For Stephen Pelletier, the addiction started when he was 3. His father brought home a video-game console, spent an hour or so setting it up and as soon as the game — Pong — appeared, Stephen was hooked. "I'll never forget the little white square I saw on the television," the Whidbey Island resident said wistfully. Now 24, and wearing a 15-inch flat-screen TV on his chest, a pack full of batteries on his back and a game console and joysticks dangling from his waist, Pelletier is one of approximately 50 video-game aficionados hired by Nintendo to be walking video games this summer. "I don't consider this work. Smiling and having fun with video games is just the best," he said. "How can you go wrong?"

He may soon find out. Pelletier and fellow members of the Nintendo Street Team gathered Monday for the start of a two-day training session, on everything from the history of Nintendo to how to handle difficult situations with aggressive gamers who won't let you get away. This weekend, work officially begins as the Nintendo Street Team hits malls, concerts and other events in six cities across the country. The mission: To drum up interest in the latest releases from the Redmond-based video game developer.