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Wii (pronounced like the word "we", IPA: ) is Nintendo's seventh-generation video game console, and is the company's fifth home console. Its official project code name was Revolution.

Wii is unique in that the console's controller, the Wii Remote (or "Wii-mote"), may be used as a handheld pointing device as well as detecting motion in three dimensions. The controller also contains a speaker and a rumbling device to provide sensory feedback. The console has a stand-by feature entitled WiiConnect24, enabling it to receive messages and updates over the Internet while consuming very little electrical power.

Nintendo unveiled the system under the Revolution code name in 2005 at its E3 press conference. Satoru Iwata, Nintendo's President, revealed a prototype of the system's game controller at the 2005 Tokyo Game Show during his keynote speech in September. At the E3 2006 show, Wii was widely considered a smash success, amongst both journalists and gamers. The console is scheduled for release in the fourth quarter of 2006 worldwide.

Launch

Release date and price

As of July 2006, an exact release date has not been confirmed. However, Nintendo's most recent statements confirm that Nintendo plans to release Wii in the fourth quarter of 2006. Internationally, the company hopes to launch with no more than four months difference between the first and last launching regions. A previous statement by Satoru Iwata indicated Nintendo's intentions to launch before Thanksgiving. At a June 2006 briefing in Japan, Iwata stated that a precise release date and price would be announced by September.

While Nintendo has yet to announce an exact price for the console as of July 2006, Yoshihiro Miro, senior managing director for Nintendo, has confirmed that Wii will cost no more than JP¥25,000 (price in US$) in Japan, US$250 in America. A Nintendo spokesman said that the price in the UK "will be in line with Japanese and US prices announced" (Japanese and US prices in GB£). The company intends to release 6 million console units and 17 million software units during the fiscal year ending March 31, 2007; and 4 million or more console units by the end of the 2006 calendar year. Despite the price point of US$60 quoted for many next-generation games, Satoru Iwata said in an interview that he could not imagine that any first-party games would cost more than US$50.

Expected launch titles

While only six titles have been confirmed for launch, the rest are, as of July 2006, reported to be available at launch:

Title Developer Publisher(s) Exclusive?
The Last Airbender (video game) THQ THQ No
The League Midway Games Midway Games No
Call of Duty 3 Treyarch Activision No
Cars Rainbow Studios THQ No
The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors* Square Enix Square Enix Yes
Elebits Konami Konami Yes
Excite Truck Nintendo Nintendo Yes
The Crystal Bearers Square Enix Square Enix Yes
Twilight Princess* Nintendo Nintendo No**
Madden NFL 07 EA Canada EA Sports No
Ultimate Alliance Raven Software Activision No
Metal Slug Anthology SNK SNK No
Corruption* Retro Studios Nintendo Yes
Rayman Raving Rabbids* Ubisoft Montpellier Ubisoft No
Red Steel* Ubisoft Paris Ubisoft Yes
Creature from the Krusty Krab THQ THQ No
Banana Blitz* Sega Sega Yes
Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam Toys For Bob Activision No
Second Opinion Atlus Atlus Yes
Wii Sports Nintendo Nintendo Yes
*Confirmed by Nintendo to be a launch title.

**Will also be released for the Nintendo GameCube.

Hardware

Design

Wii is Nintendo's smallest home game console yet, being approximately the size of three standard DVD cases stacked together. The console has been confirmed to have the ability to stand either horizontally or vertically. The front of the console features a self-loading media drive illuminated by a blue light and accepts both 12 cm Wii Optical Discs and 8 cm optical discs from Nintendo's prior console, the GameCube. Nintendo has stated that a small attachment can be used to play DVDs. The ability to load different sized discs is uncommon in slot-loading media drives, which typically only accept discs of a single size.

Nintendo has shown Wii in various colors including silver, lime green, white, black, blue and red. The final colors of the console are still to be announced. Also, for extra style, the Wii remote will come in colors which match the system.

The systems shown at E3 2006 and in various trailers appear to have several small changes from the original design. Not only had the Nintendo branding on the case been replaced with a 'Wii' logo, but the disc loading slot had been enlarged slightly, the reset button had been moved from next to the eject button to the power button, and the power indicator light had been moved from next to the power button to inside the button.

