Nintendo's Wii
| Designer | Nintendo |
| Dates | 2004 |
Description
Wii is a video game system that designed to bring people new experience of playing games. The name Wii sounds like “we” emphasizes that the console is for everyone. It's easily pronounced in a variety of languages, and the distinctive spelling with 2 lower-case “i” is meant to resemble two people standing side by side, representing players gathering together.
Approximately the size of an external DVD player, the system boasts 512 MB of internal flash memory, two USB 2.0 ports, and a slot for SD memory expansion. Wii's processing chip developed with IBM and code-named "Broadway" and a graphics chipset from ATI code-named "Hollywood" deliver stunning performance. Wi-Fi has built-in to make it more convenience to access the Internet. It features four controller ports so there is no need to buy a multitap if you have more than one friend. It also features two memory card slots, which are easily accessible at the front of the console.
The outstanding feature that brings Wii to new level of gaming is its wireless, motion sensitive game controller called Wii remote. The Wii controller is rectangular and slender, similar to a television remote control. It is wireless and features a built-in vibration function. The Wii Remote's position is in 3-D space, which means that racing-game steering and a tennis swing, for example, are done through movements of hands rather than by just thumbs. A tiny speaker built into the Wii Remote also brings some interactive surround sound experiences.
A Personal View
Compared to the motion sensing controller, capacity to play games from earlier systems may seem less "revolutionary," but Wii's backward compatibility goes farther "backwards" than any previous console or handheld has gone.I found the menus and options screens to be easy to navigate with large, clear buttons and concise information on what button to press. The main buttons to use are the 'A' button on top of the Wii-mote and 'B' - the 'trigger' button, and that's about it.
Nintendo have such a rich pedigree in making games that, while arguably were never cutting-edge in terms of graphics, are immensely playable. And it's a sentiment I whole-heartedly agree upon. Wii Sports, the freebie that comes in the box with the Wii, is a superb example of this. Sure, they could have gone to town on the graphics but keeping it simple and clear means you concentrate on the game as opposed to trying to squint to see any kind of detail or being overwhelmed by the sheer number of things happening on screen at once. Regardless age or gender, Wii is created to give everyone a chance to join the world of video games by just simply their bodies.
Context
Shigeru Miyamoto is known as designer of the famous video game “Super Mario”. Wii is another successful of Nintendo. The concept focusing on a new form of player interaction by Shigeru Miyamoto was originally conceived in 2001 when the Nintendo GameCube was first released.
The concept took two years to develop. By 2005, the controller interface had taken form, but a public showing at that year's E3 was withdrawn. Miyamoto stated that, "[W]e had some troubleshooting to do. So we decided not to reveal the controller and instead we displayed just the console." After that, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata unveiled the Wii Remote.
The Wii design was influence designer Ken’ichiro Ashida to create the Nintendo DS concept. He noted, "We had the DS on our minds as we worked on the Wii. We thought about copying the DS's touch-panel interface and even came up with a prototype." The idea was eventually rejected, with the notion that the two gaming systems would be identical. Miyamoto also expressed that, "If the DS had flopped, we might have taken the Wii back to the drawing board."
Links
http://uk.wii.com - Nintendo Wii Europe Website
http://www.nintendo.com/wii - Official site includes console software and hardware information, customer reactions, and company philosophy.
| Author | Ha Nguyen | Date | March 2008 |