Norwegian Cruise Line and Nintendo Expand Partnership to Bring Wii U Gaming Fun to Ships

Wii U Games Will be the Focus of On-Board Gaming and Competitions

REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Norwegian Cruise Line and Nintendo of America announced today that they are expanding their partnership to offer Wii U™ video game systems and Wii U games fleetwide. As part of the partnership expansion, the line will feature Nintendo’s newest video game console in all ships’ atriums and youth and teen centers. In addition, the new HD Wii U systems will be featured at various competitions and events on board each ship.

Norwegian first partnered with Nintendo in March 2007, when Wii™ systems were introduced fleetwide. Now, with the introduction of Wii U, the successor to Wii, the gaming experience is being elevated to new levels. The interactive Wii U gaming system complements Norwegian’s Freestyle Cruising® by offering gaming opportunities to guests of all ages. The new consoles give guests the chance to experience a variety of new action, adventure, party, racing, strategy, puzzle and sports games. Upcoming game rollouts will include The Legend of Zelda™: The Wind Waker HD, a high-definition re-release of one of the greatest Nintendo games of all time; Super Mario™ 3D World, the first multiplayer 3D Mario game for Wii U; New Super Luigi U™, starring Mario’s green-clad brother; Pikmin™ 3, which asks players to command an army of colorful creatures; and The Wonderful 101™, which puts players in control of a band of superheroes fighting off an alien invasion.

Wii U delivers great video game experiences with exclusive Nintendo characters in HD. Wii U also features the GamePad controller, which removes the traditional barriers between players, their favorite games and the television by giving one player a second touch screen, while other players use traditional controllers. That lets different players experience the same game in different ways. It’s perfect for the kinds of multiplayer game-playing parties found on board cruise ships.

“The Wii consoles have always been extremely popular among our guests,” said Richard Ambrose, Norwegian Cruise Line’s vice president of entertainment. “The new Wii U systems are guaranteed to take gaming on board to the next level, and will surely be a hit.”

“Wii U provides one of the most social video game experiences you can have, whether you’re playing with family members or friends,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “The ships in Norwegian Cruise Line’s fleet give people a great opportunity to experience Wii U for themselves, have fun playing Nintendo games and make some new friends.”

For more information on Norwegian Cruise Line, visit www.ncl.com. To book a cruise on Norwegian, contact a travel professional, call Norwegian at 800-327-7030 or visit www.ncl.com.

Source: Nintendo PR