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Wi-Fi DS for Nintendo Users

To all DS and Revolution console users: a free Wi-Fi service by Nintendo is in the making. Aptly named the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, this Internet service will make its debut on the web on November 14th, 2005. The first games published and ready for release are: Mario Kart DS, Metroid Prime Hunters, Animal Crossing: Wild World, and Tony Hawk`s American Sk8land.

Nintendo will offer the service free to Nintendo DS owners, and households with Wi-Fi networks can access the service with only a minimal of setup procedures. Also, if users only have a standard broadband internet access and no wireless router, Nintendo will make available a Wi-Fi USB Connector to connect the DS to the internet.

`Nintendo has taken the online video gaming model and rewritten the definition of community,` says Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America`s executive vice president of sales and 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.`

According to IGN, Nintendo of America will also set up thousands of Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection hotspots all over the US, and the company will soon reveal the details on where and how players can link up via these hotspots. Nintendo will also use the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service for its next generation Revolution console when it ships sometime in 2006.