A second flap cover is located on the front of the machine, which opens to disclose a SD card slot in the middle and a "SYNCHRO" button. It is used to link the controllers to the console.

The port for the sensor bar, a device used for the Wii Remote's three-dimensional sensing, is found at the rear of the console. This port did not appear in any of the former Wii hardware images, including the images in Nintendo's E3 media press kit.

Controller

The primary controller for Wii uses a one-handed, remote control-based design. The controller communicates wirelessly with the console via Bluetooth. It features an integrated accelerometer, which allows it to sense linear motion along three axes, as well as tilt. The controller also contains a tracking image sensor, which, in tandem with a sensor bar, gives the controller light gun-like pointer capabilities within 5 meters (approx. 16.5 ft.) of the screen. Up to four controllers can be connected at once and operated as far as ten meters from the console. The remote also possesses force-feedback capabilities and an internal audio speaker, and can be utilized as an NES gamepad (when turned on its side) as well as a pointing device. The Wii-mote features 6KB of "non-volatile" memory and can run up to 60 hours of battery life with two AA batteries. The buttons on the contoller are digital. These include the D-Pad, as well as A, B, 1, 2, -, +, and Power buttons on the controller face; and a SYNCHRO button located inside the battery compartment.

The Wii Remote can be augmented by various add-ons. Announced expansions include: a Nunchuk controller (which also has limited motion sensing capabilities) featuring an analog stick and two additional digital buttons (C and Z), a Classic Controller for playing Virtual Console and GameCube games, and a "Zapper Style" shell for First-person shooter gameplay which also includes a control stick on the top.

In an interview, Shigeru Miyamoto revealed that Nintendo hopes to allow Wii controllers to be personalized for each gamer. Applications would include different game settings determined by the preferences of the controller that turned on the console.

Sensor bar

The sensor bar is an attachment placed either directly above or below the display screen, which is required for games and applications that use the remote as an on-screen pointer. With the sensor bar it is possible to accurately pinpoint where on screen a Remote is pointing, regardless of the size or type of display used. The sensor bar is around 20 centimeters long.

The role of the sensor bar in determining the location of the controller in 3D space is unclear.

Connectivity

Wii will have built-in 802.11b/g Wi-Fi connectivity allowing communication over the Internet and with the Nintendo DS via wireless networking. Nintendo has stated that Wii will have a standard interface for Wi-Fi. An optional USB adapter will provide network connectivity via wired Ethernet as well.

In addition, the console incorporates Bluetooth wireless communication, with which it communicates with the wireless Wii Remote controller. Connectivity with other Bluetooth devices has not been mentioned.

Wii has a flip lid that can be opened to reveal four ports for GameCube controllers and two GameCube memory card slots. Two USB ports (at the rear) and one SD card slot (behind a flap cover at the front of the console) are provided. Additionally a small internal attachment (a dongle) to be sold as an add-on to the console will allow Wii to play DVD-Video.

Technical specifications

Nintendo has, at present, released very little technical specifics regarding the Wii console. The known details include:

Processors:

Memory:

Ports and peripheral capabilities:

  • Up to four Wii Remote controllers (connected wirelessly via Bluetooth)
  • One SD memory card slot
  • Two USB 2.0 ports
  • One Sensor Bar port
  • Four Nintendo GameCube controller ports
  • Two Nintendo GameCube memory card ports
  • Compatible with optional USB 2.0 Ethernet LAN adaptor
Storage:
  • 512 MB built-in flash memory
  • Expansion available via SD card memory and USB mass storage
  • Slot-loading disc drive compatible with:
    • 12cm Wii optical disc (4.7 GB Single layer or 8.7 GB Dual Layer)
    • 8cm GameCube optical disc
    • DVD Video (optional additional purchase)
  • Mask ROM by Macronix
Built-in content ratings systems: Networking: Video: Audio:

Features

Backward compatibility

Nintendo has stated that Wii will be backward compatible with all GameCube software and most peripherals. This backwards compatibility is achieved through a set of ports on top of the console concealed by a panel. There are four GCN controller ports and two GCN memory card slots as there were on the GameCube itself, so the GameCube microphone should be compatible, as well as the GameCube-Game Boy Advance cable. There is no indication that the Wii has the high-speed port of the original GameCube, which means that unless otherwise indicated, the Game Boy Player (which required this port) will not be compatible with the Wii.

