Nintendo, Southwest Airlines Bring Friends, Families and Fun Together for the Holidays

Mario Surprises Entire Flight with Free Wii U Consoles;

Wii U Gaming Lounges Unveiled in Six Southwest Airlines Airports

In this photo provided by Nintendo of America, video
game icon Mario greets Wilson N. from Ocoee, FL, one
of the lucky passengers on Southwest Airlines flight 1883
from New Orleans to Dallas Love Field who received free
Wii U systems on Nov. 26, 2013. As the official video game
partner of Southwest Airlines, Nintendo is partnering with
Southwest Airlines to bring Wii U, Nintendo's newest home
console, and family-friendly games to terminals across
the country this holiday season. (Photo: Business Wire)

REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Nintendo and Southwest Airlines® surprised a full flight today, giving every single Customer on board a free Wii U console. More than 100 passengers on flight 1883 from New Orleans to Dallas Love Field received Nintendo’s HD video game system after they were greeted upon arrival by Mario himself. Mario surprised the Customers with a special announcement during the flight, and Nintendo and Southwest Airlines representatives were on board to share in the fun.

The surprise kicked off a larger partnership between Nintendo and Southwest that will bring big smiles to thousands of travelers through the fun and interactive entertainment of Nintendo video game systems and games during this busy holiday season. As the official video game partner of Southwest Airlines, Nintendo is setting up Wii U Gaming Lounges in some of Southwest’s most heavily trafficked airports between now and Dec. 22. Passengers can pass the time before boarding by playing Super Mario 3D World and other newly released games, if their travels take them through the following airports: Dallas Love Field, Chicago (Midway), Denver, Atlanta, Tampa Bay and St. Louis. Up to four players can join the fun at each game kiosk for free.

In this photo provided by Nintendo of America, Linda A.
from Clearwater, FL, shows her excitement when
Nintendo surprises passengers on Southwest Airlines
flight 1883 from New Orleans to Dallas Love Field with
vouchers for free Wii U systems. Nintendo is partnering
with Southwest Airlines to bring Wii U, Nintendo's
newest home console, and family-friendly games to holiday
travelers in terminals across the country. (Photo: Business Wire)

“No one is better than Nintendo and Southwest Airlines at bringing friends, families and fun together,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “As Southwest’s video game partner, our aim is to bring smiles to travelers and Southwest Employees through the fun of Nintendo video games.”

“Southwest Airlines continues to look for ways to have fun with our Customers and partnering with Nintendo will do just that,” said Kevin Krone, Southwest Airlines Chief Marketing Officer. “Much like Southwest, Nintendo delivers enjoyment and passion and we look forward to bringing the fun to our Customers nationwide.”

Consumers nationwide can also join the fun. Between now and Dec. 25, visitors to http://www.southwest.com/nintendo can enter for a chance to win one of 30 prize packages containing a pair of Southwest Airlines roundtrip tickets and one Wii U system. A new winner will be selected every day. Visit the website for full rules and details.

In this photo provided by Nintendo of America, Dorcas
H. from La Place, LA, is one of the first passengers to thank
Mario for giving away free Wii U systems on a Southwest
Airlines flight from New Orleans to Dallas Love Field in
Dallas, TX on Nov. 26, 2013. Nintendo is partnering with
Southwest Airlines to bring Wii U, Nintendo's newest home
console, to terminals across the country during the holiday
season. (Photo: Business Wire)

The Wii U console brings the innovation of a second screen to the world of video games, thanks to the touch-screen capabilities of the Wii U GamePad controller. It plays the latest HD games from Nintendo, and includes social interaction via Nintendo’s Miiverse. It also plays the full library of Wii games and is compatible with accessories like the Wii Remote and Wii Balance Board.

With a variety of home consoles and hand-held systems offered at various price points and a lineup of great games featuring classic characters that can’t be played anywhere else, Nintendo offers travelers the best entertainment options to deliver smiles for the holiday season and beyond.

Remember that Wii U features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit http://www.nintendo.com/wiiu.

About Nintendo: The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii U™ and Wii™ home consoles, and Nintendo 3DS™ and Nintendo DS™ families of portable systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold more than 4.1 billion video games and more than 659 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii U, Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo 3DS XL, as well as the Game Boy™, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi™ and Nintendo DSi XL™, Super NES™, Nintendo 64™, Nintendo GameCube™ and Wii systems. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario™, Donkey Kong™, Metroid™, Zelda™ and Pokémon™. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, please visit the company’s website at http://www.nintendo.com.

In this photo provided by Nintendo of America, passengers on Southwest Airlines
flight 1883 from New Orleans to Dallas Love Field celebrate after learning that
the entire flight will receive free Wii U systems on Nov. 26, 2013. Nintendo is
partnering with Southwest Airlines to bring Wii U, Nintendo's newest home
console, to terminals across the country to delight holiday travelers with
family-friendly games. (Photo: Business Wire)