MIAMI - March 29, 2007 - Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) today announced it is the first cruise line to offer guests a chance to experience Nintendo's red-hot Wii video game system on board its ships. Since its launch in November 2006, the Wii system from Nintendo has become one of the most popular game systems. With an easy-to-use motion-sensitive controller, Wii draws new players into the world of video games in a very 'real' way.Wii systems are currently on NCL's newest ship - Norwegian Pearl - and all NCL America ships. Wii will be rolled out on the rest of the NCL fleet by next month. The systems are equipped with Wii Sports, offering five distinct sports experiences: tennis, golf, baseball, boxing and bowling. Other games available on the ships include Wii Play, WarioWare: Smooth Moves and Excite Truck.
"With its active, engaging and inviting game experiences appealing to every age from kids to parents to grandparents, the Wii from Nintendo is a natural fit for Freestyle Cruising," said Colin Veitch, NCL's president and CEO. "With the addition of Wii to our on-board activities, we can now offer bowling, boxing, golf, tennis and baseball across the entire fleet. Cheering, yelling and high-fives will be highly encouraged." On each ship, Wii systems/setups will be located in the atrium and other public rooms allowing guests to gather and play against each other while viewing the game on large video screens. Each ship's Kid's Crew facility will also feature two Wii kiosks providing kids-only fun. The ships will also host tournaments and other activities around the games.
Can you belive this? Not only has the Wii been breaking sales records but now they are going to be a feature attraction on cruise ships! I'm not sure if I should laugh or cry about this news.I do have to wonder how a massive game of WarioWare: Smooth Moves will work out in a cruise ship enviroment. Can you imagine being in a big group with 11 strangers playing the bomb game?
I guess the "underpowered" Wii is still beating the PS3 and the Xbox360. This is not some special gamer-only cruise. This is a cruise line looking at the Wii and saying, "what a great system! We should add this to our entertainment line up!