Metroid Prime Hunters and Tetris DS Begin a New Era of Competition. Nintendo's Wireless Gaming Service Sets a New Standard

REDMOND, Wash., March 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Nintendo's wireless gaming service welcomes two incredible new games that will raise the level of competition to dramatic new levels. Metroid Prime Hunters is Nintendo's first real first-person shooter for Nintendo DS, while Tetris DS features classic puzzle action remixed with retro Nintendo themes. Both games launch today, and both are playable on Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, Nintendo's wireless gaming service.

"These two games really showcase the range of abilities of the world's favorite new portable game system," says George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. "They will further help drive Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection as the hottest Wi-Fi format ever introduced to games."

In Metroid Prime Hunters, the legendary Metroid franchise continues with new hunters, new abilities, new weapons and new alternate forms. With worldwide Wi-Fi connectivity, there's always a band of hunters eager to challenge a player's skills. Metroid Prime Hunters is also the first Nintendo DS game to offer real-time voice chat, letting players talk to one another before and after they face off in a multiplayer match. The chat technology functions much like a two-way radio and lets players intimidate opponents with some friendly trash talk. With this free service, players who have exchanged their Nintendo DS friend codes can converse through Nintendo DS across the Americas. Players must be logged on to Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection to use the chat feature.

Metroid Prime Hunters lets players battle in more than 20 action-packed arenas across seven multiplayer modes, including Battle, Capture, Bounty, Survival, Defender and Nodes, as well as the exciting Prime Hunter mode, where players battle to become the most powerful hunter in the arena. New hunters join the Metroid universe, including Trace, Sylux, Noxus, Spire, Kanden and Weavel, all battling against Samus in both single-player and multiplayer games. Each new hunter has a unique background, fighting style and individual alt forms to match up against Samus' Morphball.

Not to be outdone, Tetris DS includes six modes, each based on a theme from a famous Nintendo character or game. The classic block-building game finds new ways to entertain. Some of the modes make use of the Nintendo DS touch screen. Newcomers and longtime fans alike will find new surprises. Using Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, up to four players compete in two- or four-player battles against friends or strangers. And with just one game card, up to 10 players can clash using DS Download Play.

The wildly popular Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection recently reached an all-time gaming record of more than 1 million unique users worldwide in less than four months. That represents more than 29 million game-play sessions. In November 2005, Nintendo of America's agreement with Wayport brought free wireless access to users at participating McDonald's restaurants in the United States. Since that union, players have connected at almost 6,000 McDonald's locations across the country.