POKÉMON RANGER: SHADOWS OF ALMIA LAUNCHES FOR NINTENDO DS

Players Protect Nature, Rescue People and Help Pokémon in Need

REDMOND, Wash., Nov. 10, 2008 – The new Pokémon™ Ranger: Shadows of Almia action-adventure game for Nintendo DS™ launches today and lets players capture Pokémon in a fun, new way: by circling them on the touch screen with a "Capture Styler." Capturing a Pokémon allows players to use its abilities to overcome various obstacles and challenges they face along the way. As the game progresses the stylus-controlled Capture Styler is upgraded with new abilities.

"The first Pokémon games launched in the United States more than 10 years ago, and new fans are created every day," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. "To date, the Pokémon franchise has sold more than 60 million games in the United States. Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia gives fans new challenges and new adventures."

In Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia, players take on the role of a Pokémon Ranger, who works to help people, Pokémon and nature. Along the way, players meet and capture all kinds of different Pokémon who can help them overcome various challenges, such as fighting wildfires, rescuing people or delivering important packages. Different Pokémon have different powers that can help players as they progress through the game.

Players get to travel through a larger land, go on more Missions and experience more adventures than in the original Pokémon Ranger game. The game is set in Almia, a new region that has locations such as oceans, forests and deserts not found in the original game. Players can start the game as a boy or girl Ranger, and add up to 17 Partner Pokémon (special Pokémon that remain with the Ranger even after their powers are used) to their team as the game progresses. Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia features Pokémon from the Pokémon® Diamond version and Pokémon® Pearl version games (each sold separately).

For more information about Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia, visit www.PokemonRanger.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™ and Nintendo DS™ systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold nearly 2.7 billion video games and more than 470 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.

About Pokémon USA: Pokémon USA, Inc., a subsidiary of The Pokémon Company in Japan, manages the property outside of Asia which includes licensing, marketing, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, an animated TV series, the Pokémon Trading Figure Game, home entertainment and the official Pokémon Web site. Pokémon was launched in Japan in 1996 for play on Nintendo's Game Boy® and has since evolved into a global cultural phenomenon. Pokémon was introduced in North America in 1998 and today is one of the most popular toy and entertainment properties in the world. For more information, visit www.pokemon.com.

Quick, what was the biggest selling DS game for the period starting April 4, 2008 and ending September 8, 2008? What about Wii games?

Quick, quick, quick. If you know, pat yourself on the back. If not, check out the data Nintendo's released:

Nintendo DS

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness
Total: 2.54 million
4/2008 ~ 9/2008 Japan: 0
4/2008 ~ 9/2008 Overseas: 2.54 million
Life-to-date Total: 4.12 million

New Super Mario Bros.
Total: 1.73 million
4/2008 ~ 9/2008 Japan: 150,000
4/2008 ~ 9/2008 Overseas: 1.58 million
Life-to-date Total: 15.89 million

Mario Kart DS
Total: 1.67 million
4/2008 ~ 9/2008 Japan: 200,000
4/2008 ~ 9/2008 Overseas: 1.46 million
Life-to-date Total: 12.12 million

Pokémon Platinum
Total: 1.56 million
4/2008 ~ 9/2008 Japan: 1.56 million
4/2008 ~ 9/2008 Overseas: 0
Life-to-date Total: 1.56 million

Brain Age
Total: 1.50 million
4/2008 ~ 9/2008 Japan: 40,000
4/2008 ~ 9/2008 Overseas: 1.46 million
Life-to-date Total: 14.48 million

Nintendogs
Total: 1.36 million
4/2008 ~ 9/2008 Japan: 40,000
4/2008 ~ 9/2008 Overseas: 1.32 million
Life-to-date Total: 20.03 million

Brain Age 2
Total: 1.2 million
4/2008 ~ 9/2008 Japan: 50,000
4/2008 ~ 9/2008 Overseas: 1.15 million
Life-to-date Total: 12.03 million

Mario Party DS
Total: 1.11 million
4/2008 ~ 9/2008 Japan: 60,000
4/2008 ~ 9/2008 Overseas: 1.05 million
Life-to-date Total: 4.73 million

Wii

Mario Kart Wii
Total: 9.35 million
4/2008 ~ 9/2008 Japan: 1.85 million
4/2008 ~ 9/2008 Overseas: 7.67 million
Life-to-date Total: 9.53 million

Wii Sports
Total: 9.32 million
4/2008 ~ 9/2008 Japan: 250,000
4/2008 ~ 9/2008 Overseas: 9.06 million
Life-to-date Total: 30.87 million

Wii Fit
Total: 6.92 million
4/2008 ~ 9/2008 Japan: 910,000
4/2008 ~ 9/2008 Overseas: 6.01 million
Life-to-date Total: 8.75 million

Wii Play (Wii Remote bundled)
Total: 4.64 million
4/2008 ~ 9/2008 Japan: 140,000
4/2008 ~ 9/2008 Overseas: 4.5 million
Life-to-date Total: 16.15 million

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Total: 2.61 million
4/2008 ~ 9/2008 Japan: 120,00
4/2008 ~ 9/2008 Overseas: 2.49 million
Life-to-date Total: 7.47 million

Link's Crossbow Training (packaged with Wii Zapper)
Total: 1.05 million
4/2008 ~ 9/2008 Japan: 250,000
4/2008 ~ 9/2008 Overseas: 800,000
Life-to-date Total: 2.75 million

For total DS software sales during this period, 8.82 million units were sold in Japan, 22.07 million sold in the Americas and 17.55 million sold in "Other." In the previous quarter, 4.93 million units were sold in Japan, 14.33 were sold in the Americas and 17.33 were sold in "Other."

