For all of you who thought that video games and sport didn't really mesh, think again. Nintendo are the Official Gaming Console Supplier of the 2008 Australian Open. If you've been dragged along to the tennis against your will, you can pop over to the Nintendo Sight Training Lounge to relax - or if you actually enjoy the sport, you can test your skills in the Wii Championships. If you have the skillz, the winner of the competition will then go on to battle it out on the big screen with Australian tennis champ, Mark Philippoussis.

Running from January 14-27, the Australian Open will be invaded by Wii Sports fans, discarding their racquets for Wiimotes, and swinging the controller in order to hit a virtual ball.

Rose Lappin, Managing Director of Nintendo Australia is happy:

"We know Mark Philippoussis is a fan of Wii, and there will be a few Wii fans lining up to take him on!"

Gamers taking part in the competition can hold their spot on the court for as long as they continue winning games - and the daily champion will be awarded a Wii console, plus a copy of Wii Sports. The two highest-ranking daily champions over the game period will be invited back ot the Final, on January 27th.

It's worth noting that while the Wii Championships will be held at the Nintendo stand, outside Vodafone Arena in the Fan Fest area, the Final will be held on the big screen in Garden Square!

The grand champion will then win tickets to watch the Men's Tennis Final, as well as taking part in a Wii Sports tennis final play-off against Philippoussis.

If you don't have the skills, you could still meet the 'Poo, as he appears at the Nintendo stand at 11am on Tuesday January 15th.


...all sound a bit like hard work? Nintendo have you covered. Australian Open visitors are also being invited to cool down and relax in the Sight Training Lounge (located at the Trade Show area, eastern car park, Carnival area), while playing, testing and improving their five visual abilities with Sight Training: Enjoy Exercising and Relaxing Your Eyes on Nintendo DS.

Sight Training has been developed under the supervision of Dr. Hisao Ishigaki, a leader in the field of Sports Optometry and Sports Vision at the Aichi Institute of Technology Japan - and works on five aspects of vision. Hand-eye coordination, peripheral vision, eye movement, momentary vision and dynamic visual acuity will all receive a work out with this one - and the concept of training your visual abilities has been used by many people (including top athletes) for years.

If the idea of better vision isn't enough, everyone who tries out Sight Training will be entered into a draw for a Nintendo DS and a copy of the game, with one prize pack given away each day of the Open.

Rose Lappin, Managing Director of Nintendo Australia is happy:

"Both the Wii Championships and Nintendo Sight Training Lounge at the Australian Open, will showcase the diversity and broad appeal of Nintendo's products. We have games for everyone"

...while I'm not sure it's quite worth paying the entry fees to get into the Australian Open just to play some games, I think that if you're there anyway, both of these are definitely worth checking out. What else are you going to do when it's too hot to play on the court?