"Now, here is an ordinary Mario Kart cartridge..oh, do stop fiddling with it, 007!"
This will probably be the biggest stir since people found out there was a Butterfinger in Dennis the Menace's lunch box. We all know product placement is a big part of movies, but I don't think there's been anything quite like this before.
Nintendo, having featured such spy based games as Goldeneye and Perfect Dark, have evidently decided to put their own unique stamp on the spy movie industry. To that end Nintendo has entered into an agreement with the producers of the film [i] Stormbreaker [/i] which will take the cuddly little Nintendo DS and turn it into "the ultimate spy gadget."
First, a little background on the movie and, more importantly, how this miraculous transformation will be achieved. [i] Stormbreaker[/i] is the first in as series of spy novels written by Anthony Horowitz that have sold in the millions all around the globe. The basic plot is that 14 year old Alex Rider, after his uncle's murder, is recruited by his uncle's superiors at MI6 to carry on his uncle's mission. Now, as we all know, no spy is complete without a nifty gadget of some kind. James Bond had his watch with the magnet in it, Inspector Gadget had himself, and we're not sure what Secret Squirrel had. But I digress.
Peter Samuelson, one of the producers of the film, stated that he sat down with the author of the Alex Rider books to try and figure out what tool a 14 year old kid could carry around and not attract attention with. Hence, the DS..a red one, to be exact. He will also receive various game cards that allow the DS to eavesdrop on the bad guys, let Alex know when he is being eavesdropped on in turn, and even be used as smoke bomb. Normally that would be cause to look at the warranty, but it must work somehow.
Peter Samuelson offered this comment as to the choice of the DS to be used as a spy gadget in the movie. "Nintendo DS is the perfect fit: Alex's spyware hides in plain sight. Audiences will be thrilled to see how it helps Alex get out of a host of heart-pounding predicaments."
And it will also no doubt lead to numerous children asking their parents for a model just like that one. Wheels within wheels. Sadly, though, the Senior Vice President in charge of marketing and corporate communications for Nintendo America claimed that there would be on spy related functions available for the DS to the general public.
Well, guess I'll just have to opt for the Casio watch with the hologram projector.
-Nick McCavitt