The Game Is On As Nintendo Wi-Fi Storms The Globe

Over 20 million worldwide connections

Over 20,000 Free Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Hotspots across Europe

9th February 2006 – The entertainment industry is evolving rapidly and with it so is gaming, diversifying year on year to appeal to newer and larger audiences. In keeping with the increased demands for social interaction through gaming, Nintendo's Wi-Fi gaming service has seen users skyrocket, with more than 20 million connections to the service and over 850,000 unique users worldwide in just over two months since it launched in November 2005.

Nintendo's Wi-Fi connection service has revolutionised handheld gaming by allowing anyone to play against friends from across the globe, simply, safely and for free* either at home or on the go. There is no fee to pay and no difficult set-up procedures - gamers simply insert their Wi-Fi enabled game into their Nintendo DS, within a Nintendo Wi-Fi connection hotspot, and press connect. Nintendo DS owners can also enjoy Wi-Fi gaming from the comfort of their homes using their existing Wi-Fi broadband connection. People can play without fear of harassment from other players as they can choose to play only with their friends.

As part of its ongoing drive to provide free Wi-Fi access to Nintendo DS owners Nintendo has signed deals with major Wi-Fi providers across Europe giving users access to over 20,000 free Nintendo Wi-Fi access points.

Nintendo has partnered with the following Wi-Fi providers across Europe:
UK - BT Openzone and The Cloud
France - Meteor Networks
Germany – T-Com
Spain - Telefonica of Spain
Italy - Linkem
Holland - T-Mobile Netherlands
Sweden – The Cloud
Norway- The Cloud
Denmark – The Cloud
Portugal – PT Wi-Fi
Greece - ForthNet

Laurent Fischer, Marketing Director, Nintendo of Europe commented: "Our aim is to provide a Wi-Fi service that is simple to use and accessible to everyone. We have over 20,000 free Nintendo Wi-Fi hotspots in place across Europe, ranging from airports, coffee shops, bars and hotels, and already over 850,000 people globally are using our service. We hope to continue to build on this success with the launch of more Nintendo WiFi hotspots and Wi-Fi games throughout the year."

Fans of the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service will be delighted to see three new Wi-Fi games launching soon. From Nintendo; Animal Crossing: Wild World will have gamers living alternate lives online from the 31st March 2006 and shoot-em up fans across Europe will be blasting aliens in Metroid Prime Hunters from 5th May 2006. Also launching in Europe this Spring is LOSTMAGIC^TM from Ubisoft, a role playing action game which allows you to create new characters and challenge others via Nintendo Wi-Fi connectivity. Other Wi-Fi compatible Nintendo DS games currently available include: Mario Kart DS from Nintendo and 'Tony Hawk's American SK8Land' from Activision.

Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service launched across Europe on 25th November 2005, at no cost to users. To find your nearest Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection hotspot log onto www.nintendowifi.com.

For those who want to play Nintendo DS Wi-Fi games at home and don't have a wireless access point Nintendo has also launched a Nintendo Wi-Fi USB connector (available for around £30) which plugs into a PC and automatically sets up a connection.

*Usual broadband line rental costs apply when accessing the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection from home.