Tag Archives: Wii

3 Big Nintendo Announcements: Wii Price Reduced to $199.99, World of Nintendo Sampling Tour and new Mario Bros. Game

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I had to opportunity to speak with Denise Kaigler, the VP of Corp.
Affairs for Nintendo of America on a press call to find out about 3
announcements Nintendo has just made. Here are some key items from the
conversation:

  1. Nintendo Wii price decrease: Just in time for holiday shopping, the price of the Nintendo Wii will drop $50 from $250 to $199.99 – effective Sep 27.
  2.  NEW Wii Game out Nov. 15: New Super Mario Bros. Wii is a simultaneous
    multiplayer game that “offers a combination of cooperation
    and competition “.
  3. World of Nintendo – Consumer Sampling Tour starting in Oct. and ending in January: Click HERE to see full schedule.
    The World of Nintendo Consumer Tours are firsthand sampling events that
    will showcase the diversity and breath of unique product experience.
    The tour will include Nintendo titles already launched (including the Wii Sports Resort that utilizes the Wii Motion Plus) and new Nintendo
    products (including the Wii Fit Plus )and is expected to reach 1 million consumers in 35 to 40
    markets. The tour will be at different larger venues like Long Beach Comic Con, VGXPO in Philly and Big Apple Comic Con in NYC on Oct 2-Oct 18.

When I asked why Nintendo decided to do the sampling tours Denise Kaigler said “50 million consumers are sitting on sidelines, want to play, but have
not been convinced. They are waiting for that reason. Reducing price of
the Wii, continuing to come out with fun games and then showcasing
these titles will help the consumers
experience.”

Click HERE to see Press Release included at the bottom of this post:

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Jo Koy: His Mom and The Wii

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My husband and I are BIG fans of the Chelsea Lately show, especially as comic relief to the challenges of parenthood. Last night we found a comedy show by one of the Chelsea Lately comedians – Jo Koy called “Don’t Make Him Angry“. Jo Koy happens to be a father himself, and has very funny comedy routines about parenthood. One part of the show especially made me laugh – when he talked about his Mom and the Wii! I knew I had to post that video on Techmamas. Here is the clip, keep in mind that MY MOM totally rocks Mario Kart and Wii Tennis. Looks like we are not alone.

**Note: I was honored to have the opportunity to view a Chelsea Lately taping. But the MOST EXCITING part was interviewing ( with Kimberley Blaine and other LA Moms Bloggers ) my other favorite parent/comedian – Heather McDonald. Here is a link to the post and video about our adventures at the LA Moms Blog “Kimberley Lately – LA Mom Bloggers get VIP Treatment at the Chelsea Lately Show “.

Jo Koy Don’t Make Him Angry: Mom and Wii


Update 4/11/2010:

Looks like Viacom blocked the video I posted above. Here is a link to the video on the Comedy Central Website: Jo Koy Wii.

 

Girl (and Mom) Gamers Are On The Rise

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Recently I seem to be reading lots about an increase in girl gamers. At SXSW, I went to an interactive panel that discussed getting girls into gaming as a gateway to getting them interested in technology. I also saw that there were lots of activites at SXSW centered around girl gamers.

Today I received information about a NPD study press release that discusses girl gaming is on the rise:

"According to The NPD Group's Gamer Segmentation 2009 report, girl gamers are on the rise.  The study found that females increased by five percentage points to make up 28 percent of console gamers, up from 23 percent in 2008.  This trend can be attributed to the strong sales of titles such as Wii Fit and the recently-introduced EA Sports Active, which allow women to stay active from the comfort of their own homes.  In addition, Wii Sports was very popular among non-traditional gamers, and Nintendo is expecting this momentum to continue with Wii Sports Resort. 

Activision's Guitar Hero and Electronic Arts' Rock Band appeal to young girls who enjoy the interactive nature of the games.  Nintendogs, a puppy simulator and Animal Crossing: City Folk, which allows players to interact with hundreds of animals, are also big with women.  Nintendo will continue to capitalize on this trend with the upcoming launch of Style Savvy this holiday season.  Players become the owner of a clothing boutique, and the game combines creativity and fashion with a collection of trendy clothes, chic accessories and stylish shoes.  In addition, the company regularly hosts Girlfriends’ Guide to Gaming nights, male-free events in cities throughout the country in which young, professional women have the opportunity to experience video games in a social atmosphere."

I have seen an increase in my mom friends gaming habits as well in the following areas:

I few weeks ago I went to a press briefing with Nintendo on the new Wii Sports Resort (that has dozen resort-themed activities) and imagine that that game will be used by families for interactive screen time as well.   Wii Sports Resort comes bundled with a Wii MotionPlus – that captures additional movements for more activities (i.e. throwing a frisbee to a dog). Which is really good for me because I told my boys we can't have a pet. So having a frisbee throw with a virtual pet may keep them satisfied for now.

 

Nintedo Press Releases: WiiWare, Animal Crossing, Donkey Kong and eXiteBots

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We enjoy using our Wii for screentime fun in our own house. Because my friends know I write about technology, they ask me for information about Wii games. So I decided to add myself to the Nintendo press release site to keep up to date. Here are some recent press releases of interest:

"WiiWare™, the downloadable video game service for Nintendo's Wii™ home
console, launched one year ago today. It arrived with a promise to
provide a venue for game developers to showcase their ideas, while
delivering to consumers the newest, most interesting games available at
accessible prices, directly through the Wii Shop Channel in their Wii
consoles. With 81 games in its library, WiiWare ensures that there's
something for everyone. But beyond quantity, WiiWare offers quality
games and experiences for all types of Wii owners.

WiiWare games have been created by more than 40 different development
studios, from large companies to small startups. In fact, more than
half the games in the WiiWare library were created and self-published
by small independent studios, many with five or fewer employees."

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Active Video Games For The Nintendo Wii

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I am just about to finish my Nintendo Wii Guide – when I happened to see this game at Target today:
Outdoor Challenge.
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The boy jumping got me at first look. The game has different adventures players interact with using the mat (included) and a Wii Controller. The instructions show very clearly the movements necessary for each game. I had my 10 year old, a male sitter that just got out of college, and my 6 year old twins try it. All had fun, and even broke a sweat. The game had "clean" excitement and gave everyone good challenges. The sitter said that he gets more of a workout from using the Wii Fit because it is set up for workouts – but that this game was "active fun". As it said on the cover, it did get my kids off the sofa during the time after school/sports that they usually like to relax in front of the TV.

Another benefit of this game is that each session is very short – so reminders that the gametime is almost over was not a big deal. Some games do engage players in a longer session, which makes shutting them off harder.

Next I may try the Wii Fit with Wii Ski or Shaun White Snowboarding because my son just learned how a few weeks ago in real snow. While anything Mario (especially MarioKart), Lego, or Super Smash bros seems to be popular with my tweener and his friends, the active games did engage my 10 year old who told me "that he felt like he exercised" with Outdoor Challenge, especially while playing the mountain track and log jumping games.

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