Miscellaneous Mentionables

I frequently receive email from companies asking me to share news or discounts with my readers. Each week I’ll gather the best requests and share them with you here.
Nintendo’s Thanksgiving Weekend Deals Feature New Bundles and Discounts
REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Thanksgiving is all about spending time and having fun with family and friends. After eating a delicious turkey meal, what better way to change that tryptophan into a trip-to-fun than with an after-dinner serving of Nintendo? Starting this Thanksgiving weekend, Nintendo is offering a wide range of fantastic deals on both Wii U and Nintendo 3DS that are sure to make this Thanksgiving holiday one to remember.
Nintendo 3DS Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon bundle (Photo: Business Wire)
Nintendo 3DS Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon bundle (Photo: Business Wire)
“This year, there is a dizzying amount of affordable Nintendo options for any holiday shopper looking to stock up on fun gifts for family and friends,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “And if there is ever a question of why shoppers should choose Wii U and Nintendo 3DS this holiday season, the answer is simple: Because it’s Nintendo.”
Each of the following deals will provide everyone with an extra helping of fun this Thanksgiving weekend:
Thanksgiving Weekend Deals
A Deal So Great It’s Scary: A Cobalt Blue Nintendo 3DS system that comes installed with the well-received Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon game will sell at a suggested retail price of $169.99. (Nov. 28)
Walmart Black Friday Deal: Walmart will be offering a deal on the new Nintendo 2DS hand-held system at only $99.96. (Nov. 28)
Target Black Friday Deal: At Target, shoppers can pick up a Nintendo 3DS XL system for just $149.99. (Nov. 29)
Wii U and 3DS eShop Discounts: Character-themed sales have been running in the Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS and Wii U throughout the month of November. Over Thanksgiving weekend, a large selection of games starring some of Nintendo’s most beloved characters will be on sale. Visit http://www.nintendo.com/eshop/offers for more information.
Multiplayer Fun Over the Long Thanksgiving Weekend: The uproariously fun multiplayer game Nintendo Land for Wii U comes packaged with a fun, green Luigi-themed Wii Remote Plus controller at a suggested retail price of $59.99. (Dec. 2)
Currently Available
A Mario and Luigi Thanksgiving: A new Mario and Luigi Wii U Deluxe Set that comes packaged with both New Super Mario Bros. U and New Super Luigi U games on one disc is now available at the low suggested retail price of $299.99.
Burn Off Those Thanksgiving Calories for Free: Running through the end of January, Wii U owners who also own a Wii Balance Board accessory can download a monthlong trial version of the full Wii Fit U game for free on Nintendo eShop. Users can keep Wii Fit U for as long as they like by purchasing and syncing a Fit Meter accessory. A Fit Meter has many features of modern activity meters and is available at a suggested retail price of only $19.99.
Compete with Wii Sports Club: There is nothing more fun than playing a round of tennis or bowling with family and friends in Wii Sports Club, now available as individual downloads exclusively in the Nintendo eShop on Wii U. In the coming months, Wii Sports Club will include three other sports from the original Wii Sports – baseball, boxing and golf. All sports feature HD graphics, enhanced controls and new features, such as community clubs. With a broadband Internet connection, players can be registered to state or regional clubs and will be able to send messages to one another via Miiverse during matches. With the addition of online multiplayer, users can even play Wii Sports Club with family members that can’t make it home for the holidays. Wii U owners who download Wii Sports Club will get a free trial pass that will let them play any available sports for a 24-hour period from when the Wii Sports Club game was started. Once the trial period ends, players can purchase a Day Pass for $1.99 in the Nintendo eShop to play all available sports for a 24-hour period, or can buy permanent access to individual sports for $9.99 each.
For more information about Nintendo, visit http://www.nintendo.com.
Remember that Wii U and Nintendo 3DS feature parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit http://www.nintendo.com/wiiu and http://www.nintendo.com/3ds.
