Mariners, Nintendo bring us into the game
The Seattle Mariners and Nintendo, the Mariners' principal owner, are teaming up to make this season's games more accessible to fans with hearing loss. Their method -- a video gaming device.
Nintendo and the Mariners have been working for a couple of years on the Nintendo Fan Network, which allows someone to bring a portable Nintendo gaming console to the game, then use it during the game to access a number of interactive features. To promote use of the network and the purchase of the gaming devices, the Mariners are going to be loaning 150 of the devices to fans on a first-come, first-served basis, according to a story in this morning's Seattle Times.
After the Washington State Communication Access Project (Wash-CAP) approached the Mariners about captioning the public-address announcements at Safeco Field, the Mariners and Nintendo evidently figured out how to add captioning to its menu of features accessible via the DSi gaming device. So we can set the device to display captions of those announcements as well as ordering food, checking scores, and all the other things that can be done.
Importantly, the Mariners will reserve some units specifically for the hard of hearing, and those won't be subject to the first-come, first-served rule.
According to the Seattle Times story, the devices will be available from a kiosk on the main concourse near Section 142.
I get the feeling this is a work in progress, and the story suggests that this is something of an experiment in how best to make in-stadium communication accessible to those with hearing loss. Let's give it a try, thank the Mariners and Nintendo for trying to respond to our needs, and give them the feedback necessary to make the system really work.
