When Nintendo Corp. announced earlier this month it had entered into a partnership with Roush Fenway Racing and driver Greg Biffle, it marked the arrival of some real horsepower to stock car racing's major leagues.

A worldwide innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii, Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance and Nintendo GameCube systems. Since 1983, Nintendo has sold nearly 2.4 billion video games and more than 409 million hardware units globally, and has created industry icons like Mario, Donkey Kong, Metroid, Zelda and Pok魯n. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere.

That's 2.4 billion games for 409 million consoles and hardware units.

Nintendo brings some heavy duty hardware to NASCAR for this two-race deal with Roush, too, as it is the company's first venture into America's premier motorsports discipline.

Specifically focused on the new Wii gaming system, the partnership takes to the track for the first time at Watkins Glen next month and again at Dover in September.

"Partnering with Roush Fenway Racing further demonstrates how Wii is bringing gaming to the masses," said George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. "Like going to a NASCAR race, playing Wii is a family event. Everyone can enjoy Wii regardless of his or her gaming knowledge and experience."

Beyond that, it introduces a retailing and marketing giant to NASCAR at a time when sponsorships are fluctuating ever higher. There's no question that Nintendo has the clout and the cash to play in NASCAR's arena; the only question is, is it worth it?

Team owner Jack Roush thinks it is.

"We have been fortunate at Roush Fenway Racing to add several well-respected and recognizable brands to our list of sponsors," Roush said. "The addition of Nintendo's Wii as a valuable partner to Roush Fenway is an asset sure to produce multiple benefits both on and off the track. I understand this is Nintendo's first venture in NASCAR and I know our team will do everything in their power to make it a positive one."

Biffle can make it positive by adding to his portfolio at either the Glen or Dover. He's won at both tracks, in the Craftsman Truck Series at the Glen and in Busch and Cup at Dover.

"I'm excited about this partnership with Nintendo and the Wii system," Biffle said. "I just got one myself and I love the boxing game. I've always been a fan of boxing and with Wii, it's a workout. I really get into it. I'll be driving the Wii car at Watkins Glen and Dover. I've got a pretty good record at Dover and I'd love to get the Wii car up front in both races."

Forgetting for a moment the race on the track, Nintendo is involved in a race of its own -- against primary competitors Sony and Microsoft, makers of the Playstation and Xbox gaming systems.

According to CNET, the online home of all things electronic, sales of video games and the machines that play them in the U.S. rose more than 30 percent in June to better than $1.1 billion compared to the same period last year. It was also an increase of 35 percent over May. Since summer is traditionally a slow time in the gaming market, these numbers were greeted with smiles.

And the data further shows that the game systems are driving the increases. There aren't any blockbuster games out right now, so people have been buying the systems and waiting for the products to catch up.

Nintendo, which had been mired in a sales slump during the past several years, has grabbed the top spot with the introduction of the Wii, which costs considerably less than the other two systems, head-to-head.

By testing the waters in NASCAR, Nintendo is entering the sport on a high note based on its numbers and prospects for the future.

For Roush, the possibility that Nintendo might stick around a while, based on the performance by Biffle, is reason enough to be happy about its prospects for the future, too.

With Biffle's car suffering from the unanticipated withdrawal of subprime lender Ameriquest, there has been a series of in-and-out sponsors for the No. 16, which two years ago was 35 points shy of the Nextel Cup crown.

If Roush can entice the video-game giant to stay past the two-race partnership, the chances of retaining the sponsorship for Biffle in 2008 increase exponentially.

That would bring some horsepower back to Roush's five-car stable and keep it on track to repeat its stunning five-car Chase entry of 2005.

TrackBack: http://www.nascar.com/2007/news/business/07/24/business.nintendo.gbiffle/