For total Wii software sales during this period, 1.80 million were sold in Japan, 23.53 million in the Americas and 15.67 million in "Other." In the previous quarter, 3.90 million units were sold in Japan, 19.34 million in the Americas and 17.16 million in "Other."

via Kotaku

News: Unique Controls Put Wii at No. 1 for September NPD; Nintendo DS at No. 2

Oct. 16, 2008 - Backed by a variety of unique interfaces, Nintendo's Wii™ console topped the U.S. video game hardware sales charts with nearly 687,000 units sold in September, according to the independent NPD Group, which tracks video game sales in the United States. Nintendo DS™ was the No. 2 best-selling system, with nearly 537,000 sold.

Wii enjoyed the biggest monthly unit sales increase with 234,000 more units sold in September than August. Wii also saw a year-over-year increase of more than 37 percent over September 2007.

Four games made for Nintendo systems placed in the top 10 best-selling games of the month, including Wii Fit™ at No. 2 with nearly 518,000 sold, Mario Kart™ Wii at No. 4 with more than 353,000 sold, Wii Play™ at No. 7 with nearly 243,000 sold and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for Wii at No. 8 with more than 223,000 sold.

"The four Wii games in the top 10 all feature controls just not possible on other video game systems," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. "The Wii Balance Board and Wii Wheel give players new ways to interact with their games, while the Wii Remote controller transforms into a pool cue, table tennis paddle or lightsaber. Consumers have truly responded to this variety of entertainment options."

For more information about Nintendo, please visit www.Nintendo.com.

NINTENDO'S HOLIDAY 2008: WII SPEAK CHANNEL, CLUB NINTENDO, MORE SURPRISES

Nintendo Announces 'Significant Increase' in Q4 Wii Supplies over 2007

REDMOND, Wash., Oct. 2, 2008 – Nintendo today disclosed a number of surprises, including new games, the ability to use the Wii™ console to chat with friends near and far, and the expansion of the popular Club Nintendo rewards program to North America.

At its San Francisco press event, Nintendo followed up on its Japanese DSi announcement by revealing the updated handheld won't debut in the U.S. until "well into 2009," (fiscal year).

The DSi itself wasn't the main thrust of the presentation, due to the fact that it won't launch in North America until significantly into next year, according to Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime. Nonetheless, the presentation kicked off with a demo of the DSi, which updates the DS's original design with the addition of a camera, the ability to play music files and an SD card slot.

Fils-Aime's English language explanation brought up a couple of notable clarifications compared to the Japanese launch.

Notably, the demo showed that the handheld will indeed have some internal Flash memory for storing games and data, and that the music player will play only AAC files, as opposed to MP3s.

Continuing its commitment to supply new game experiences for every level of player, Nintendo revealed a wide range of games for the 2008 holiday season and beyond. A number of games are slated for 2009, including a new Punch-Out!! ™ and Sin & Punishment 2 for Wii, and Fire Emblem™: Shadow Dragon and Mario & Luigi™ RPG 3 for Nintendo DS™. Consumers also can expect a new "Personal Trainer” series of titles designed to help users enrich their lives and learn new skills in fun and interesting ways.

Nintendo also announced that North American supplies of the Wii video game console between October and December will see a significant increase from 2007's levels, and that Nintendo DS will also be available in greater abundance than ever before.

"We have new games and new experiences for every kind of player this holiday season, and that will certainly fuel increased interest in Wii and Nintendo DS,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. "While there's no way to gauge total demand for our hardware systems, we're trying to satisfy as many of those players as possible.”

The new Wii Speak™ Channel arrives on Nov. 16 and uses the Wii Speak™, a microphone that sits on top of your television. This accessory is sold separately at an MSRP of $29.99. People who buy the microphone are given a code that allows them to download the Wii Speak Channel from the Wii Shop Channel at no charge. The Wii Speak lets people in up to four locations who have traded Friend Codes chat with one another at no extra cost. When you use Wii Speak in real time, your Mii™ appears on your TV screen and mimics your chat. You also can leave audio messages for your friends and family members or use Wii Speak to narrate captions for your photos.

Gamers have longed for the expansion of Club Nintendo to North America for years, and now Nintendo is making it a reality for everyone. Club Nintendo rewards Nintendo loyalists who complete surveys and register Nintendo products with loyalty coins that can be redeemed for exclusive items available only to Club Nintendo members. Club Nintendo is set to debut in North America this holiday season.

Pages: 1 · 2

More details announced, Smaller, GBA-less handheld.

US, October 1, 2008 - Nintendo has just announced a new model of the Nintendo DS. Called the Nintendo DS-i, the unit is a smaller handheld that features larger screens, an SD card slot for digital downloads and MP3 playback, and a .3 megapixel camera (640x480 resolution). It is roughly 12% thinner than the current DS Lite model.

Using the touch screen, users will be able to adjust pitch and playback speed of MP3s as well as edit photos taken with the camera.

Newly added video (in Japanese) highlighting the features of the new DSi.

The Nintendo DS-i handheld will have browser software built-in and have access to a DSWare store where gamers can spend Nintendo Points on software. Nintendo will give gamers 1000 points for free if they visit the store by March 2010 -- games will feature four price structures: Free, 200 Points, 500 Points and Premium (800 Points).

Smaller, built-in camera, and no GBA slot.

The Nintendo DS-i will not feature compatibility with Game Boy Advance games due to the lack of a GBA cartridge slot. Though it hasn't been revealed by Nintendo, it's likely that peripherals such as the Guitar Grip for Guitar Hero will not work with the DS-i handheld.

The system will be released November 1st in Japan for 18,900 yen (approximately $180 US) in white and Matte black colors. As of right now, the system is a Japan exclusive.