Wii

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Designer Nintendo
Dates Nintendo first mentioned the console in 2004.
Satoru Iwata revealed a prototype of the controller at the September 2005 Tokyo Game Show.
By December 8, 2006, it completed its launch in four key markets: Japan, North America, Europe, Australia.

Description

Type: Video game console
Generation: Seventh Generation era
Media: 12cm Wii Optical Disc, 8cm Nintendo GameCube Game Disc
Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB 2.0x2, LAN Adapter(via USB)
Online service: Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, WiiConnect24, Virtual Console, Wii Channels

Wii was previously known by its code name of "Revolution."

Wii (pronounced 'we') is Nintendo's new home video game console that represents a radical step into a new era of entertainment.

Approximately the size of three stacked DVD cases, the Wii console's elegant design makes it an inviting addition to your entertainment setup without monopolising it.

The Wii console makes you feel less like a player and more like you're in the game.

Nintendo designed the Wii Remote, Wireless and motion-sensitive, that offers an intuitive, natural way to play games. The ergonomic controller plays into the conventional motions you make everyday. When you hit a drum, swing a tennis racket or swing a bat; it can be a sword in one game and then a steering wheel for racing games. It's your paintbrush, your golf club, your aeroplane, but most of all, it's your key to unlocking a world of fun you've never imagined.

Frenzied sword battles are no longer confined to pushing a button. With Wii's unique Wii Remote controller, Nintendo puts you in the middle of the action. Forget about pushing a button to start a golf backswing. Wii lets you swing the club! Don't push a button to swing a sword, actually swing the sword. Video games have always been a part of you, now you get to be a part of them. Step up to the next level of gaming.

Wii is also much more than a mere games console. With the built-in Wii Channels you can surf the Internet, edit your digital photos, check the news and weather, and much more. The Wii console and its revolutionary motion-sensitive controller, the Wii Remote, have been designed so that anyone can enjoy games, whatever their ability or experience.

A Personal View

For years, video games have been almost part of this society, which have been improving every minute. Not video games are something we just hang around during our leisure time; they also can be a good exercise of relief from the tense lifestyle of our own.

That is what I found this evolutional video game console is really interesting.

The first video game console I got when I was little was also from Nintendo, and it gave me great time in my childhood. I have seen many new video game consoles have been invented, improved, and everything becomes bit complex.

With the Nintendo Wii, everything seems back to the original. Nintendo just changes the way we usually play – sitting there by using our fingers to press those buttons that I never remember which combination I can win the game fight - it is a video game console, but we play it by using our whole body.

The Nintendo Wii is created for everyone, every generation. It gives everyone a chance to join the world of video games and does not need to learn anything complicated – just simply move your bodies!

The Wii remote is with sensor, not we are only controlling the characters on the screen, and we are actually in the game! It can be a baseball bat, a bowling ball, boxing gloves, a pen, a sword, and anything you can think of.

Not we can only play it with friends; even our parents and grandparents can all have fun together!

Context

The console was originally conceived in 2001, as the Nintendo GameCube was first seeing release. According to an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto, the concept involved focusing on a new form of player interaction.

"The consensus was that power isn't everything for a console. Too many powerful consoles can't coexist. It's like having only ferocious dinosaurs. They might fight and hasten their own extinction."

Two years later, engineers and designers were brought together to further develop the concept. By 2005, the controller interface had taken form, but a public showing at that year's E3 was withdrawn. Miyamoto stated that "we had some troubleshooting to do. So we decided not to reveal the controller and instead we displayed just the console." Satoru Iwata would later unveil and demonstrate the Wii Remote at the September Tokyo Game Show.

The Nintendo DS is stated to have influenced the Wii design.

Designer Ken'ichiro Ashida 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."

Nintendo hopes to target a wider demographic with its console than that of others in the seventh generation.
At a press conference for Dragon Quest IX, Satoru Iwata iterated "We're not thinking about fighting Sony, but about how many people we can get to play games. The thing we're thinking about most is not portable systems, consoles, and so-forth, but that we want to get new people playing games."

Links

http://uk.wii.com/ - Wii Experience, Wii Channel, Wii TV and Wii Software

http://wii.nintendo.co.uk/1.html - Nintendo Wii Europe Website

Author: Rebecca Chang Date: 21 March 2007