In the next few months we could see the birth of the most revolutionary console in history - or is that 'retro-lutionary'?
Nintendo have always been known for their ability to innovate rather than imitate. In a gaming world that is starting to resemble formulaic Hollywood films where originality (and playability) take a back seat to profitability, Nintendo are attempting to change the current console philosophy and concentrate on the aspects of gaming that have been arguably lacking for years - original, fun game play.
Their key goals are to introduce a new style of console that will expand the gaming audience, provide unique gaming experiences and marketed with a reasonable price tag (tipped to be almost half the cost of a Ps3).
The Controller
The key to achieving these goals are primarily hinged on the unique controller, or should we say controllers?
The Wii controller looks like a remote control but is completely motion sensitive, with several buttons, a d-pad, rumble features and inbuilt speaker. The remote even has an expansion slot included. Does it cook toast you ask?
In addition to the remote the secondary controller is named the 'Nunchuk' which can be plugged into the Wii controller. Like the Wii remote the Nunchuk is 3-axis (3 dimension) motion sensitive and appears to resemble the N64's analog control stick complete with trigger. Both the nunchuk and remote controllers operate using blue tooth and up to 4 players can hook up to the Wii.
For certain games that require light-gun or pointer type functions the Wii comes with a Sensor bar that sits on top of your TV to detect where the Wii-mote is pointing. It is also stated that the Wii will ship with a classic controller to support backwards compatibility with older games. The Nintendo Wii also boasts "Four ports for classic Nintendo Game Cube controllers. Two slots for Nintendo Game Cube Memory Cards..."
Graphics Capabilities
In terms of graphics the Wii will sport an ATI graphics based chipset ironically named called "Hollywood". Nintendo state that the video output options consist of "An AV Multi-output port for component, composite or S-video." Up to 480p resolution and 16:9 widescreen are both supported. No sign of digital here...
Online Capabilities
The Wii will be wireless capable out of the box. "Wii can communicate with the Internet even when the power is
turned off...using IEEE 802.11b/g, or with a USB 2.0 LAN adaptor...Wii also can communicate wirelessly with Nintendo
DS." The Wii will also have an internet browser similar to that used on the Nintendo DS.
One of the other interesting features is that, in addition to supporting Game Cube games, the Wii will provide access to a massive back catalogue of games via the internet.
"Wii will have downloadable access to 20 years of fan-favorite titles originally released for Nintendo 64, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) and even the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) ...a "best of" selection from Sega Genesis titles and games from the TurboGrafx console" Nintendo also go on to say that the Wii will be "...home to new games conceived by indie developers whose creativity is larger than their budgets" It is
also said that the Wii will be able to download game demos as well.
So it looks like we will get a massive amount of content to download including never before seen original content. Does this mean we get to play Mario Kart online? So how much will this cost per game? Initial unconfirmed reports are saying it will cost about US$10 which is about AUS$13. We will have to wait and see...
The Games
There are probably around 50 titles floating around at the moment with more on the way. Classic series such as Donkey Kong, Metroid, Pokemon, Super Mario and an awesome new Legend of Zelda are confirmed. There are several brand new titles that look extremely promising including the much publicized Wii Sports and Red Steel. At the time of writing there are 18 confirmed titles at launch including Red Steel, Wii Sports, Farcry and the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess which is great news.
There is also a lot of support from developers including the big names such as Ubisoft, EA and Midway. With development kits being shipped for a fraction of the cost of PS3 or 360 kits, hopefully we will see a flood of upcoming developers in addition to the veteran development houses and publishers.
The Cost
How much will the whole Wii-kit cost? Well this is not entirely known either - with several reports stating Wii should sell for around about US$250.00, so in Australia we should probably be budgeting for around $300-400.
When can I buy it?
Well we won't know in Australia for the next few months as there has been no official release date as of yet, although Nintendo state they will be releasing the Wii in the fourth quarter of 2006. Hopefully this will be a worldwide release so Australia won't be left out.
Ok so you've probably worked out that the Wii won't match the horsepower of a 360 or a Ps3. You can't watch your DVDs, mpeg movies or Mp3s nor will you get digital graphics or sound (Dolby Pro Logic II is supported though). The real question is will this matter? Well hopefully by the end of the year we should know where the Wii will sit in the console food chain.
We will keep you posted on an Australian release date.
Submitted by MrWii
28/08/2006
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