FIVE COPIES OF PIKMIN

& MARIO POWER TENNIS

COMPLETE CONTROLAn in-depth look at the Wii range breathing new life into classic games

GAME INFOPIKMINFormat: Wii ExclusiveRelease Date: Out Now

The arrival of Pikmin as oneof the first New PlayControl! games perfectly

illustrates the philosophy andpotential of the new range.

Pikmin is already a well-lovedand successful franchise, butNew Play Control! Pikmin is awhole other ball game, a titlethat makes the most of theWii’s point and clickfunctionality and adds newdimensions and fun elements tothe whole experience – noneof which would be possible onanything but the Wii.

First released in 2002, Pikmincasts players as a spacemancalled Captain Olimar who hascrash-landed on a very unusualplanet inhabited by some veryunusual creatures, Pikmin. Theyare half-animal, half-plant andcompletely loveable.

Unfortunately, they share the

planet with some rather morehostile creatures who will tryand stop Olimar in his missionto continue his galactic quest.

In order to do this, theCaptain needs to collect 30sections of his crashedspaceship, which are nowscattered across the planet.Thankfully, the Pikmin are thereto help him.

Each of them has its ownstrengths: Red Pikmin cansurvive fire, Blue Pikmin cansurvive in water, while YellowPikmin can destroy obstacleswith rock bombs. Playerscontrol them individually or ingroups of up to 100.

On the Wii, as part of theNew Play Control! range,Pikmin is a more accessibleand a tighter game, withplayers in full command andthe action non-stop.

...acknowledges the Wii’sunique control system,Nintendo’s unrivalled heritage– and brings the two together.

Dipping into its star-studded back catalogue,Nintendo will be plucking outthe biggest games of the lastfew years and creating newversions designed to workspecifically with the WiiRemote.

Each New Play Control!game will enhance theoriginal experience. For thosethat remember the original, itwill be a chance to play well-loved favourites in a new wayon a new system, and forthose gamers that started outgaming on Wii, it’s anopportunity to discover somereal gems for the first time.

The range’s first release isPikmin (Out Now), closelyfollowed by MarioPower Tennis (OutMarch 6th). Afterthat there will be aregular flow ofgreat gamesreappearing witha new twist for anew audience.

NINTENDO’S NEW BRANDBREATHES NEW LIFE INTOTIMELESS CLASSICS...

GAME INFOMARIO POWER TENNISFormat: Wii ExclusiveRelease Date: March 6th

The secondgame in theNew Play

Control! series is aperfect candidate

for the full Wii treatment.Mario Power Tennis wasalready a fun gamepacked with classiccharacters and super-charged action.

The bigdifference, ofcourse, is thatnow players usethe Wii remote

like a racket,transforming the title

into an intuitive,physical experience,whilst retaining all thequirks and featuresthat make it muchmore than just a sports sim.

Players can chose to play asone of a host of charactersfrom the Mario franchise,including the man himself, ofcourse. They can then decideeither to play ‘regular’ tennisor tennis-themed mini games.

They can serve and smashtheir way through tournamentsin singles and doublesmatches, unlocking a varietyof new characters and extramini-games and differentcourts along the way,eventually progressing to anextremely challenging startournament.

Because the game is nowon the Wii, players canperform different strokes byflicking the remote and utilisingthe motion sensitive controls.There are four levels of controldifficulty: Easy, Medium,Technical and Difficult.

Mario Power Tennis is a perfect candidatefor the New Play Control! range.‘

‘

GAME INFOPIKMIN 2Format: Wii ExclusiveRelease Date: 2009

GAME INFODONKEY KONG JUNGLEBEATFormat: Wii ExclusiveRelease Date: 2009

The credit crunch has hitCaptain Olimar hard! And inPikmin 2 he returns to the world

where he had his first adventure – thistime to save his company.

He is on a mission to collect treasurestrewn all over the planet in order to payoff a debt of 10,000 pokos. Luckily, hehas an assistant, Louie, with him. And, ofcourse, he has the help of the Pikmin.

Players play as either Olimer or Louieto defeat their enemies, create morePikmin and solve puzzles. There arenew Pikmin to discover, includingpurple and white variants.

But, there are also 60 differentspecies of enemy characters, as wellas randomly generateddungeons everywhere.The New Play Controls willenable you to selectgroup and give orders tothe Pikmin, as youexperience the 2ndinstalment in Pikmin.

One of Nintendo’s mostloveable charactersswings onto the Wii

via an update of anotherGameCube classic.

In Donkey Kong JungleBeat, from the makers ofSuper Mario Galaxy, thegreat ape jumps, battles,swings on vines andcollects bananas and babyapes throughout rich jungleenvironments. He can alsohitch rides on parrots andbounce off pinball-likeobstacles. Along the way,players battle enormousbeasts and even get inboxing matches with rivals.

In this New Play Controladventure you will need touse the Wii Remote andNunchuk to pummel enemies,and swing through the trees.

