Nintendo Wii swings into action
The wireless Wii Remote can be waved, it rumbles and even contains a speaker.
Credit: Gamespot
Nintendo Wii swings into action
Most of the interest surrounding Nintendo’s Wii system has been about its new wireless controllers. It’s a two-handed motion-sensitive system that allows players to mimic actions on-screen with the movement of their hands. Gamers can throw balls or thrust their swords by using the motion of their arms instead of just pressing their thumbs.
Credit: Nintendo
Nintendo Wii swings into action
Nintendo says its newly named Wii console is about the width of three stacked DVD cases and will play single- or double-layered 12-centimeter optical discs, as well as 8-centimeter Nintendo GameCube discs. The Wii system comes with 512 megabytes of internal flash memory, two USB 2.0 ports and built-in Wi-Fi capability. The console contains wireless Internet connections with IEEE 802.11b/g, or with a USB 2.0 LAN adaptor.
Wii will run on a PowerPC CPU, code-named “Broadway,” that was developed with IBM, and will include an ATI graphic processor that will support up to 480p resolution. Nintendo says the Wii will launch in the fourth quarter of 2006 and will cost less than $250.
Credit: Gamespot
Nintendo Wii
Nintendo Wii
Nintendo has ventured off the beaten path with its newest system, and the company knows it. While the Sony PlayStation 3 and the Microsoft Xbox 360 both emphasize their impressive graphical capabilities, Nintendo downplays the importance of graphics on its new console. While the Sony and Microsoft consoles keep the branding of their respective predecessors, the oddly named Wii is a semantic departure from Nintendo’s more literally named 2001 console, the GameCube. And while the PS3 and the Xbox 360 both use conventional gamepads bristling with buttons, control sticks, and directional pads, the Wii uses a device that looks more like a TV remote than a gamepad to control its games.
These strange choices could have spelled failure for Nintendo’s newest endeavor. Underplaying processing power, using a strange new controller setup, and giving the whole package an odd name could have been major mistakes for Nintendo. (Consider some of the company’s earlier attempts to go against the grain: the Power Glove and the Virtual Boy.) But if our early experience with the Wii is any indication, this particular Nintendo gamble seems likely to pay off. It’s strange, it’s new, and it’s not as powerful as its competitors, but the Nintendo Wii succeeds in its primary mission: it’s fun to play.