Nintendo, JiWire Team For DS Hotspot Location

Nintendo has announced that it has licensed JiWire's website-based hotspot directory for its new wireless gaming service, Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. The partnership with JiWire will allow Nintendo DS users to quickly find the physical location of free hotspot locations throughout North America and beyond, so they can connect and play Nintendo's portable titles easily. Nintendo DS users can search for public hotspot locations by country, state, region, street address or zip code at a specific location on the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection website. This service is available for users in the U.S., as well as Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Panama, and Chile. The DS' Wi-Fi connection launched alongside Mario Kart DS on November 14 in the U.S., and, according to reports, the game sold more than 112,00 units in its first week on sale in North America along. Nintendo officials announced on November 22 that 52,000 unique users had already logged onto Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection by various methods, either from home or via free wireless connectivity in locations such as McDonalds. "Through our partnership with JiWire, we are able to offer thousands of Nintendo DS users an easy way to quickly find free hotspot locations," says George Harrison, senior vice president of marketing at Nintendo of America. "By making wireless gaming more convenient, we make Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection accessible to a wide range of gaming fans."