BRITAX Enhances Convertible Car Seats with New Fashions and “More to Measure” Education
FORT MILL, S.C. — Nov. 12, 2013 —This December, BRITAX launches a new crop of colorful fashions for its refreshed convertible car seats. In addition to research on the latest trends in color and style, BRITAX continues its focus on the science of safety, combining fashion and function in these revitalized convertible car seats.
To ensure all car seat fashions are stylish and fresh, BRITAX researches trends two years ahead of the season, according to Whitney Welford, associate designer for BRITAX. The major trends for 2014 blend a nod to the past – muted color palettes with a vintage feel – and a modern mélange of cheerful colors, geometric pattern, animal prints, floral influences and pattern layering.
“At BRITAX, all of our products are thoughtfully designed,” said Welford. “From fashion trends to safety standards, we constantly research and respond with the best, highest-quality products – including this new range of brighter, more saturated colors and sleeker patterns for our full line of convertible car seats.”
BRITAX Leads in Safety
BRITAX engineers, tests and builds its stylish convertible car seats in North America to ensure superior quality control. Along with elegant designs, BRITAX car seats have more safety features than any other brand – and like these new fashion-forward designs, the safety is all in plain sight.
BRITAX convertible car seats feature Bases with SafeCell Technology, designed to compress in a crash and significantly lower the center of gravity, thereby counteracting the forward rotation of the child seat. Integrated steel bars strengthen the seat’s connection to the vehicle and reduce forward flexing in a crash. BRITAX’s patented Energy Absorbing Versa-Tether has a two-point attachment that reduces crash energy and forward movement using patented staged-release tether webbing. The ADVOCATE, PAVILION and BOULEVARD also offer HUGS™ with SafeCell Technology® to manage crash energy while keeping the chest clip properly positioned. As the leader in pioneering side impact technologies, BRITAX convertible car seats feature a rigid shell with deep side walls lined with energy-absorbing foam providing Side Impact Protection. The ADVOCATE, PAVILION and BOULEVARD offer a second layer of protection with energy-absorbing True Side Impact Protection head restraint that keeps the head, neck and spine aligned. The ADVOCATE also includes Side Impact Cushion Technology, a third layer of protection, with energy-absorbing cushions on the child seat’s exterior to reduce side impact energy by diverting 45 percent of the crash forces away from the seated child.
“The BRITAX safety system offers the most advanced protection for children,” said Joyce Kara, BRITAX Product Manager. “Parents can rest assured that safety is everything to us, because we know that their children mean everything to them.”
More to Measure
With its refreshed convertible seats, BRITAX is taking a leadership position in helping parents better understand the importance of knowing their child’s seated shoulder height when choosing a BRITAX convertible seat.
A properly fitted child seat harness should be located at or above the child’s shoulders in the forward-facing seating position. Parents currently shop for car seats with children’s weight and standing height in mind, but children’s torso heights can vary significantly. This torso variance often causes children to outgrow their car seats before reaching the full weight and standing height capacity of the seat.
The maximum seated shoulder height label on the new BRITAX convertible seats indicates how much room children have to grow until it is time to transition into their BRITAX combination harness-2-booster seats. Parents will appreciate this new visual indicator as another BRITAX ease-of-use feature that gives them one less safety concern.
“We recommend parents measure for seated shoulder height in their children, along with weight and standing height, when selecting car seats,” said Kara. “BRITAX offers a full line of convertible and combination harness-2-booster seats that have some of the highest top harness slots in the industry to ensure that a child rides safely in a five-point harness as long as possible.”
Additional changes in the convertible seat labels include a quick-response (QR) code on the side of the seat. Parents can use a QR code reader and scan the QR code with their smartphones to gain instant access to online installation videos and the seat’s user guide to aid in proper installation. BRITAX seat labels also now provide a visual reminder that the LATCH system in all convertible car seats can only be used until a child reaches 40 pounds; after that, seat belts must be used for secure installation.
The BRITAX convertible seats will be available in their new fashions online and in independent and major retailers this December. The convertible seats are part of the full BRITAX line of car seats, strollers and accessories. For more information about BRITAX, visit www.britaxusa.com, or find BRITAX on Twitter, Facebook or YouTube.