This event seemed bigger than most as the line to even just enter Nintendo World was at least halfway down the block. And the store itself was easily at capacity. The first thing I noticed was the store redesign. Everything on the first floor just looked sleeker and a bit more streamlined. They had even re-done the area by the windows where the DS systems were so instead of one long bar, it was several islands where one could sit on either side and play. And looking up, I didn’t spy any special mobile as per usual, instead the ceiling had been sealed off to accommodate the new area on the second floor where the museum was moved to.

And moving the museum to that far corner really opened up the middle of the second floor more, at least it would have if it wasn’t crowded with a mass of people who were all waiting in line to take pictures with I Am 8Bit, looking at the special 25th annivarsary Mario cake, or going towards the Wii systems to play some old and new Mario games.

Miyamoto addresses the crowd

Well not long after arriving, there was an announcement about a cake cutting ceremony that was going to start. So I squished myself as far up front as I could in order to see. Not surprisingly Reggie Fils-Aime is introduced and he talked about how monumental of an event it was and that someone more appropriate should cut the cake. Silly me initially thought he was going to hand it off to the guy in the Mario costume up there, but before I could even finish that thought when Shigeru Miyamoto was introduced and walked out to thunderous cheering. Yep, Miyamoto himself was there and he thanked everyone for being there and for enjoying the games. After cutting the cake, he even went and played a bit of Super Mario Bros. for the crowd’s amusement.

After reeling on a high like just about everyone else there (good secret guest Nintendo!), I went and got my picture taken with I Am 8-Bit, got an 8-bit Mario shirt, played some games and left after having quite a good time. I definitely want to go back to the store and check out the re-modeling without it being packed as I’m sure the flow is a lot different. But kudos as always to Nintendo hosting a fabulous event filled with surprises!

And make sure to check out all of my photos from the event (if you haven’t already) on the Gaming Angels Facebook page!

The president of Nintendo of America, Reggie Fils-Aime, presented at a BMO Capital markets event for game companies and investors and showed two slides that displayed how many women are playing their games.

In the US, Nintendo found that over 11.7 million females are playing consoles. Comparing that to the 33.3 million males. Not just playing, but are the “primary players” of that console.

The second slide showed that of those 11.7 million 80% are on the Wii as primary players. Figures for the Xbox 360 are 11% and Playstation 3 are 9%.

Looks like Xbox 360 and PS3 should advertise on GamingAngels more!

[source via Kotaku]

Mr Iwata introduces us to the Wii Vitality Sensor device

The last time we saw or heard anything about the Vitality Sensor was at this past E3. Since then it’s been nothing but a flat line in terms of new information on the peripheral. But it looks like we’re going to get some new information about the Vitality Sensor at next year’s E3.

In an interview with Kotaku, Reggie Fils-Aime stated: “We will show off the Vitality Sensor with software at E3. I’m not going to give you any more hints beyond that.”

We’ve suggested that we may see the Vitality Sensor in use with an upcoming Hudson title which the producer promptly denied. I guess we’ll see at E3.

In a recent GameSpot interview Reggie Fils-Aime pledged that Nintendo would keep working on its key franchises.

Fils-Aime said, “In our view, we have to continuously disrupt the market. What I would suggest to you is that even in the competitive [E3] announcements, it highlights how different we are.

“Our competitors chose to talk about technology and all of this ‘whiz bang’ stuff. We focus on entertainment. When we first showed off the Wii Remote, we did it in the context of Wii Sports, which millions upon millions of consumers have experienced.”

He added: “We’re going to continue to disrupt and push this marketplace, but always with a smile on our face and a focus on entertainment, versus a focus on the technology – especially technology that may or may not ever come to light.”