Apple Comic Con in New York City (Oct. 16-18). Like this year’s traveling Nintendo DSi Mobile Tour and Wii Sports Resort Mobile Tour, World of Nintendo reflects Nintendo’s ongoing commitment to actively expanding the audience for video games, attracting new and veteran players with a lineup of inclusive game titles, innovative motion controls and console features that allow players to stay connected with family and friends.

For more information about World of Nintendo, please visit http://www.nintendo.com/.

Source: Nintendo Press Release

Wii Fit Plus Works Out Today

Enhanced At-Home Fitness Game Features New Activities and Customization Options

REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Because no two people are exactly alike, shouldn’t each person’s fitness routine be just as unique? With the Oct. 4 launch of Wii Fit Plus™, Nintendo introduces a revolutionary way for consumers to create their own customized workout, delivering new levels of personalization, convenience and enjoyment to at-home fitness. Designed exclusively for the top-selling Wii™ console, Wii Fit Plus invites all members of the household to make individualized workout routines according to their own unique schedules, activity preferences and fitness goals. For people of any age, background or lifestyle, Wii Fit Plus helps take the “work” out of your workout.

Experienced users and newcomers alike will look forward to every Wii Fit Plus session, thanks to a host of new features and enhancements. In addition to all of the original Wii Fit™ aerobic, yoga, strength training and balance activities, Wii Fit Plus features more than 20 new activities to step up the fun, including skateboarding and a Segway® course. To suit each user’s schedule, workouts can be set to any duration in five-minute intervals up to an hour, and users can choose from specialized routines that focus on specific fitness goals or target areas. Also, players can now see an estimated amount of calories burned during each workout while tracking their overall progress. Another new feature even incorporates animals by letting players track their pets’ weight and create custom Mii™ characters for them.

“As the fast pace of the holiday season kicks in, Wii Fit Plus delivers an unbeatable at-home fitness option,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Whether people have specific fitness goals or just want a fun way to stay active, they can create a personalized, productive workout routine that they’ll actually look forward to each day.”

Wii Fit Plus makes use of the innovative Wii Balance Board™ accessory, an easy-to-use device that detects players’ movements as they enjoy games like Obstacle Course and Perfect 10. Players can also incorporate the Nunchuk™ controller in activities such as Kung Fu. Wii Fit Plus and the Wii Balance Board are available in a single product package at a suggested retail price of $99.99. Wii users who already own the original Wii Fit can purchase the Wii Fit Plus software separately at a suggested retail price of $19.99. Also, Wii Fit Plus automatically reads and incorporates existing Wii Fit user data, providing a seamless transition for experienced players.

Wii Fit Plus expands on the popularity of the original Wii Fit, which has sold nearly 8 million copies in the United States alone since its release in May 2008, according to the NPD Group. Along with titles like Wii Sports™ and Wii Sports Resort™, the Wii Fit franchise has attracted millions of new and veteran gamers with its easy-to-learn wireless controls and entertaining active-play activities.

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 Plus, visit www.WiiFit.com.

Source: Nintendo Press Release

It's Officially Official, Wii Now $199, New Super Mario Bros. and Wii Fit Dated

Nintendo has announced, at last, through a press release that beginning on September 27 the Wii will be sold at retail for $199. This will include the console, Wii Remote, Nunchuk and Wii Sports.

“Wii has reached more video game players than any game system before because it attracts everyone—both men and women, and people of all ages,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Our research shows there are 50 million Americans thinking about becoming gamers, and this more affordable price point and our vast array of new software mean many of them can now make the leap and find experiences that appeal to them, whatever their tastes or level of gaming experience.”

Also in the press release we have official release dates for both Wii Fit Plus and New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which will launch of October 4th and November 15th respectively.

Now all of the speculation is finally over and Nintendo can quit denying that they will be dropping the price. I'm most excited about the official announcement of New Super Mario Bros. Wii as this game is sitting on top of my most wanted list.

So let everyone know, if they don't have a Wii, they've just gotten 50 more reasons to go out right now and pick one up.

Source: Nintendo Press Release

New DSi Colors, Wii Remote, and Wii Fit Plus Announced

Speaking at the Gamestop Manager's Conference today, Nintendo of America President & COO, Reggie Fils-Aime announced details regarding Wii Fit Plus's release date and pricing as well as confirming new colors of both the DSi and the Wii Remote. Details of that announcement are

Wii Fit Plus: This enhanced version of the top-selling game offers a range of new features, along with new exercises, yoga activities and balance games designed to keep workouts fun. For the first time, users can customize their workouts to target specific areas of their bodies or to fill specific intervals of time. Wii Fit Plus will replace the current Wii Fit™ configuration at retail, and will be bundled with the Wii Balance Board™ accessory at a suggested retail price of $99.99. For people who currently own Wii Fit and want to add the expanded options to their fitness regimen, the Wii Fit Plus disc will be available on its own at a suggested retail price of $19.99.

White and Pink Nintendo DSi colors: The two new colors give consumers even more options to personalize their experiences. All models of the Nintendo DSi hardware come with two cameras and interactive options to let users create and manipulate pictures or sound in fun and creative ways. All versions of Nintendo DSi are available at a suggested retail price of $169.99.

Wii Remote and Wii MotionPlus Black bundle: The Black bundle is the first new color for the Wii Remote and Wii MotionPlus.

Black Nunchuk: The Black Nunchuk will be available as a standalone purchase.

Along with those details he also announced that Wii Fit Plus will be available on October 4th of this year. The new DSi colors will be available for purchase on September 13th. There was no announcement on when the new Wii Remote and Nunchuk would be available other than this holiday season.

Source: Nintendo PR Email

Iwata Is Hoping For a Big Holiday

“In September, which people overseas call ‘back-to-school,’ people start to pay more attention to home consoles. If we can convey the appeal of Wii Sports Resort to existing customers then, it will surely contribute to the sales of hardware and generate good momentum toward the holiday season. So we feel that Wii Sports Resort will drive hardware sales mainly in Q3 from October to December. Last year, we had some internal discussions about the close launch period of Mario Kart Wii and Wii Fit but we ended up launching them with the hypothesis that several major title launches in close proximity can produce a synergetic effect. As a result, it went very well. This year we hope to do well again as we will be launching three ten-million class titles consecutively, and would love to hear that ‘Holiday 2009 was the best one ever for Nintendo!’”

Source: Nintendo Everything

Nintendo has big plans every holiday season, as do most game companies. We're seeing a lot of them shift games out of the holiday season this year into the first quarter of next year to avoid the rush and hopefully generate a few more sales. Nintendo has New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Wii Fit Plus, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, Metroid Prime Trilogy, and Wii Fit Plus all scheduled to come out before the end of the year. I can see all of those potentially being big sellers so Mr. Iwata may have a lot to look forward to.

I can say without a doubt that New Super Mario Bros. Wii will be the biggest seller of all those games. The DS iteration of the game is still on the NPD best seller list every month and the game has been out for three years. Mario is a huge force in the gaming world and any time a title with his name on it comes out it sells huge. Wii Fit has a bigger install base than the PS3. The updated version this year has made some additions that many people will welcome and it will warrant a second purchase for people who have been happy with that product.

I'm looking forward to all of those titles, and will be out on day one buying Metroid Prime Trilogy and New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Which holiday offerings from Nintendo are you looking forward to?