Wii Hits Yet Another Major Milestone: 100th Classic Game Added to Virtual Console

Gamers Worldwide Already Have Downloaded More Than 4.7 Million Retro Games,

at a Rate of 1,000 an Hour

    REDMOND, Wash., June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Nintendo is giving video game
 fans a way to access their favorite classic games, all without leaving the
 comfort of their homes. And gamers have responded en masse as the library
 of downloadable game classics continues to grow. The upcoming addition of
 Zelda II(TM) -- The Adventure of Link(R) on June 4 marks the 100th classic
 game available on the Wii Shop Channel. And since going online Nov. 19,
 owners of Nintendo's hot Wii(TM) video game system have downloaded more
 than 4.7 million classic games from Wii's Virtual Console, a rate of more
 than 1,000 games every hour since launch. The top five classic game
 downloads globally to date, and their original system are:
     (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070601/LAF020 )
 
     1) Super Mario Bros.(R) (NES(R))
     2) Super Mario 64(R) (N64(R))
     3) Mario Kart 64(TM) (N64(R))
     4) Super Mario World(R) (SNES(R))
     5) The Legend of Zelda(R) (NES(R))
     Wii lets players visit the Wii Shop Channel to redeem Wii Points(TM) to
 download classic video games from the original Nintendo Entertainment
 System(R), the Super NES(R) and the Nintendo(R) 64, and the Sega Genesis
 and TurboGrafx16 consoles. These games are nostalgic totems to veteran
 gamers, and simultaneously, new, easy-to-play entries for younger players.
 These games demonstrate Nintendo's staying power across generations by
 letting veteran gamers relive their glory days while their children play
 them for the first time. The addition of Zelda II -- The Adventure of Link
 brings a fourth Legend of Zelda(R) game to the Wii Shop Channel from three
 classic Nintendo platforms, providing exciting adventures that span the
 decades. Additional classic games are added to the Wii Shop Channel every
 Monday.
     "With an Internet connection rate reaching 40 percent, Wii owners have
 more options than ever to find the kinds of games they love to play," says
 George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing
 and corporate communications. "Beyond the Wii Shop Channel, all types of
 people are getting connected and checking out the information and
 entertainment options available on the Wii Menu. Whether voting, creating a
 Mii or just checking the weather, everyone has a favorite channel."
     The Wii Shop Channel is one of the many entertainment and informational
 channels that are available via the Wii system. Others include the Forecast
 Channel, the News Channel, the Mii Channel, the Everybody Votes Channel,
 the Photo Channel and the Internet Channel. Each of these broadens the
 appeal of Wii to new audiences and draws in consumers who might not
 otherwise be interested in a video game system.
     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 2.4 billion
 video games and more than 409 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 http://www.nintendo.com.
 
 

SOURCE Nintendo