Nintendo confirms comprehensive Wi-Fi service for the UK, bringing online gaming to everyone...

Following similar moves in the United States and Japan Nintendo today announced the rollout of Wi-Fi across the UK. In a surprising move the announcement marks significant importance for the often neglected territory, with over 7,500 locations set to provide simple, safe and free access to Nintendo’s Wi-Fi connection.

In an agreement with BT Openzone and The Cloud as of November 25th DS owners will be able to log on at over 7,500 hotspots throughout the UK including McDonalds restaurants, Coffee Republic coffee houses, Hilton and Ramada Jarvis hotels, Road Chef and Welcome Break service stations, First Great Western railway stations, over 25 student unions and city centre BT payphones and airports, football stadiums, the British Library and Canary Wharf.

Gamers can visit www.thecloud.net or www.btopenzone.com to find their nearest Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection hotspot simply by entering a postcode.

In addition Nintendo will also be installing BT Openzone Wi-Fi hotspots into major game retailers throughout the UK. Players will also be able to utilise the service from home via a Wireless Broadband connection or making use of the Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector which plugs into a PC and automatically sets up a connection – a Mac peripheral appears to be on the cards, although this has yet to be officially confirmed.

The Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection is designed to be accessible to everybody, simply requiring the machine to be turned on and selecting Wi-Fi from the menu screen. Play on the system is largely anonymous with a Friend Roster compiled by sharing the DS unique number with your friends’ offline or via e-mail. A variety of different options are available to the player through matching up with opponents, from choosing a specific friend to players of a similar skill, or from the same continent to opponents on a worldwide scale.

To support the service Nintendo will be launching www.nintendowifi.com, a worldwide website designed to accompany the service which allows players to track the top scores, link the DS unique number to a Nintendo VIP account, access comprehensive help and much, much more…

David Yarnton, General Manager, Nintendo UK said: “Nintendo are bringing a significant, groundbreaking deal to the UK. Launching our Wi-Fi service in partnership with two of the UK’s leading providers of hotspots is a massive statement of our commitment. Nintendo has revolutionised Wi-Fi video gaming, removing all of the negative aspects whilst retaining the fun and diversity it offers. The Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service truly offers the mass market a great opportunity to fully embrace Wi-Fi”

George Polk, CEO of The Cloud, said: “Consumer Wi-Fi has finally arrived, and in a big way. Now hundreds of thousands of Nintendo users can play networked games when they are out and about, while they are waiting for a train, walking to meetings, at shopping malls, at the football, and many other places. Nintendo Wi-Fi can fill all those little spaces in the day, keeping Nintendo customers in touch with friends and gaming rivals across town and across the world. By bundling free usage in with the game, engineering the DS so it can automatically connect to the network, creating market leading games, and pioneering new communities of users, Nintendo is breaking down all the barriers to usage that have slowed the growth of Wi-Fi. Business usage of our network continues to grow quickly, but we have thousands of consumer locations that have been waiting for this kind of service to come to market. To say we are excited and impressed by their new service would be a vast understatement."

Chris Clark, CEO of Converged Mobility Operations, BT said: "Wi-Fi is increasingly becoming part of everyone's lives, whether you are a business traveller, a professional working away from the office or now someone who enjoys playing games on consoles against people round the world. We are delighted to be working with Nintendo on this partnership which will broaden the appeal of Wi-Fi from the business into the consumer market.

"We believe the future for Wi-Fi is that people will be able to access the internet, their corporate networks and their games consoles any time, anywhere using whatever device they have."