BURGER KING® restaurants are giving guests the chance to own a Wii
U™ system, the exciting new gaming and entertainment system from Nintendo that
launches on Nov. 18. Beginning today, BURGER KING® guests can visit
participating restaurants or BK.com/WiiU to learn more about how to enter for a
chance to win. As part of the BURGER KING® Wii U Instant Win
Game*,BK® guests can go online to play a game, which will
utilize information found on their guest receipt. No purchase is necessary, see
BK.com/WiiU for details.
BURGER KING and Nintendo Partner Up (Photo: Business
Wire)
There’s also a contest just for young guests who enjoy a challenge. Kids ages
12 and younger can log onto BKCrown.com and play fun games for the opportunity
to win one of 10 Wii U systems and other fun Nintendo-themed prizes. At
approximately 7,400 participating BURGER KING® restaurant locations
in the U.S., guests will receive a Nintendo-themed toy with the purchase of a
Kids Meal during the promotional period. Toys will include Nintendo favorites
such as Mario™ and Luigi™ figurines, as well as toys inspired by the Wii U
console and the Wii U GamePad controller. Additionally, children will be able to
get limited-edition Mario and Luigi Wii U-themed BK® Crowns and Kids
Meal boxes at participating restaurants, as well as a fun-filled New Super
Mario Bros.™ U Activity Booklet. All toys and promotional items are
available while supplies last.
“Like BURGER KING®, the Wii U console provides families with the
occasion to get together to enjoy each other and interact in a fun and memorable
way,” said Flavia Faugeres, executive vice president and global chief marketing
officer, Burger King Worldwide. “We’ve enjoyed a great relationship with
Nintendo and are excited to offer our guests a chance to be one of the first to
own this highly-anticipated gaming system.”
“Wii U and the integrated Game Pad controller create new and unique ways to
play games, enjoy video entertainment and connect with family and friends,” said
Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales &
Marketing. “By partnering with the BURGER KING® brand, we aim
to bring the fun of the Wii U experience to the thousands of families who visit
their restaurants.”
*The BURGER KING® Nintendo Wii U Instant Win Game is only open to
legal residents of the 50 United States and D.C., who are 13 years of age or
older. No purchase is necessary to play the Game. To find out more on how you
can play today or for a copy of the official rules, please visit BK.com/WiiU. For more information about Wii U, visit www.nintendo.com/wiiu.
On Oct. 18, 1985: Nintendo Entertainment System Launches
1985: Nintendo releases a limited batch of Nintendo
Entertainment Systems in New York City, quietly launching the most influential
videogame platform of all time.
On this day in 1985, the American videogame market was in shambles. Sales of
game machines by Atari, Mattel and Coleco had risen to dizzying heights, then
collapsed even more quickly.
Retailers didn’t want to listen to the little startup Nintendo of America
talk about how its Japanese parent company had a huge hit with the Famicom (the
1983 Asian release of what became NES). In America, videogames were dead, dead,
dead. Personal computers were the future, and anything that just played
games but couldn’t do your taxes was hopelessly backwards.
But Nintendo President Hiroshi Yamauchi, whose grandfather had started
Nintendo as a playing-card company almost a century earlier, believed
strongly in the quality of the NES. So he told his American executives to launch
it in the most difficult market: New York City. If they could make it there,
Yamauchi thought, they could make it anywhere.
They couldn’t make it there. Retailers wouldn’t take the NES. So Nintendo of
America head Minoru Arakawa, Yamauchi’s son-in-law, took a huge gamble that he
didn’t share with the president. He told stores that Nintendo would provide them
with product and set up all the displays, and they only had to pay for the ones
that sold and could return everything else. For the stores, it was a no-risk
proposition, and a few agreed to sell NES.
Nintendo knew it had to get away from the term videogame. So it took
its marketing emphasis off of the traditional games played with a controller —
even though these comprised the vast majority of Nintendo Entertainment System
games — and focused on two accessories that it had released for Famicom in
Japan.
The Zapper light gun played the target-shooting game Duck Hunt.
And R.O.B. the Robot Operating Buddy whirred and spun around, taking commands
from the television, helping you play complex games like Gyromite.
This was light-years ahead of Atari, went the message: It has a
robot!
The stench of Atari’s collapse wasn’t the only thing working against
Nintendo. In 1985, Japan was not seen as the purveyors of cultural cool. They
were the invaders, swallowing up good old homemade American technology with
their cheap knockoffs.