Can you tell us about theNew Play Control!range? What’s the

philosophy behind it?The New Play Control! seriesbrings some all-time Nintendoclassics to the expandedaudience of the Wii, givingeveryone a chance to enjoysome great new titles that theymay not have had the chanceto play in the past. The rangewill give Nintendo fans a newway of playing GameCubefavourites like Pikmin and MarioPower Tennis, and will offer theexpanded non-gameraudience some brand newadditions to their Wii collection.

What type of games will beincluded in the range?The New Play Control! series willinclude several classic Nintendotitles, originally released onGameCube. The series will kickoff with the release of thecritically acclaimed Pikmin on6th February and will soon befollowed by Mario Power Tennis.But the New Play Control! serieswon’t stop there as 2009 willalso see the release of Pikmin 2and Donkey Kong Jungle Beat.

What differences will playersnotice?Each title has been given theWii treatment, and at itssimplest will now offer 16:0 480pwidescreen graphics andimmersive Wii control systems.But each title will offer its ownexclusive new features.

Pikmin features an all newpoint and click control systemthat makes selecting, groupingand giving orders to your Pikminmore fluid and intuitive. Inaddition to the new controlsthere is an all new updatedsave method, which will nowallow players to restart playfrom any day. This is perfect forretrying a particularly puzzlingchallenge.

Mario Power Tennis willinstantly feel like a whole newgame, as it makes full use of theWii Motion Sensor controls, andhas you swinging the remotelike a tennis racket, but playingas your favourite Mariocharacters.

Mario Power Tennis will offerfour different control options, fromnovice to expert and will allowyou to use the remote to make avariety of shots, from overhandstrikes to backhands and, ofcourse Power Shots, which aredifferent for each character. Aswell as a variety of controloptions, Mario Power Tennis willoffer an all new split screen fortwo player mode, brand newaction replays, as well as a fullrange of courts and mini-games.It really is the next step on fromWii Sports Tennis, energised withthat old Mario magic.

Will you market New PlayControl as a range or will allmarketing focus on individualtitles?Each title will have its ownmarketing campaign,which will start withPikmin on 2nd Feb.However the range asa whole will berepresented in allmarketing activity, eitherthrough an end frame onthe TVC, or the packshots aspart of the POS catalogue.New Play Control! has its ownbranding, which can berepresented in both our aboveand below the line marketing.

Do you think these gameswill appeal to long-standinggamers who have beenwondering why they can’t playtheir favourites on Wii, or togamers who entered themarket with Wii andhave these greatcharacters andfranchises to discover?

Hopefully both. The New PlayControl! series are neither straightre-releases nor completeremakes. For those gamers outthere who knew and loved thesetitles on GameCube they willnow get a second chance toget stuck in, and rediscoverthese great adventures but thistime it will be widescreen with ahigher resolution, and offer theWii Remote control system aswell as all new Wii exclusive ingame features.

And for those who havebeen brought into gamingthrough the Wii, these releaseswill offer even more family funfor their Wii software collection.

Junior product manager Zoe Cooper introduces the New Play Control! range…

Individual titles and entire range to benefit fromhigh profile marketing on TV and in store...

� TELEVISIONThe New Play Control! range launched with the release of Pikmin, which was supported by a strongabove the line campaign, using TV to show off theunique gameplay to kids and gamers alike.

Mario Power Tennis will also be supported by a TVcampaign that concentrates on the family funprovided by this title. It is the first Nintendo tennis titleon the Wii since Wii Sports and is expected tofollow up on that game’s wide appeal, as agreat family fun release.

TV will play a large role in the releaseof all New Play Control! titles, includingMario Power Tennis, Pikmin 2 andDonkey Kong Jungle Beat, and aunique endframe will ensure thatforthcoming releases will be highlightedin every campaign.

� POINT OF SALETo complement the TV campaign,there will be a wealth of in-storematerials including FSDU, wobblers andwindow posters. The aim is to highlight theentire range on all point of purchase.

ONM 86%“Pikmin is a fantastic game,particularly for those whohaven’t played it before andwill be experiencing it for thefirst time. The Remote greatlyenhances the experience andmakes commanding Pikminmuch easier.”

“Pikmin is still a great gameand is essential to those whohaven’t played it."”

WATCHMEDIA

NGAMER 80%“There’s still nothing else quitelike Pikmin. An otherworldlygaming experience.”

“As old as the GameCube itmay be, but the etherealgarden landscapes are stillgorgeous.”

EUROGAMER“Pikmin is such a one-off that it'sas fresh as a walking, squeakingdaisy now; fresh enough tomake this reissue an excitingprospect for anyone who'snever played it, or remembers it fondly but only vaguely.”

MARKETINGTELEVISION • POINT OF SALE

To celebrate the launch of the New Play Control! brand, Nintendo is offeringyou the chance to win five copies of Pikmin and Mario Power Tennis. To get your name in the hat, simply tell us:

When was Pikmin first released?A) 1902 B) 2002 C) 3002

Please send your best guess to

playcontrol@intentmedia.co.uk

WIN

FIVE COPIES OF PIKMIN

& MARIO POW

ER TENNIS