November 29, 2006 Wii All Love to Play
Nintendo has brought the “play” back to “gameplay” with their new game console, the Nintendo Wii (pronounced “we”). I had the privilege of playing the Wii system at a private pre-release party two days before it was released to the public, and since then I’ve been trying to come up with ways to get my own.
It’s really everything you’d want in a gaming system. For those who aren’t up on such things, here’s a quick overview of the Wii’s most notable features:
- Nintendo’s 5th generation game console
- Small, light-weight, sexy design
- Plays both GameCube and Wii games via its slot-loading disc drive
- Standard-definition, progressive component video (via optional, additional cable)
- Standard SD card support (up to 2 GB) for photos, videos, game data, etc.
- Wireless controllers use Bluetooth and infrared, called Wii Remote or Wiimote
- Wiimote has three-dimensional motion sensitivity to interact with games in a 3D space
- Wiimote has speaker for directional/dimensional sound
- Wiimote has vibration feedback
- Games cost anywhere between $20–$45
Bringing us together
The aspect of the Wii that really excites me isn’t all those features, though. I think the absolute best strength of the Wii has to do with its ability to appeal to not just the geek or gamer, but the kid in us … all.
Take, for instance, the Flickr photo pool called Wii Motion. In that group you’ll find dozens of photos of people playing Wii — people from every generation, culture, background, and race.
Some of my favorites are this one, this one, this one, and the show stopper (tear-jerker): This one of a brother born with cerebral palsy playing baseball with his sister. Wow, Nintendo, get that family on a commercial or something.
This is a pretty cool site but you should add more about THE game….. ZELDA
Courage
May 2, 2007