“You’re working for the Japs? I hope you fall flat on your ass,” said a
security guard to a Nintendo employee as he loaded Nintendo Entertainment System
bundles into a store late at night.
Nintendo launched the system with 17 games:
Duck Hunt (included with console)
Gyromite (included with console)
10-Yard Fight
Baseball
Clu Clu Land
Donkey Kong Jr. Math
Excitebike
Golf
Hogan’s Alley
Ice Climber
Kung Fu
Mach Rider
Pinball
Stack-Up
Tennis
Wild Gunman
Wrecking Crew
What it didn’t have was its trump card: Super Mario Bros.,
although it had just been released in Japan, was not yet ready for America.
The games were in some cases assembled so hastily that many of them were
simply the Japanese circuit boards slapped into an American case: Put a copy of
Stack-Up into an NES and the first screen just displays the
Japanese title Robot Block.
At this point in the story, you’re expecting to hear that the Nintendo
Entertainment System was a huge surprise hit, flew off the shelves and sent
retailers into a frenzy begging for more. But that’s not quite what happened. In
fact, Nintendo only sold about 50,000 consoles that holiday season — half of
what it had manufactured.
But it was enough to convince Arakawa to soldier on, and to convince
retailers that Nintendo had a viable product. In early 1986, Nintendo expanded
into Los Angeles, then Chicago, then San Francisco.
At the end of that year, Nintendo Entertainment System went national, with
Mario leading the charge. Videogames were back.
On Monday morning it was revealed that Straight Right, developers handling the “Mass Effect 3” port on Wii U, also has an additional project in the works for Nintendo’s new home console.
According to the LinkedIn profile of technical project manager Chris Slater, Straight Right is “porting a triple-A Square Enix game to the yet-to-be-released Wii U platform”.
Earlier in the year, Straight Right CEO Tom Crago teased that a “big game in a well-known franchise will be released in 2013”. It can be assumed that this tease is related to the Square Enix game; however, the question now remains as to what the title could be.
Square Enix has a number of titles planned for 2013, of which include: “Tomb Raider” and “Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII”.
In January of 2012, Crystal Dynamics’ Karl Stewart dismissed the idea of a Wii U port of “Tomb Raider” and cited that if they were to port “Tomb Raider” to Wii U they would want to “build it with unique functionality.”
If not “Tomb Raider” or “Lightning Returns”, it could be an older title, so the possibilities are quite vast – like “Sleeping Dogs”.
According to a Neogaf user by the name of Shikamaru Ninja, legendary designer Shigeru Miyamoto is expected to leave Nintendo’s EAD division by December. Apparently, it troubles Miyamoto that his position as EAD General Manager overshadows the content created by new producers and directors at Nintendo’s largest gaming division. New Super Mario Bros. series producer Takashi Tezuka is rumored to take Miyamoto’s place at EAD.
Here’s a list of supposed changes at Nintendo, which the user claims are gathered from Guardian UK, Nikkei and Wired:
Major shift in Kyoto development sources involving three Research & Development buildings
Shigeru Miyamoto stepping down as EAD General Manager
Takashi Tezuka becoming new EAD General Manager
New Groups / New Producers announced for EAD Kyoto / SPD Kyoto
EAD Tokyo Expansion / Masahiro Sakurai possibly Joining EAD Tokyo
New Division lead by Miyamoto with younger staff focused on smaller scale games
Miyamoto’s Departure Inspiring New IPs for the EAD Kyoto Division
Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime has hinted at the possibility of a partnership with Comcast and other cable companies that would allow them to sell the Wii U. In an interview with the Seattle Times , Fils-Aime was asked if Nintendo would sell its new console through Comcast or other TV partners.
"It's certainly possible," said Fils-Aime, opening the door for the device to be sold at a reduced rate or given away for free to those who sign up for cable.
This strategy, where a service provider subsidizes the cost of a device by requiring buyers to sign a multi-year contract, has been hugely successful for Apple and Samsung. It has been widely speculated that Apple will attempt to do the same with its television set, which is expected to carry a hefty price tag .
During the interview, Fils-Aime spoke about the potential benefits of studying the TV viewing habits of consumers.
"Certainly the way the system works, it gives us access to a lot of information, as long as the consumer agrees to share it with us," said Fils-Aime. "How we utilize that, we'll find out as we go.
