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Nintendo Plans New 3D Super Mario Game, Announces AT&T, Netflix Collaborations

Screen Shot: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (Photo: Business Wire)

During his speech, Iwata said Nintendo 3DS gives developers new tools to create games and experiences never before possible while enabling them to reach the public in new ways.

"There is great potential to increase the number of people who enjoy video games by opening up new game-play opportunities that are only available through the use of 3D," Iwata said. "Nintendo 3DS will be the most connected Nintendo device ever, with its ability to link people via local wireless connections, while at the same time connecting them to people and content worldwide via hotspot connectivity."

Nintendo 3DS launches March 27 in the United States at a suggested retail price of $249.99. It lets users view 3D content without the need for special glasses. The announced 3D Super Mario game will feature traditional Mario game play and will fulfill the dream of Nintendo video game designer (and Mario creator) Shigeru Miyamoto to bring true depth and distance into the game's mechanics. The game is being developed by the same Nintendo team that created the Wii console hits Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2.

At the end of May, Nintendo will provide Nintendo 3DS owners with a wireless system update that will activate the Nintendo eShop and give users access to a number of features:

• A short-form video service will let people view trailers for Hollywood movies in 3D and access video game trailers, screen shots, background information and links to publishers' websites. Content will include short video clips, such as comedy shorts or music videos, selected by Nintendo and delivered to Nintendo 3DS users who choose to receive them.
• Downloadable classic games via the portable Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console service will include Game Boy and Game Boy Color games, as well as those from the Game Gear and TurboGrafx-16 systems.
• "3D Classics" will introduce select classic video games remastered in 3D.
• Games currently offered as Nintendo DSiWare and an Internet browser will be available.

The system update will also provide a solution for Nintendo DSi and Nintendo DSi XL owners to transfer their Nintendo DSiWare games to their new Nintendo 3DS systems.

To help make the wireless features of Nintendo 3DS as smooth as possible, Nintendo has collaborated with AT&T to provide Nintendo 3DS owners with automatic and free access to more than 10,000 AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spots nationwide with the May system update. Nintendo's aim is to make getting connected easy for everyone, so people who opt in to the system's SpotPass service will tell their Nintendo 3DS systems to automatically connect to AT&T Hot Spots at restaurants, book stores, coffee shops and airports across the country.

This summer, Nintendo 3DS will incorporate Netflix functionality. Netflix members who have an unlimited plan starting at $7.99 a month can access a broadband wireless Internet connection and instantly stream movies and TV shows directly to their Nintendo 3DS systems, similar to how the service is used on the Wii console. This means people can start watching a movie via Netflix on their Wii systems at home and then pick up the same movie later from a different location using their Nintendo 3DS systems.

For more information about Nintendo 3DS, visit http://www.nintendo3ds.com.

About Nintendo: The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii home console and Nintendo DS family of portable systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System , Nintendo has sold more than 3.5 billion video games and more than 577 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi and Nintendo DSi XL , as well as the Game Boy , Game Boy Advance, Super NES , Nintendo 64 and Nintendo GameCube systems. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario , Donkey Kong , Metroid , Zelda and Pokemon . 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, please visit the company's website at http://www.nintendo.com.

Note to editors: Nintendo press materials are available at http://press.nintendo.com, a password-protected site. To obtain a login, please contact Deanna Talamantez at 213-438-8742 or dtalamantez@golinharris.com. Users can receive instant Nintendo information by subscribing to the site's RSS feed.

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