"Wii named official console of Six Flags"

[pd Rydia]

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6164696.html

Wii named official console of Six Flags
Chain of theme parks to introduce Nintendo's latest system into select locations, allow visitors to play for free

Roller coasters, funnel cakes, and karaoke booths are all fine and good, but visitors to some Six Flags parks across the country will soon have one more entertainment option at their disposal--one that will likely cause far less nausea. Six Flags and Nintendo this week announced a marketing agreement that will see the latter's Wii system made available at complimentary game stations throughout some of the former's theme parks. In addition, the Wii has been named the official gaming console of Six Flags, and Nintendo.com will host a national promotion for the amusement parks. The cross-promotional activities are set to begin later this year.

By Brendan Sinclair -- GameSpot
Posted Jan 24, 2007 4:55 pm PT
Story from GameSpot: http://www.gamespot.com/news/6164696.html
Copyright ©2006 CNET Networks, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

<-- I did this

[Archmage]

You attribute this brilliant marketing decision to that damned dog?

[pd Rydia]

No, but I did chortle.

Hell, after paying whatever admission fee, might as well set up some gaming booths!

[darkknight61189]

Wow! I'm totally going to Six Flags now!

[pd Rydia]

Cheaper than buying a Wii, though not by too much. On the other hand, that's assuming you could FIND a Wii on shelves...

Say, I think this might interest someone or another: there's been a Wii Bleach fighter released in Japan. Presumedly it's coming over here at some point.

[Nick Shogun]

How'd it work? You'd have to have someone there, wouldn't you, handing out the controllers to make sure they weren't stolen. I'm sure I'm not quite getting the picture... I see Wiis at intersections, on golden pedestals with copies of Zelda and Smash Bros at work.

[Archmage]

Chain the remotes to the stand, obviously. Do the light guns from Time Crisis arcade stand-ups get stolen on a regularly basis? (Maybe they do, but if so, I'm unaware of it.)

[BrainWalker]

Yea, but you can't chain them too hard, because the sorts of Wii games that I imagine would populate amusement parks (Wario Ware, Rayman: Raving Rabbids) require quite a bit of freedom of movement of the wiimote.

[PriamNevhausten]

Wario Ware? Nah. You're talking more like Wii Sports here, something that can be played for a minute or two at a time, and then set down. Raving Rabbids is a possibility, though, because its games last more than two seconds =O

But still, the movement thing applies. But the attachment cable doesn't have to be too short, or better still there could be people managing the stand who let certain people in and hand them the controllers, and then take the controllers back when they exit the 'play area.'

[pd Rydia]

At EB, the deal is you trade in your license for the wiimote. When finished, you trade the wiimote back for your license. I imagine a similar sort of set-up (maybe with tickets or something, as little kids won't be having licenses?). But yeah, certainly I imagine at least one employee working each booth--if nothing else, to make sure competitors aren't whacking each other in the face with wiimotes--bad publicity, that sort of stuff.

[darkknight61189]

I think the chaining idea is the best. No one ever said the chain had to be as long as those for Time Crisis. They can be considerably longer, so as not to inhibit movement. The main point is to ensure that the person can't get very far with the remote. Doesn't matter how far, just not very.

[pd Rydia]

See, the thing with the chains is, I see violence with them. Intentional or otherwise, it just seems like a kinda bad idea.

Maybe if they're something which rolls the extra length in (ala seat belts), so there's less a chance for snagging around limbs and such.

[Justice Augustus]

Bungee cords! Allos flexibilty while maintainin security.

Or, have each Wii controller hooked up to a large car battery or other power source. If the Wii controller moves out of a certain area, the holder receives a large voltage through the wrist strap (which would be fastened by an employee of the park). It'd be like those electronic dog fences which border on animal cruelty, but for children!