Just as Super Mario Bros. defined the NES so Wii Sports exemplifies the Wii’s functionality and appeal, along with its maker’s current vision and ambition, better than any other. Arguably the principle success of this immediately irresistible sport-themed mini-game collection has been in revealing to non-gamers why gamers play videogames.

With a barrier to entry as low as swinging the controller like a racket or bowling ball, anyone can experience for themselves the joy of digital cause and effect. In this way Wii Sports has broadened gaming’s boundaries and improved the mainstream cultural standing of the medium more significantly than almost any other title.

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Nintendo and McDonalds Japan announced today the start of a new tie-up that will give DS owners access to a variety of free services at nationwide McDonalds restaurants starting June 19.

The service is known as “Mac de DS,” or “DS at McDonalds.” DS owners who visit McDonalds shops with their system will have access to such free services as character distribution, digital stamp rallies, coupons for McDonalds food items, comic distribution, and exclusive game demos.

The first character distribution offer will be the Jirachi Pokemon for Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum. This will be available from June 19 through July 17.

For the stamp rally component, the DS will display a digital collection sheet, which can be filled out with digital stickers that will be available for download at McDonalds shops. Collect a certain number of stamps, and you’ll be able to get coupons for free food items. Each McDonalds shop will offer one stamp per day, meaning to get more stamps quickly, DS owners will have to either visit one shop over multiple days or run around visiting multiple shops in a single day.

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“We haven’t announced a launch date, maybe we’ll do that at E3 [The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks]. You know, everyone wants to know what we’re going to announce at E3 and my answer is, come to E3 and you’ll see…From Nintendo’s perspective, we always go into E3 with a very high bar wanting to satisfy not only the core fans but also ourselves. We’re hoping to do a much better job this year. You’ll have to see for yourself.”

Towards the end of the show, Reggie also added in this comment:

“And all of your fans will love it [E3]. We can guarantee that.”

Quite ironic if you’ve asked me, I would usually prefer to pick up something cheaper even if its “used”. The fact is (at least for me), you’re still going to be playing the same game. The only thing you’ll notice is the cosmetic differences which are normal tear and wears on the game cartridge, and even so, it’ll be from the time you buy it up until you stick it into the wii. Nonetheless, as long as it works its still good.

According to this chart, 49 million have purchased a used game.

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According to NPD Group, Nintendo flat-out owned the all-important month of November by selling over 2 million Wiis, better than twice as much as the next closest competitor, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 (836,000). And at over 1.5 million DS systems sold, Nintendo tripled the output of Sony’s PSP (421,000). While those numbers weren’t nearly that high through most of 2008, the general order — Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony — held strong throughout.

Wii Ascendant

But this was hardly a banner year for Nintendo in terms of software. The biggest games — Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Mario Kart Wii and of course Wii Fit — came relatively early in the year, and their biggest holiday release, Wii Music, has been labeled something of a dud. Miffed that the company was focusing too heavily on catering to its relatively new mass-market audience, the usually loyal Nintendo fans complained about a lack of core games. Meanwhile, Microsoft and Sony enjoyed a wealth of blockbuster games all year long, including top-sellers Grand Theft Auto IV and Fallout 3. So how did Nintendo compete, much less lead the way?

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