Ellen gives out first Wii during daytime TV

by David Hinkle { Sep 18th 2006 at 10:55AM }

How would you like to be the first consumer in America to own a Wii? Too late as the embedded video shows a young gentleman has already received that honor by care of Ellen Degeneres. When she heard about this special young man who uses echolocation to see (think Marvel comics' Dare Devil), she decided to have him on the show and gift him with Nintendo's latest console.

The video is embedded into the post after the break and comes in at a little over 8 minutes. The video lacks any gameplay or demonstration of the Wii, but this young man is just so interesting that we think it more than makes up for it.

[Thanks student; via The Wiire]

Tags: degeneres, echolocation, ellen, nintendo, wii, wiimote

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Rane @ Sep 18th 2006 5:42PM

It's not Dare Devil. It's Daredevil.

Benjo @ Sep 18th 2006 11:27AM

Does it strike anyone as odd that this kid is blind? What's he going to do with a Wii...or any gaming console?

ron @ Sep 18th 2006 7:56PM

Nintendo is giving out wiis before they release the specs...

Joel G @ Sep 18th 2006 11:40AM

Wow! That kid is incredible!

Benjo, assuming YOU are not blind and saw the video, there are several shots of him playing video games at home.

Exo @ Sep 18th 2006 11:44AM

maybe you would apear less retarded and watch the video first before making a post benjo

Ripperrim @ Sep 18th 2006 11:46AM

He's an inspiration for...well everyone!and to get a Wii and 3 DS Lites from nintendo...Where does he live again, I think he needs another friend :P

nick bonanno @ Sep 18th 2006 11:46AM

Very cool, its good to see people like this get something this cool...

Benjo @ Sep 18th 2006 11:47AM

My bad. I'm at work and only read the description.

MeJJo @ Sep 18th 2006 12:04PM

Well, if he is smart he would sells it on eBay and buy a new one when it comes out.

ButteryLLAMA @ Sep 18th 2006 12:13PM

Good move Nintendo. Publicity with house wives on day time talk TV. Not to mention the sympathetic angel they're playing.

elnico @ Sep 18th 2006 12:35PM

i have mixed feeling about this....
1) how awesome is ellen and nintendo for doing this?!
2) i hate ellen and nintendo for making me want to beat up and rob a blind kid (jking for all you trolls out there)

honestly...go ninty and ellen!

Marcus @ Sep 18th 2006 12:45PM

Still tekken isn't any more than slamming buttons...Nah, really. Good for him and Nintendo.
Someone on youtube mentioned the mother's comment slip-up 6 minutes in lol.
"I told him that there are no impossibilties. And I won't let any white- anyone tell him he can't do anything."

William Crabtree @ Sep 18th 2006 12:58PM

I gotta give it up to the guy. I don't know if that happened to me now how high my spirits would be. I guess if you were raised like that it might be different. Sound like an old or very religious person..but it makes you count your blessing, you know?

TurboFool @ Sep 18th 2006 1:15PM

Awesome kid. You watch him and he seems to live completely normally. Kickass. And I loved his comment, "yeah, I saw the Nintendo Wii on the internet!" Clearly genuinely excited by it. I'd love it if Nintendo started thinking about making some games that are audible-based. What with the Wiimote speaker, the motion, the vibration, and the main speakers, they could actually make some games that are entirely motion and sound-based. Imagine a Wario-Ware minigame that has you swinging at a pi�ata you can't see?

Lindsay @ Sep 18th 2006 1:47PM

Lucky kid! He deserves it though. Talk about COOL!

Way to Go Nintendo! This is the kind of screen time you need.

Skyelan @ Sep 18th 2006 2:45PM

I think fitting words are "And so it begins".

Couple months away and Nintendo's started getting the word out to the common-folk with a bang. Excellent. I especially hope they don't slack off with advertising in Aus, because Aussies as is are already estatic at being treated like their own region instead of lumped in with Europe

student @ Sep 18th 2006 3:54PM

How much do you think he could get on ebay for that? They must have made him sign some hefty contract requiring he keep it.

