Nintendo is slowly getting its viral marketing campaign off the ground for the North American release of Wii. Today saw the launch of a new portal on MySpace.com that allows users to submit videos for the opportunity to win a Nintendo DS Lite. Videos submissions should showcase how you intend to play Wii. Easy enough. The vague directions leave the possibilities wide open for you creative-types. Also available on the page are links to free music downloads from sponsored Nintendo Fusion Tour bands.
Last week word began leaking about Nintendo hosting private parties in large cities such as Chicago, Denver, Miami, Los Angeles, and Austin in the coming months. Nintendo's intention is to give members of the general public an intimate hands-on experience with Wii and its games before launch. The hope is to generate positive buzz that will be spread by word of mouth. According to reports, "ambassadors" have already been selected and requested to invite 30 to 35 family and friends to the upcoming events, the first of which is scheduled to take place in late September. Games expected to be on-hand include Super Mario Galaxy, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Wario Ware: Smooth Moves among others. Refreshments, six flat screen televisions, and six Wii consoles will also be included.
This is suspected to be one of Nintendo's biggest console launches ever although a specific dollar amount has not been revealed. For perspective, Nintendo spent approximately $40 million in 2004 to launch the Nintendo DS in North America. In 2001, Nintendo spent roughly $75 million each for the North American launches of Game Boy Advance and Nintendo GameCube.