Nintendo and McDonalds sign supersized Wi-Fi deal
Published: 19 Oct 2005 12:10 BST
Traditionally, the idea of seeing anything toad, turtle, or donkey related in a McDonald's would put people off eating the fast food chain's mass-produced edibles. However, the Golden Arches are welcoming Toad, Koopa Troopas, and Donkey Kong into their establishments with open arms.
On Monday, Nintendo announced an agreement with wireless Internet provider Wayport to set up free access to the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection in almost 6,000 McDonald's in the US. However spokespeople for Nintendo and McDonalds couldn't shed any light on when the service would be available in the UK, or if it would be at all.
The deal will allow Nintendo DS owners to walk into a McDonald's and play Wi-Fi-enabled games with others on the service, whether they are in the building or around the world. There will be no setup required — users simply launch a game that supports Wi-Fi, and play against others while sucking down shakes.
"Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection is simple to use. Beginning with free access at participating McDonald's, we have removed one of the major barriers that have kept people from going online to play games," says Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of sales and marketing.
The first games that will support the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection are Mario Kart DS and Tony Hawk's American SK8land, both of which are scheduled to ship on November 14. Metroid Prime Hunters and Animal Crossing: Wild World will also be playable over wireless Internet.
McDonald's has now franchised more than 30,000 eateries across the globe. According to the McDonald's Web site, more than 50 million people eat at the fast food chain per day.
ZDNet UK staff contributed to this story
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