Nintendo Showcases Wii at AARP Event

By Eric Wright / Monday, 30 October 2006

Nintendo brought its upcoming Wii console to this year's Anaheim, California-based Life@50+ event, an annual showcase sponsored by the former American Association of Retired Persons designed to expose people over 50 years old to the latest in technology. The Wii display was among panel discussions, celebrity endorsements, and other events at Life@50+, which was attended by more than 20,000 people. "Nintendo has never gone after grandparents before," said Amber McCollom, a senior manager of public relations for Nintendo of America. "We're targeting this audience for themselves, not just their grandchildren." The Life@50+ event featured Nintendo representatives wearing buttons asking people to "Ask Me My Brain Age," a follow-up promotion of its brain-training video game for the Nintendo DS handheld system. Last month, Nintendo held a "Coolest Grandparent of the Year" competition in New York City's Rockefeller Plaza where senior citizens competed at Brain Age. The competition was won by Barbara St. Hilaire, 70, affectionately known as "Old Grandma Hardcore." Stay with The Wiire for the latest developments in the booming subculture of geriatric gamers.