Nintendo is continuing its plan to aggresively market the Wii to the public, and has taken steps to make the Wii more recognizable by announcing that it has signed an agreement with Six Flags, which will make the Wii the "Official Gaming Console of Six Flags" theme parks.
In addition to carrying the title of official game machine of the national amusement park chain, Nintendo will place game stations at select Six Flags locations for patrons to play. The partnership will also include a Nintendo-sponsored Six Flags contest on Nintendo’s website. The affiliation between the two should prove to be a successful one, in which each entertainment giant will gain the attention of a new audience.
Six Flags President, Mark Shapiro, saw joining with Nintendo as the perfect solution to offer a complete entertainment experience to customers who visit the Six Flags amusement parks. "This agreement with Nintendo enables us to partner with a company, and a product, that has major relevance in the lives of today’s families. When this audience is not in our parks, more often than not they are at home playing video games–and now they can do both in one place as we continue to build Six Flags into a supermarket of entertainment."
Perrin Kaplan of Nintendo said the joint effort between the two companies would give Nintendo a greater sphere of accessibility to the general public. "We look forward to continuing to build the Wii’s leadership position in video gaming by making the system available to millions of guests who visit Six Flags every year. The Wii system is dedicated to reaching a broad audience, and we look forward to sharing the ultimate gaming system with Six Flags guests beginning in 2007."
The broad audience which Kaplan is speaking of will certainly include the families who visit the Six Flags parks regularly. For many, it will be the first exposure to the Nintendo Wii, and if the plans work out for Mario and Company, this may translate into new sales for the Wii.
