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Wii now at Marriott and Renaissance hotels

by: Sean Colleli -
More On: Wii
Nintendo is setting up Wiis in just about any venue that will have them, from theme parks to hospitals.  The latest company to play host to the Wii is Marriott, who will have Wii consoles in six of their signature hotels.  These special consoles will be preloaded with 20 games, which makes me think that they have a proprietary hard drive attached.  With the SD card solution coming next year, it's interesting to see that they probably had a workable memoryexpansion long before they announced anything public.

The Wii Games Begin at Marriott & Renaissance Hotels

Marriott and Nintendo Bring the Fun Back to Business Travel and Pilot New In-Room Entertainment Options for All Generations

BETHESDA, Md. & REDMOND, Wash.--The Wii experience is just beginning for Marriott and Renaissance guests, who can now choose from 20 games, including the popular Mario Kart Wii, Super Mario Galaxy, and Wii Sports as well as the revolutionary fitness game, Wii Fit. In a lodging industry first, Marriott International, Inc. is piloting a new specially built Wii hotel game system from Nintendo in select guest rooms and lounges. Wii systems are available at six Marriott and Renaissance properties:

  • New York Marriott Marquis
  • Renaissance New York Hotel Times Square
  • Boston Marriott Cambridge
  • Bethesda (Md.) Marriott Suites
  • Annapolis (Md.) Marriott Waterfront
  • JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa, Phoenix (Lounge only)

Wii has been a hit with every age group. The intuitive, motion-sensitive controls of the Wii Remote controller make the games easy to play, whether alone or in groups, making it an excellent fit for hotels and their guests. With Wii Fit, guests can even burn calories while having fun, all in the comfort of their hotel rooms.

The new Wii hotel game system allows hotel guests to select from a library of games without inserting game discs. With the intuitive games menu, guests can just point the Wii Remote at a game and begin playing immediately. Popular new Wii games will be added to the menu as they become available.

The Wii guest room packages include unlimited Wii access for the entire stay. To book a Wii guest room package at these six hotels, subject to availability, please go to www.marriott.com, select your preferred hotel, then click on the "Deals at this Hotel" link or insert promotional code XY0 (zero). There is a small premium for a room with a Wii hotel game system over the standard guest room rate.

MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, Inc. (NYSE:MAR) is a leading lodging company with more than 3,000 lodging properties in the United States and 66 other countries and territories. Marriott International operates and franchises hotels under the Marriott, JW Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, Residence Inn, Courtyard, TownePlace Suites, Fairfield Inn, SpringHill Suites and Bulgari brand names; develops and operates vacation ownership resorts under the Marriott Vacation Club, Horizons by Marriott Vacation Club, The Ritz-Carlton Club and Grand Residences by Marriott brands; operates Marriott Executive Apartments; provides furnished corporate housing through its Marriott ExecuStay division; and operates conference centers. The company is headquartered in Bethesda, Md., and had approximately 151,000 employees at 2007 year-end. It is ranked as the lodging industry's most admired company and one of the best companies to work for by FORTUNE®, and has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with the 2007 Sustained Excellence Award and Partner of the Year since 2004. In fiscal year 2007, Marriott International reported sales from continuing operations of $13 billion. For more information or reservations, please visit our web site at www.marriott.com.

The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii and Nintendo DS systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo has sold nearly 2.7 billion video games and more than 470 million hardware units globally, including the current generation Wii and Nintendo DS as well as the GameBoy, GameBoy Advance, Super NES, Nintendo 64 and Nintendo Gamecube. It has also created industry icons that have become well known household names such as Mario, Donkey Kong, Metroid, Zelda and Pokemon. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, visit the company's Web site at www.nintendo.com.