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European Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Details - DS

5th November 2005, 7:52pm
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 There is a revolution afoot in the worlds of Wi-Fi and gaming. Nintendo UK is bringing Wi-Fi technology into play from the 25th November 2005 with a new groundbreaking deal with wireless providers BT Openzone and The Cloud. The launch of the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service means the UK will take an unprecedented step forward into a new era of gaming, allowing anyone to play against friends and family across the globe simply, safely and best of all - for free.

To ensure that anyone really can play against others from all over the world with their Nintendo DS, the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection can be accessed in any one of three ways:

Gamers will be able to visit any one of over 7,500 Wi-Fi hotspots at locations across the UK. These include McDonalds restaurants, Coffee Republic coffee houses, Hilton and Ramada Jarvis hotels, Road Chef and Welcome Break service stations, First Great Western railway stations, over 25 student unions and city centre BT Payphones and airports, football stadiums and even the British Library and Canary Wharf.

Nintendo UK will also be installing BT Openzone Wi-Fi hotspots into major video games retailers and other key outlets across the UK, meaning it really is possible to game anywhere!

Gamers with a broadband internet connection at home will be able to enjoy the free, simple and safe Wi-Fi gaming service, you simply need a Wi-Fi access point or hotspot, like a Wi-Fi wireless router, and an active broadband internet connection. If you do not have a wireless access point, you can purchase a Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector (available 25th November for around £30) which plugs into a PC and automatically sets up a connection for you. Of course, you still have to pay for your broadband rental.

It's incredibly easy to use - you simply turn it on and select Wi-Fi, there are no complicated menu screens and minimum configurations required and most importantly Nintendo's Wi-Fi Connection service is a safe environment for players. Players have the option to select to play with just friends, or people of a similar skill level around the world without fear of harassment. Players do not have direct communication with each other when playing anonymously and therefore personal details or inappropriate comments cannot be exchanged.

David Yarnton, General Manager, Nintendo UK said:
"Nintendo are bringing a significant, groundbreaking deal to the UK. Launching our Wi-Fi service in partnership with two of the UK's leading providers of hotspots is a massive statement of our commitment. Nintendo has revolutionised Wi-Fi video gaming, removing all of the negative aspects whilst retaining the fun and diversity it offers. The Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service truly offers the mass market a great opportunity to fully embrace Wi-Fi"

George Polk, CEO of The Cloud, said:
"Consumer Wi-Fi has finally arrived, and in a big way. Now hundreds of thousands of Nintendo users can play networked games when they are out and about, while they are waiting for a train, walking to meetings, at shopping malls, at the football, and many other places. Nintendo Wi-Fi can fill all those little spaces in the day, keeping Nintendo customers in touch with friends and gaming rivals across town and across the world.

"By bundling free usage in with the game, engineering the DS so it can automatically connect to the network, creating market leading games, and pioneering new communities of users, Nintendo is breaking down all the barriers to usage that have slowed the growth of Wi-Fi. Business usage of our network continues to grow quickly, but we have thousands of consumer locations that have been waiting for this kind of service to come to market. To say we are excited and impressed by their new service would be a vast understatement."

Now, where's our Nintendo Australia announcement?
by Nick Schaedel » Author's Blog