News at Your Fingertips: AP and Nintendo Launch Wii News Channel Across Americas

Instant Access, Constant Updates

    REDMOND, Wash., Jan. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- As the options for news
 multiply, Nintendo is putting a simple solution for straight news right in
 the palm of your hand -- in the form of the Wii Remote(TM). The News
 Channel, free to Wii(TM) owners, will debut on the console's Wii Menu
 beginning tomorrow, Saturday, Jan. 27. Using the international resources of
 the Associated Press, the News Channel gives you key stories in multiple
 categories from across the country and around the world.
     (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070126/LAF014 )
     (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20061011/LAW104LOGO )
     "What Wii has done for video gaming, we hope it will also accomplish
 for news," says Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. "Just by
 pointing at your TV screen, you become your own interactive editor,
 instantly accessing the latest headline stories, whether they originate in
 Kansas City or Kyoto."
     "The Associated Press is always looking for innovative ways to expand
 its audience for news and information," said Jane Seagrave, vice president
 and director of AP's digital division. "The Wii News Channel extends our
 global reach even further, on yet another platform, offering our news to
 people who otherwise might not see it."
     The simple user interface allows Wii owners to spin a virtual globe and
 point to the location of a news event using the Wii Remote. Stories will be
 listed under headings including Business, Sports, Arts/Entertainment,
 Technology and Science/Health to allow users to quickly access information
 in the order they want. At any given time, dozens of stories might be
 available for each category. In the global view, stories can be grouped by
 region instead of category. Icons show which stories have been read, which
 stories are text-only and which ones come with news photos. Because Wii
 caters to all different ages, the interface allows users to change the size
 of the text. By using the "always-on" system functionality of
 WiiConnect24(TM), stories will be updated frequently, even while owners are
 sleeping.
     The worldwide innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment,
 Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and
 software for its Wii(TM), Nintendo DS(TM), Game Boy(R) Advance and Nintendo
 GameCube(TM) systems. Since 1983, Nintendo has sold nearly 2.2 billion
 video games and more than 387 million hardware units globally, and has
 created industry icons like Mario(TM), Donkey Kong(R), 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.
 
 

SOURCE Nintendo