All the same, sounds interesting and does that mean the consoles are 100% done, as is twilight princess?

Either way, cool video.

truplaya @ Sep 18th 2006 3:58PM

I always knew I there was something special about that woman! She's funny AND has great taste in consoles.

Justin @ Sep 18th 2006 4:27PM

Rock on Ellen - and Nintendo.

What a cool kid - it's very inspiring to see his story. Thanks WiiFanBoy for posting this video. I like seeing stuff that makes me smile.

truplaya @ Sep 18th 2006 5:11PM

"2) i hate ellen and nintendo for making me want to beat up and rob a blind kid (jking for all you trolls out there)"

I feel bad for you...he knows karate and is really good at it.

nodnetni @ Sep 18th 2006 5:18PM

"All the same, sounds interesting and does that mean the consoles are 100% done, as is twilight princess?"

They have been manufacturing the console for a while now if they are going to pump out 4 Million units by December. I would sure hope they aren't making a console that is 80% done :)As for TP - I think you would be save in assuming that as well. I have a feeling they are at about a million units right now. And have started putting said units in to display units to start hitting stores next month.

Streak @ Sep 18th 2006 7:03PM

this is sweet, but thought there was some impossibility to human echolocation, i thought the brain of a human wasn't fast enough because of the size or something, anyway i guess not, thats pretty sweet

also i think nintendo should make some games that only require sound to play and have some type of visualizer on the screen, that would be a unique experience

Skyelan @ Sep 19th 2006 4:19AM

Because they aren't going to release the specs to the public, because gamers don't need them. Few gamers really comprehend what specs mean anyway, and just think "ZOMG! THAT NUMBER IS HIGHER! IT MUST BE BETTER!"

Spec watching is a thing of the past. The Wii will be judged on Game quality and quantity.

themikey @ Sep 19th 2006 4:20AM

If you read the description close enough, he's not completely blind(in fact, only about 10% of people legally blind have no vision at all). He lost most of his sight because of his cancer when he was a child, but he can still see.

He uses echolocation on the streets so that he doesn't run into parked cars and vehicles. I'm certain that he was looking at the screen during the montage with the video game piece.

Just for curiousity, did anyone try and click their tongue to see if they could hear the echo?

Nevertheless, this is one incredible guy and I'm really happy that he'll be enjoying the Wii. He didn't seem very excited about the "Not yet released game" that Ellen was talking about until she mentioned the word 'Wii'. Then his face lit up.

unreal mccoy @ Sep 19th 2006 10:41AM

@themikey

He said that his eyes were removed, and that he has prosthetics.

That being said, how did he "see" Wii on the internet?

@Marcus:

Yeah I caught that "white" slip up as well. There has got to be a better way to motivate a disabled child than to reinforce racial bigotry.

Alex Martin @ Sep 19th 2006 1:17PM

Haha, That slip up caught the ladys' attention that was right next to her as well. Watch it again to see her reaction, she turns her head a little bit further. That kid is the luckiest gamer, forget the contest winners that got to play Wii at E3, i'd rather be in Benjamins shoes (with my eyes) but that would be greedy. That was nice of Nintendo, and Ellens producers for giving that away. It would have been better if she explained it a little bit. Notice how she said "I don't know anything about this but you might once I tell you what it is" well overall that kid is probably having more fun than us right now.

GDGig2for360vs.wii @ Sep 19th 2006 5:26PM

He was on national geographic to he is a spectacular kid and deserves that wii. Congradulations Benjamen

Tabascork @ Sep 19th 2006 8:03PM

I bet someone could come up with training excercises to see with echolocation. Just think what you could do with that! Miners and those cave scientist should learn to do that in case their batteries run out in their flashlights. If your flashlights go out, your basically dead.