REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 10, 2005--Nintendo is partnering with IGN Entertainment to create an innovative network for portable video games that is not only expansive but also extremely easy for everyone to use. Set to debut later this year, the wireless service for Nintendo DS(TM) will use IGN's GameSpy Technology to let people around the world link easily and wirelessly to play games, just as if they were playing face-to-face.
"With minimum setup procedures, Nintendo DS owners will be able to enjoy Wi-Fi gaming just as easily as if they were playing with their friends in the same room," explains Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of sales & marketing. "To realize this simple and seamless transition to Wi-Fi gaming, we're partnering with one of the leaders in the multiplayer gaming world. Accessing the service will require no added Nintendo subscription charges, whether users hook up using a home broadband Wi-Fi connection or access a Wi-Fi hotspot at a coffee shop, library or elsewhere. It doesn't get any easier than that."
The service will be used by a variety of upcoming games, including the previously announced Animal Crossing(R) DS. Other titles will be revealed in the coming weeks. When using the service, DS owners can choose whether they would like to play with friends or strangers, whether nearby or on the other side of the world.
The service represents the first foray by IGN's GameSpy into portable games.
"We're excited to bring the technology that powers more than 300 PC and console video games to Nintendo's innovative wireless platform. Now developers can easily and confidently add advanced matchmaking, community and other multiplayer services to their Nintendo DS games," says Mark Stieglitz, general manager of IGN Entertainment's GameSpy Technology Group. "We're honored that Nintendo is choosing IGN's GameSpy as their middleware partner, and look forward to a very long relationship."
About IGN Entertainment: IGN Entertainment provides many of the Internet's leading destinations for video gaming, entertainment and community targeted at teens and 18-34 year-old males. The company's properties include IGN.com, GameSpy, Rotten Tomatoes, FilePlanet, GameSpy Arcade, GameSpy Arena, Direct2Drive, TeamXbox , 3D Gamers, more than 70 community sites and a vast array of online forums. IGN Entertainment is also a leading provider of technology under its GameSpy brand for online game play in video games, providing developers and publishers with cost effective solutions for matchmaking, community building, piracy prevention, and in-game marketing. The company's paid content, download and game play services are among the most popular game-related subscriptions available on the Internet. The privately held company has its headquarters in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices throughout the U.S.
About Nintendo: The worldwide leader and innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its popular home and portable video game systems. Each year, hundreds of all-new titles for the best-selling Game Boy(R) Advance SP, Nintendo DS(TM) and Nintendo GameCube(TM) systems extend Nintendo's vast game library and continue the tradition of delivering a rich, diverse mix of quality video games for players of all ages. Since the release of its first home video game system in 1983, Nintendo has sold more than 1.9 billion video games and more than 336 million hardware units globally, creating enduring industry icons such as Mario(TM) and Donkey Kong(R) and launching popular culture franchise phenomena such as Metroid(R), Zelda(TM) and Pokemon(R). 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.
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