Nintendo Fan Network Delivers Enhanced Features for 2009 Mariners Season

Posted on April 13, 2009 by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, News

Wireless Service Beams ESPN Content to Nintendo DS Systems
REDMOND, Wash. – April 13, 2009 – During the baseball season, Nintendo will offer Seattle Mariners fans and visitors to Safeco Field new ways to enjoy America’s favorite pastime. To enliven the fan experience, Nintendo has joined forces with ESPN® to deliver enhanced interactive features to the Nintendo® Fan Network, including ESPN’s up-to-the-minute news and analysis, as well as closed-captioning of PA announcements. The entire experience is delivered to fans’ Nintendo DS™ systems through an exclusive Wi-Fi network. Since it debuted in 2007, the Nintendo Fan Network has provided stadium-goers the ability to access information, chat with other fans and even order concessions by using Nintendo DS systems.
Via the Nintendo Fan Network, ESPN will deliver fans Mariners-related news, general sports news and headlines, fantasy sports news and updates, baseball columns from ESPN’s leading columnists, and ESPN Zoom Game, a photo-matching game for sports.
In addition to new features from ESPN, the free Nintendo Fan Network service offers live video broadcast and interactive trivia and games, as well as real-time scores of other baseball games in progress. For added convenience, the Nintendo Fan Network also offers live weather and traffic information, and the unique ability to order food and beverages for delivery directly to the fan’s seat, all with a tap of the stylus on the Nintendo DS system.
Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing, says, “Whether you’re watching live video, ordering food from your seat or checking scores, the Nintendo Fan Network enhances the game-day experience for families and baseball enthusiasts alike.” Howard Lincoln, CEO of the Seattle Mariners, adds, “Our goal is to provide the best possible fan experience at Safeco Field. The Nintendo Fan Network gives users access to features and information that allow them to get the most out of their visit to the ballpark.”
“ESPN has a long heritage of embracing emerging media platforms to deliver unique experiences to fans,” said John Zehr, senior vice president, digital media production and product development. “Our collaboration with the Nintendo Fan Network is a direct extension of the ESPN mission to enliven the sports experience, no matter how or where fans are consuming sports.”
In honor of the new Nintendo DSi™ system, the third iteration of the best-selling Nintendo DS, the Nintendo Fan Network will also offer for the first 150 requesters at each home game a free Nintendo DSi rental for in-game use during the first three months of the season. Launched in North America on April 5, Nintendo DSi lets users customize and personalize their hand-held gaming experiences like never before. With the goal of transforming the way people access, experience, create and share content, the Nintendo DSi comes with two built-in cameras and new audio recording and playback functions.
For more information about how to experience Nintendo Fan Network, please go to www.NintendoFanNetwork.com or visit one of the kiosks located near sections 127 and 143 inside Safeco Field.
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™ and Nintendo DS™ systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold more than 2.8 billion video games and more than 485 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii and Nintendo DS, 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.