Note: This is a work in progress.
Revolution? Wii? I'm confused - An introduction to the Wii.
Many of you may know Wii by it's codename, the 'Revolution'. When the console was first shown off, it was assumed that this name was the official one, when in reality nobody at Nintendo had ever just put the record straight.
It was announced shortly before E3 2006 that the real name of this console would be the 'Wii'. Pronounced 'we', the console name represents Nintendo's view on the console and how they should approach the gaming market. Wii is a console for EVERYONE. Appealing to the hardcorest of gamers, or your sister and gran. Nintendo want to bring gaming back to the masses and making gaming accessible again.
The console is approximately the size of 3 DVD cases stacked ontop of each other, making it the smallest home console ever released. The blue neon light down the middle is actually a disc tray, not just eye candy.
Have you seen that controller? What's with that?
Granted, at first glance it does look rather odd to say the least. Not the usual thing you'd associate with a video games console.
However, Nintendo's logic behind the controller is very smart. It purposely looks like a TV remote, using the theory that nearly everyone knows how to use one, thus meaning it will not intimidate those who want to give gaming a try. Nintendo's view is that game controllers these days have too many buttons and are simply too daunting for your average person who doesn't regulary play games.
However, it's not all about the style. Far from it, infact, as the best thing about the controller is the technology inside it. Using revolutionary technology, the controller has motion sensors built in that will change your gameplay experience completely. By simply tilting, rotating or swinging the controller, the appropriate action you take will be mirrored on your TV in the game.
In the box you get a sensor bar that simply sits ontop or below your TV, that then picks up the movement of the remote. It couldn't be any more simple.
The controller also has a nunchuck add-on, which is mostly for movement in games:
For a more detailed look at just how exactly this controller works, check out
this video!
What's the power like?
Nintendo like to stress that the Wii isn't a console built for graphics whores. Power is not their concern, they're aiming to build a fun console that everyone can enjoy.
Not much is known about the specs exactly, the best info so far is:
* IBM, who previously developed the Gamecube's processor, have finished developing the CPU for the Wii. Codenamed "Broadway", little information is known about the exact specifications, as of yet.
* ATI Technologies are handling the GPU for the console. Codenamed "Hollywood", again little information is known.
* The Console is roughly 2-3 times more powerful than its predecessor, the Nintendo Gamecube.
* Supported resolution: Up to 480p
* One bit of information which worries some is that Wii will not support HD. Although, this should not be too big a problem as only a small percentage of the population have access to HD-TVs.
* Internet Connectivity will run on WiFi 802.11b/g
Ok, ok! You have me sold! That looks awesome. When's it out?
Glad you asked! Over the last 2 days, the Wii launch infomation has been announced in a series of conferences. The plans are as followed:
US - November 19th, $250
Japan - December 2nd, 25,000 Yen
Australia - December 7th, $399.95
EU - December 9th, £180
Nintendo plan to ship 4 million units worldwide before December 31st.
Yikes! That's good value! What games will be out at launch?
So far, only a few launch titles are confirmed.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess,
Call of Duty 3 and
Excite Truck are the biggest titles. Over the next few days and weeks, more third parties will confirm their titles, so keep your eyes peeled! It's expected that around 20-25 games will be on the shelves at launch. Packed
free with the console is Wii Sports, a collection of sports game to showcase what the Wii is capable of. Sports include tennis, baseball, golf and boxing among others.
Then, of course, you have Virtual Console..
Wait! What? What the hell is Virtual Console?
I had a feeling you'd ask! Virtual Console is one of the coolest things about the Nintendo Wii. Bringing you 20 years of classic games to download at a small cost. The Wii will have a huge range of classic games spanning over consoles such as the NES, SNES, N64, Genesis and more!
Nintendo have gone the way of Microsoft with 'Wii Points'. You'll be able to buy 2000 Wii points either online, or at your local store, which will then be used to purchase these games. Games will cost the same amount of points worldwide - 500 points for NES games, 800 points for Super Nintendo games, and 1000 for Nintendo 64 - and apparently other titles will be decided soon.
At launch there will be roughly 10-15 virtual console games ready to download, including Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda, with another 10-15 being added before the end of the year.
To play these games, you can use an add-on controller that has the retro layout:
Sounds great! Will the console be online?
Yes! And, best of all, it will be free of charge. Nintendo does not believe in charging subscriptions for such things, so don't worry about having to pick between Xbox Live and Nintendo's online function. The huge success of Wi-Fi in the Nintendo DS means Nintendo are keener than ever to take their games to the next step online! The first confirmed online game will be Pokemon for the Japanese release. However, Nintendo have also confirmed that many, many more games will be online. Hopefully, nearly all of them!
I've heard it called the 'Console that never sleeps', what's that about?
Ah, you must be talking about Wii Connect 24/7. The Nintendo Wii will be connected to the internet at ALL times. This means that overnight as you sleep, Nintendo can send you updates for your games, demos for the DS or anything else they see fit! It also has uses on the Wii Channels..
Wii Channels? What's that?
Will finish later, along with more!
So I'm gonna finish this later/tomorrow. If anyone has any input about other features, or info I've got wrong, shoot!
If you feel like typing something up that hasn't been covered, I'll paste it in here!