MARIO KART RACES BACK INTO POLE POSITION IN NINTENDO'S FIRST EVER WI-FI GAME

- MARIO KART DS LAUNCHES 25TH NOVEMBER 2005 -

5th October 2005 – Mario Kart fans rejoice as the hugely popular racing game comes to the Nintendo DS on 25th November 2005. Mario Kart DS will drive players new and old to distraction as they race their way around a selection of tracks, including all-new extravaganzas and time-honoured classics from previous versions of the games. What's more Mario Kart DS will be the first Nintendo DS title to offer gamers online play allowing you to race anyone, anywhere, anytime for free.

Want to show off your skills? Then get excited as Mario Kart DS features both online and wireless multiplayer modes. By using the Wireless DS Single-Card Download Play feature, up to 8 players can link up with just one game card. Alternatively you can battle it out online with three other players either in the comfort of your own home using your existing Wi-Fi broadband; or in the High Street either at Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Access Points in store or at Nintendo Wi-Fi connection enabled public Wi-Fi hotspots. Never before has it been so easy to pick up a games console and challenge friends from all over the world for free!

Nintendo's unique new Friend Roster enables players to play online with their friends, all you need to do is set up a Friend Code by swapping a number with your friend, they will then be added to your Friend Roster and you can select to play with them online anytime, anywhere. Alternatively you can play with someone of a similar skill level. This is done seamlessly via Nintendo's servers through the use of a skill mapping system to ensure the environment is open to users of all ages and skill levels.

The Nintendo DS's double screens are put to perfect use in Mario Kart DS, moving certain features, such as the map onto the bottom screen, clearing the top solely for the fast paced action. Mario Kart DS also allows players to see what weapons their opponents have, thanks to a small symbol next to their faces on the lower screen. For the first time ever you will know what item to hang onto and what tricks your opponents have up their sleeves.

Following in the Mario Kart tradition, players must pick up items along the track such as power-ups which they can use to boost their own powers, mushrooms for a speed boost, a star to become invulnerable or shells, bombs and bananas to attack their opponents. Players can use these items to knock their opponents off the track and out of their way. These power ups can dramatically change the outcome of a race, so mastering these can give you the vital edge over your opponents.

Mario Kart DS provides excitement and challenges to keep players, both young and old, entertained and in the driving seat. This highly addictive, fun and fast paced racing game launches on the Nintendo DS in the UK on 25th November 2005, at the estimated retail price of around £30. Also launching on the same date is the Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector which will enable players who have Broadband at home to join in the Wi-Fi fun. The Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector will be priced at around £30.

Further details on the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Access Points and Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection public WiFi hotspots will be announced soon.

Click onto www.nintendo-europe.com for all of the most up to date official information on Nintendo.

NINTENDO CREATES AN EASY, ACCESSIBLE VIDEO GAME NETWORK – AND IT'S FREE

On Nov. 14, Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Ushers in New Era of Free Wireless Gaming

REDMOND, Wash., Oct. 5, 2005 – On Nov. 14, Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection will begin a new era of easy, social gaming. For the first time, characters from the Nintendo universe will be playable online, as part of a unique wireless community, accessible inside or outside the home. Nintendo DS™ games like Mario Kart® DS, Animal Crossing®: Wild World and Metroid® Prime Hunters will require no additional charge for online play. Each is scheduled to launch in the coming months, along with the first third-party title using Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, Activision's Tony Hawk's American SK8Land, developed by Vicarious Visions.

From home, if the user already has a Wi-Fi network, the Nintendo DS unit will connect directly to it with minimal setup procedures. Those who have a high-speed Internet connection such as cable or DSL, but no wireless network, can use the Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector, sold separately, that will plug into a computer USB port to create a wireless access point to connect to Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

Outside of the home, players will be able to connect in a variety of ways, including at thousands of free Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection hotspots nationwide. More details about these hotspots and how to connect outside of the home will be announced shortly.

Nintendo DS is just the first Nintendo system to connect via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. The same service will be incorporated into Nintendo's next-generation home console, code-named Nintendo Revolution, set for release in 2006.

"Nintendo has taken the online video gaming model and rewritten the definition of community," said Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of sales & marketing. "With easy setup and no added service fees, players far and wide will log in and play with one another as easily as if they were sitting in the same room."

Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection will create a welcome, inviting atmosphere where video game players of all kinds can log on wirelessly and begin playing. The service will be used in different ways for different games. In Mario Kart DS, four players at a time can race over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Racers can pick opponents from their roster of friends, match up randomly against strangers of comparable skill levels or simply choose to race against anyone in the world. Mario Kart DS launches Nov. 14.

People who hang out in Animal Crossing: Wild World can travel to other players' towns or invite up to three other players to visit their own towns, simply by opening the town gate. The four players then can interact and play together simultaneously in one town. Players must know one another and register to their respective friend rosters before they can connect. Animal Crossing: Wild World is set to launch on Dec. 5.

Activision's Tony Hawk's American Sk8land will let players compete head-to-head in multiplayer games in a variety of modes. Players also can create custom skateboard art and graffiti tags, and share them with other players via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. The service will track global high scores and stats. Tony Hawk's American SK8Land will launch on Nov. 14.

Games in development include Metroid Prime Hunters, slated to launch in the first quarter of 2006. Players can hook up for play with registered friends, automatch with other players based on a skill-level match or play with anyone; Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection quickly finds the best match with other players online.