"Again, we're not in the ad-serving business. We're not in the micro-targeting business. But certainly I can imagine as we build out the service that's something that Comcast or AT&T or any of the cable companies are really going to be interested in, potentially."
When asked if that gives Nintendo leverage in negotiating with cable companies, Fils-Aime replied succinctly. "Sure," he said.
Fils-Aime was also asked why Nintendo did not buy TiVo and "go the whole DVR route."
The Nintendo Wii U video game console, coming Nov. 18 for $299. Courtesy image.
Wii U will have interactive TV, thanks to Utah’s i.TV
Tech » Nintendo’s video game console will use company’s software to advance interactive viewing.
By Vince Horiuchi
| The Salt Lake Tribune
First Published Oct 09 2012 12:09 pm • Updated 6 hours ago
Provo • With the help of a Provo company, Nintendo’s next-generation video game console will turn TV into TVii.
The Japanese gaming giant has partnered with Provo-based i.TV to develop a television service for its upcoming Nintendo Wii U console that not only will allow couch potatoes to watch television but also to interact with it.The service is called Nintendo TVii and it will be a new
feature in the Wii U console, which will be released to stores Nov. 18 for
$299.
Earlier this year, i.TV, which sits on the third floor of
the historic Knight Block Building on Provo’s Center Street, was asked to design
the television service and software for the console, allowing users to control
their television with the Wii U’s controller.
Unlike the wand controller that gamers waved in front of
the original Wii video game console, the new Wii U uses a game pad with a
6.2-inch touchscreen. Nintendo TVii turns that game pad and its second screen
into a television remote in which users can get the television grid, organize
their shows into favorites, and see instant information on what they’re watching
— from real-time statistics on the football game to descriptions of important
moments during a sitcom.
"We had a good sense for how people connect with TV,"
said i.TV chief executive, Brad Pelo, on how his company was chosen by Nintendo
over dozens of competitors. "We were able to demonstrate the maturity of our
thinking."
Here’s how Nintendo TVii works:
Once users connect the Wii U to a television set, they
can control their cable or satellite box or TV tuner with the game pad. Netflix,
Hulu and Amazon’s Prime Instant Video service are also integrated into the Wii U
and can be accessed from the game pad if the user subscribes to them.
While watching TV, users can search for a program or
movie they want to watch. On the game pad’s touchscreen, information is
displayed about what the episode is about and whether it’s playing live or if it
can be watched through Amazon, Netflix or Hulu. The service also works with TiVo
digital video recorders, so users can record a program through the game pad or
begin playback of a recorded program. For now, it works only with TiVo, but Pelo
hopes it will eventually work with other brands of DVRs.
Displaying information on shows and movies is only half
of what Nintendo TVii offers. The service also has built-in social networking
features. While watching a program, one-sentence plot descriptions come up on
the touchscreen during important scenes. Viewers with the Wii U can then comment
about those watercooler moments, tweet something about them or even initiate a
poll. They also can call up more information about an actor from the Internet
Movie Database or they can go to a retailer’s website to purchase something
related to the program. For example, fans of "American Idol" could push a button
to go to a website and purchase songs or other merchandise from the show.
D3Publisher and Cartoon Network’s upcoming videogame Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why’d You Steal Our Garbage?! will be showcased at the Nintendo booth (#1510) at the 2012 New York Comic Con, taking place October 11-14.
The first game based on the Emmy-winning animated series features a story by show creator Penn Ward, which finds best buds Finn and Jake waking up to find their trash has been stolen by the Ice King, who wants to use it to make a Garbage Princess. The heroes must go on an epic journey across the Land of Ooo to stop him. The handheld action-adventure game is under development by WayForward and will be rated E10+ (everyone aged 10 and up). Hey Ice King! will be available in stores this fall for the Nintendo 3DS and DS systems with an SRP of $29.95.
Warner Bros Games Montreal has confirmed that Batman: Arkham City Armoured Edition will be a day one launch game for Wii U. The game was previously scheduled to be released during the Wii U launch window. Batman: Arkham City Armoured Edition contains all the downloadable content from the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, and will be available on November 18th.
“Batman: Arkham City Armoured Edition harnesses the power of the Wii U system and the Wii U GamePad with features that allow fans to further immerse themselves in the role of Batman like never before. WB Games Montréal evolved the incredible hit game by Rocksteady into a truly unique experience on Wii U.”
