Nintendo preps for a sporting spree

2008-01-25

From fairways to ballparks, Nintendo will be making the rounds to sports events of all stripes this winter. Sports fans and families will get to check out the new Donkey Kong monster truck or try their hand at a variety of different Wii and Nintendo DS games. The selection for each sport will be different, so here’s a rundown of when and where to find Nintendo:
PGA events
Nintendo will have six interactive Wii units set up to demonstrate Wii Sports Golf and Tiger Woods PGA TOUR ’08.
Jan. 24-27: Buick Open in San Diego
Jan. 31-Feb. 3: FBR Open in Phoenix
Feb. 9-10: Allianz Championship in Boca Raton, Fla.
Feb. 14-17: The ACE Group Classic in Naples, Fla.
Seattle Mariners event
Jan. 26-27: Nintendo will be on hand at Safeco Field for FanFest to show off the Nintendo Fan Network, a free downloadable application that gives access to baseball-related content on Nintendo DS systems during Mariners home games. NFN users can access a menu of interactive options including: a live video feed of the game, scores from others MLB games in progress, player stats and team standings, trivia and word search games against other fans and the ability to communicate with other fans via Nintendo Fan Network messaging.
MLB events
Nintendo makes the rounds at spring training, visiting two dozen Cactus League Spring Training baseball games in the Phoenix area. An interactive trailer will feature both Wii and Nintendo DS games, including the Wii Sports Baseball game, Flash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a Day and The BIGS.
Feb. 28- March 3: Peoria Sports Complex, Peoria, Ariz.
March 6-9: Peoria Sports Complex, Peoria, Ariz.
March 13-17: Surprise Stadium, Surprise, Ariz.
March 19-20: Hohokam Park, Mesa, Ariz.
March 22, 24, 27: Hohokam Park, Mesa, Ariz.
Monster Jam events
Now through May: Donkey Kong, the star of Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast for Wii, DK Jungle Climber for Nintendo DS and beloved Nintendo franchise character for more than 25 years, made his debut as an awesome monster truck in December. The Donkey Kong monster truck is currently competing in Monster Jam, and will be crisscrossing the country for the next few months. For a complete list of Monster Jam events, visit www.MonsterJamOnline.com.