Get Connected! N-Philes Unveils New Wi-Philes Hub

Gainesville, FL – June 12, 2007 – N-Philes (http://www.n-philes.com) today unveiled Wi-Philes, its newest interactive service for gamers and members of the N-Philes community. With a new easy-to-navigate layout, gamers can instantly share Friend Codes, create and participate in online tournaments, and rate and review all of their Nintendo titles for all the world to see. Wi-Philes is also the hub to find news and information on all online-enabled titles for the DS and Wii platforms, as well as weekly release updates and staff reviews for Virtual Console games.

“The new Wi-Philes was built with community in mind, both our own and the larger Nintendo gaming community,” explains N-Philes Editor-in-Chief Jared Thomas, the principle designer of the service. “It’s designed to give gamers across the world an easier time sharing friend codes, gathering people together to game, and communicating with their Wi-Fi friends.”

The Virtual Console is another major point of focus, and N-Philes is pushing the community element by encouraging readers to post their own reviews of VC titles in addition to official reviews by N-Philes staff members. Both staff and reader ratings use a basic 5-star system, ranging from Poor (1 star) to Excellent (5 stars). “Our forums and IRC chat continue to be great ways for people who visit N-Philes to interact with each other,” says Director Desiré Garcia. “With the integration of Wi-Philes into N-Philes, we have a new outlet for everyone to interact with and leave their mark on the site itself.”

Wi-Philes makes private messaging, event scheduling, and searching for rivals as easy as clicking a couple of buttons. Users will also appreciate that the service keeps track of updates from other members on their friends list whenever a friend adds a new game to their game list, posts an event, or writes a new blog entry. “We wanted communication between members to be simple and effective,” adds N-Philes PR Coordinator Ben Wood, “something Nintendo themselves have yet to achieve. Giving them the most possible avenues to express themselves was a must, as was keeping everyone in touch with their friends' updates."

N-Philes will hold regular game tournaments, and hopes to increase the number of community gaming sessions through “Wi-Philes Sundays”. Every Sunday, a new game is highlighted and gamers are encouraged to meet in the N-Philes Chatroom to compete in either casual gaming sessions or tournaments. As Thomas points out, “Having fun and making friends, that's what it's all about, right?” The first title to be spotlighted is the ubiquitous Mario Kart DS.

The re-launch of Wi-Philes comes off the heels of Nintendo announcements regarding their online services. The company has stated that 40% of Wii consoles have gone online, that there have been over 4.7 million downloads from a library of 100 Virtual Console titles, and that 5 million unique DS users have enjoyed over 200 million sessions with nearly 65 titles. Two of the first online Wii titles, Pokémon Battle Revolution and Mario Strikers Charged, are just around the corner.

For more information on Wi-Philes, please visit http://www.n-philes.com/wi-philes.

About N-Philes
N-Philes is a company that operates as an online media outlet, dedicated to original coverage across all Nintendo platforms. We receive 16 million hits per month for our news stories, reviews, interviews, and other unique features written by our dedicated staff. For more information, visit us at www.n-philes.com.

About Virtual Console
Gamers can download classic games using Wii’s Virtual Console. Supported platforms include: Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), Nintendo 64 (N64), Turbografx-16/PC Engine (TG16/PCE), and Sega Genesis (GEN). The North American library is updated with new releases every Monday at 9AM PST/12PM EST.

About Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection
Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection (WFC) is a service that enables Nintendo DS and Wii games to be played online and/or updated via a wireless internet connection. For more information about Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, visit www.nintendowifi.com.

Media Contact:
Desiré Garcia or Ben Wood
pr@n-philes.com

N-Philes
4117 SW 20th Ave #237
Gainesville, FL 32607

http://www.n-philes.com

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