Nintendo’s Wii Sports Resort Invites Everyone to a Tropical Escape

REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– On July 26, Nintendo invites everyone to kick back and transform their living rooms into a tropical island adventure with the Wii Sports Resort™ video game, the next chapter in the Wii Sports phenomenon. Wii Sports Resort introduces a new era of motion controls with 12 resort-themed sports enhanced by the included Wii MotionPlus™ accessory. This accessory attaches to the base of the Wii Remote™ controller to bring exacting precision to games that are specially designed for it. Wii MotionPlus recognizes the slightest twist or turn of the Wii Remote controller to bring players deeper into their games. Wii Sports Resort leverages this technology as players escape to a virtual resort and experience all the fun activities of the island setting.

The 12 sports (archery, basketball, bowling, golf, table tennis, Swordplay, Air Sports, canoeing, cycling, Frisbee®, Power Cruising and wakeboarding) allow players to use the Wii Remote and Nunchuk™ controllers in different ways, and while some sports require both controllers, others can be played using only the Wii Remote. In archery, players hold the Wii Remote vertically like a bow while drawing back the Nunchuk. In Frisbee, players motion with the Wii Remote as though they were tossing a real Frisbee. And while playing wakeboarding, players hold the Wii Remote sideways as though they were hanging onto the end of a tether behind a speedboat.

Wii Sports Resort contains a vast amount of content designed to provide both new and veteran players with fun experiences. The game continues the same easy pick-up-and-play mechanics that made the original so popular while introducing deeper levels of play that will keep players entertained for years to come. Wii MotionPlus transforms the game-play experience and sets a new industry standard in the motion-based gaming movement that Nintendo pioneered. Data from MediaCreate in Japan showed that almost 360,000 units of Wii Sports Resort were sold in Japan in four days following its June 25 launch. The total sell-through estimate topped 500,000 in the second week and 600,000 in the third week.

“For Nintendo, precision motion controls and amazing game experiences are realities today,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Wii Sports Resort is like a vacation the entire family can enjoy from the comfort of the living room.”

To celebrate the launch of Wii Sports Resort, Nintendo is building an island (Wuhu) on an island (Military) on an island (Manhattan). Today, Times Square becomes host to Wuhu Island, which is featured in both Wii Sports Resort and Wii Fit™. Covered with more than 50 tons of sand, visitors can drop by for a free mini vacation to play Wii Sports Resort, sip nonalcoholic island beverages and enjoy the island oasis featuring a steel drum band, reflection pool and lounge area. Wii Sports Resort is also available today exclusively at the Nintendo World store in Rockefeller Plaza. It goes on sale nationwide on July 26.

The Times Square event kicks off a nationwide tour of Wii Sports Resort that will bring the resort oasis to festivals and events across the country. The first three weeks are detailed below. For event details and the most up-to-date tour schedule, visit www.WiiSportsResort.com.

Ashville, N.C.: Bele Chere Festival, July 24-26
Augusta, N.J.: New Jersey State Fair, Aug. 6-9
Bellevue, Wash.: 6th Street Fair, July 24-26
Bethlehem, Pa.: Musikfest, Aug. 7-9
Birmingham, Ala.: Riverchase Galleria, July 30-Aug. 2
Bloomington, Minn.: Mall Of America, July 24-26
Boston: Faneuil Hall, July 30-Aug. 2
Boulder, Colo.: Boulder County Fair, July 31-Aug. 2
Cheyenne, Wy.: Cheyenne Frontier Days, July 24-26
Columbus, Ohio: Jazz & Rib Fest, July 24-27; Ohio State Fair, July 29-Aug. 2
Dallas: Grapevine Mills, July 24-26
Houston: The Galleria, July 31-Aug. 2
Lowell, Mass.: Lowell Folk Festival, July 24-26
Oshkosh, Wisc.: EAA AirVenture, July 30-Aug. 2
Portland, Ore.: The Bite of Oregon, Aug. 7-9
Salt Lake City: Salt Lake County Fair, Aug. 5-8
Seattle: Seafair, July 31-Aug. 2
St. Louis: Saint Louis Galleria, Aug. 6-9
St. Petersburg, Fla.: Tyrone Square, Aug. 6-9
Washington: Potomac Mills, Aug. 6-9
West Allis, Wisc.: Wisconsin State Fair, Aug. 6-9

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 Sports Resort, visit www.WiiSportsResort.com.

About Nintendo: The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii™, Nintendo DS™ and Nintendo DSi™ systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold more than 2.9 billion video games and more than 496 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii, Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi, as well as the Game Boy™, Game Boy Advance, Super NES™, Nintendo 64™ and Nintendo GameCube™. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as 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.