DSi midnight launch party to feature free i am 8-bit stuff

The art site, gallery and sometimes book, i am 8-bit, has teamed up with Nintendo for a midnight launch of the Nintendo DSi. The free party will start 9 P.M., April 4, 2009, ending at midnight (April 5, 2009) and will take place at the Universal CityWalk in Los Angeles, CA (USA).

According to i am 8-bit’s press release, not only will much fun be had by all who are standing in line to get the new handheld but prizes will artistic handed out as well, including:

• Posters - Three hand-silkscreened posters from famed artists Gabe Swarr, John Pham, and Matt Furie. Each artist will be on site to sign and customize the posters. There are only 100 of each.
• Photo Playset - Imagine entering a life-sized Mushroom Kingdom, as conceptualized by visionary artist Scott Belcastro, and get your photo taken. Complete with hand-made props/replicas from all your favorite Nintendo franchises.
• T-Shirts - Ultimate Mario fan/i am 8-bit artist Gabe Swarr designed shirts, exclusively for the event. There are only 600 to be had.
• Stickers - A whole arsenal of exclusive stickers will be passed out, featuring your favorite Nintendo characters as interpreted by i am 8-bit artists. Only 1000 sticker packs were created.

Although the prizes might sound a little lame to most, if you haven’t seen any of the art you cannot imagine how truly cool some of the stuff will be.

According to N-Philes, other event goodness will include:

• Music by VJ Fader with manipulated video displayed on a giant 360 degree projection globe
• Gaming stations
• Parkour street running stunt performances
• Nintendo executive Cammie Dunaway and event host Kevin Periera of G4′s Attack of the Show leading the count down to midnight when doors open

The DSi is Nintendo’s latest handheld game system and the third version of the DS line and will cost US$169.99. The DSi which has already been released in Japan (November 2008). It appears very similar to the DS Lite but is slightly thinner, has two digital cameras, larger screens, more RAM, access to the DSi Shop, upgradeable firmware, a SD/SDHC card expansion slot and improved speakers (sound can also be heard while the system is closed). The new features also mean the battery will not last quite as long and the carts will be region locked.

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