Nintendo: The Company and its Founders - Sharyland ISD

WELCOMING THE WII
a week. Blankets, pillows, and
chairs lined the sidewalk. But the
long wait and New York’s cold
November air did little to chill the
excitement of the crowd.
Why were so many people
willing to wait outside for days
in the November cold? A huge,
brightly lit “Wii” sign near the
store entrance was the answer. It
was the US launch party for the
new Nintendo game console—
the Wii.
A loud, second-by-second
countdown soon exploded from
the crowd. At exactly midnight, the
Toys R Us doors flew open. The
obsessed gamers would soon be
rewarded for their long wait as they
became the first people to own a
Nintendo Wii.
WII MORE THAN
ANYTHING
A market research firm called
Smarty Pants focuses on
brands marketed to kids. In a
2009 study they called “Young
Love,” the company surveyed
4,700 kids between the ages
of 6 and 12. The kids were
asked how much they loved
more than 200 major brands.
Nintendo came out on top,
with Nintendo Wii first and
Nintendo DS second. These
two Nintendo products came
out ahead of time-tested kid
favorites such as McDonald’s,
Nickelodeon, macaroni and
cheese, and Disney. Mario
came in at number 50, the
GameCube at 76, and Nintendogs
at 96.
NEW FEATURES
Nintendo had released many video game systems
before the Wii, and they had been successful.
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