Online connectivity

Wii will be able to connect to the Internet through its built-in Wi-Fi and through a USB-to-Ethernet adaptor, with both methods allowing players to access the established Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service. The service will have several unique features for the Wii, such as the Virtual Console and WiiConnect24.

Virtual Console

The Virtual Console service will allow users to download and play games originally designed for not only the NES, Super NES, and Nintendo 64, but also Mega Drive/Genesis and TurboGrafx-16 systems. Only a "best of" selection for these systems will be available, not every released title. Nintendo has stated that this service "...will be home to new games conceived by indie developers whose creativity is larger than their budgets."

While no pricing info has been announced for the Virtual Console feature, at the June 2006 Nintendo briefing, Satoru Iwata suggested that new, low-scale games could be sold via the Virtual Console at a price of between JP¥500 and JP¥1000(~USD$4–$9 or ~€3,5–€7). In a presentation in Spain, it was mentioned that Nintendo of Spain was considering a pre-paid card option for its Virtual Console purchases.

WiiConnect24

At E3 2006, Nintendo announced WiiConnect24, a feature that will allow the Wii to remain connected to the Internet in standby mode. Some possibily uses of WiiConnect24 that were mentioned at E3 2006 include allowing friends to visit a player's vilage in Animal Crossing and downloading updates for games without having to be actively using the system.

It has also been said that it would be possible to download Nintendo DS promotional demos using WiiConnect24 and later transfer it to one's Nintendo DS (see Nintendo DS connectivity).

Web browser
Similar to its use as the Nintendo DS Browser, the Opera web browser will be included with Wii. The web browser will be saved in Wii's Flash ROM (allowing access within seconds), and will support JavaScript. In addition to functioning as a web browser, Opera on Wii will serve as a layout engine to be used for web-based applications.

Nintendo DS connectivity

Wii will support wireless connectivity with the Nintendo DS. Shigeru Miyamoto said Nintendo was still working out when features using this connectivity would be available, but that it would be soon after the launch of the system, due to the popularity of the Nintendo DS.

The connectivity will allow the player to use functions like the Nintendo DS's microphone and touchscreen as inputs for Wii games. The first example Nintendo has given of a game using Nintendo DS-Wii connectivity is that of Pokémon Battle Revolution. Players with either Pokémon Diamond or Pearl will be able to play battles using their Diamond or Pearl Pokémon on Wii with the Nintendo DS as a controller.

It has also been confirmed that the Nintendo DS will be able to play game demos downloaded from Wii which they would receive from Nintendo. The Wii will also be able to update and expand DS games. *

Player characters and profiles

In an interview between Wired News and Katsuya Eguchi (producer of Animal Crossing and Wii Sports), Eguchi confirmed that the custom player face feature shown in Nintendo's E3 Media Briefing is built into the hardware, and is part of a "Profile" system that contains the caricature and other information that is yet to be determined. The tool being constructed for this caricature creation also includes the option to use several pre-made images for the less "artistically inclined".

Parental controls

Wii will feature parental controls, prohibiting younger users from playing games with content unsuitable for their age level. When a disc is inserted, it will read the content rating encoded on the game discs; if this rating is greater than the system's set age level the game will not load without a correct override password.

It is confirmed that the European units will use the PEGI rating system, and North American units will use the ESRB rating system. While Nintendo has stated that parental control will be included in all Wii consoles worldwide, it has not yet clarified whether that means Wii will support the native rating systems of other territories, such as that of CERO in Japan, the USK in Germany, or the OFLC in Australia.

Software library

Below is a list of some popular franchises which will be released on Wii and is in no way a complete list.

First party

Second party

Third party

New titles

There will also be all-new, original titles released for Wii, including:

Third party developer support

Name

Nintendo spells "Wii" with two "i"s to imply an image of players gathering together, as well as to represent the console's controllers.

During Nintendo's pre-E3 2006 press conference, Reggie Fils-Aime joked about the mixed reactions to the new name, saying, "First, we want to thank everyone who wrote good things about it the day you heard it... both of you."

See also

References

External links

Official

Unofficial coverage

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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Wii".

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