Wii
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|
  The Nintendo Wii and the Wii Remote. | |
| Manufacturer | Nintendo |
| Released | White November 19, 2006 December 2, 2006 December 7, 2006 December 8, 2006 April 26, 2008 July 12, 2008Black August 1, 2009 November 6, 2009 March 11, 2010 May 9, 2010Limited-edition Red October 29, 2010 November 7, 2010 November 11, 2010
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| Generation | Seventh |
| Processor | IBM PowerPC-Based "Broadway" |
| GPU | ATI "Hollywood" |
| Memory | 519MB internal Flash Memory 1T-SRAM by MoSys-New Wii only.Old Wii has 512MB. |
| Resolution | 480I/480P Progressive Scan |
| Media | 12cm Wii Optical Disc 8cm Nintendo GameCube Discs SD Cards. USB Thumbdrive/Hard Drive |
| Controller input | Wii Remote, Wii Balance Board, Nintendo GameCube controller |
| Online service | Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection WiiConnect24 Shop Channel |
| Codename | Revolution |
| Colour | White, Black, Red, Lime Green, Silver, & Blue |
| Price | $149.99 ¥25,000 €185.96 £179.99 $399.99
|
| Size | 20 cm (7 in) deep, 6 cm (2 in) thick, 13 cm (5 in) tall (without stand) |
| Units shipped | 100 million |
| Best-selling game | Wii Sports (over 70 million copies sold) |
| Backward compatibility | GameCube (see also; Virtual Console |
| Predecessor | GameCube (2001) |
| Successor | Wii U (2012) |
The Wii is a seventh generation video game console created by Nintendo, and a successor to Nintendo's previous console, the GameCube. It is Nintendo's fifth major home console. The console was initially released on November 19, 2006 in American stores, was released shortly thereafter in other countries, and became the leading console in the U.S.A., Europe and Japan. With over 90 million units shipped worldwide, it is Nintendo's best-selling home console, and 3rd best-selling home console of all time. The Wii was also later remade into the smaller Wii Mini.
The console comes packaged with a Wii Remote and Nunchuk, the most prominent being the former. The Wii Remote is capable of detecing movement in three dimensions and can be held with one hand. The Nunchuk can be connected to the Wii Remote via a long cord allowing for more control. Motions made with the Nunchuk can also be registered through the Wii Remote.
Building off the basis of the Nintendo DS, Nintendo is using what they refer to as the "blue ocean" strategy. It is a move to target not only the general gaming public, but also those who have never played games, or those who play very rarely. It has been designed with simplicity and familiarity in mind, which explains the Wii Remote and the Wii Channels.
The system is actually incredibly compact, lending itself to extreme portability. It is approximately the size of three Wii cases stacked on top of one another. It comes with a stand as well, so it can sit upright when in the vertical position. To insert a game, there is a large slot on the front of the system surrounded by a glowing blue neon light. The slot can accept the 8 cm discs used by the Nintendo GameCube and Wii games on standard 12 cm discs. The system also comes with a sensor bar that emits IR signals picked up by the Wii Remote.
The Wii is the first console by Nintendo that has the ability to update its system software. It is also the first console since the SNES (Super Mario World) to be bundled with a game at launch, which is Wii Sports. People in Japan, however, must purchase the game separately.
Contents |
Development
Edit
BeginningsEdit
Development of the Wii began right after the GameCube was launched. When developing the Wii, the creators asked themselves what kind of an impact flashier graphics and faster speed would make.
The NameEdit
Nintendo revealed the final name of the console right before that year's E3. Prior to this, the console was simply known as the Nintendo Revolution. Nintendo stated in the beginning that the name was simply Wii, rather than the Nintendo Wii. The prefix "RVL" is used on the Wii and its peripherals.
The plural form of Wii is, according to Nintendo, not "Wiis" as some tend to believe, but rather should be "Wii consoles" or "systems". The two lowercased "i"'s in the name are supposed to represent two players enjoying the game together, or the Wii's unique controller.
Following the game's announcement, both developers and fans alike expressed their dislike towards the name, with both groups explaining how they felt the name displayed a sort of "kidiness" to it, and how they preferred the Revolution. Reggie Fils-Aime explained that the name Revolution was long and was hard to pronounce in some languages, while Wii would be pronounced the same in every country.
GamesEdit
Accessory SymbolsEdit
Unlike other consoles, Wii game notably included symbols on the back of their box art that showed their functionality with accessories.
| 1 Remote | 2 Remotes | 4 Remotes | Wii Speak | Wii Wheel |
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| Wii Zapper | Nintendo DS | Wii Balance Board | Classic Controler | Nunchuk |
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| Game Cube Controler | ||||
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HardwareEdit
When compared to Nintendo's other consoles, the Wii is the smallest of them all (measurements: 44 mm (1.73 in) wide, 157 mm (6.18 in) tall), and certainly the smallest of the three seventh generation consoles (and lightest at 2.7 Ibs, 1.2 kg). It is even smaller than the Xbox 360/PS3 Slim. Similar to the two other consoles, the Wii can be placed on its side or vertically. Unlike the other two consoles, if placed vertically, then Nintendo suggests you use the gray colored stand that comes packaged with the Wii.
The disc loading drive on the front of the console has a neon blue light surrounding it, which is turned on to indicate that WiiConnect24 is in use or when a disc is either inserted or ejected (only if you've updated your firmware to version 3.0). It was thought early on that the light would remain on at all times, though this proved to be false upon the release of the console. The drive itself will take discs made specifically for it and, through backward compatibility, GameCube discs. Next to the drive is an SD card slot which is covered. Above it are the power and reset buttons, while at the bottom (next to the Wii logo) is the eject button, which will cause the game within (if there is a game within) to be ejected from the console. During gameplay you should not eject the disc, though on the Wii Menu you are free to do so.
The Wii sensor bar, which comes included with the console, must be placed above or below the television you're playing on. If you change the placement of the sensor bar, it is required that you record where the sensor bar is placed for maximum performance.
The AV cable and power adapter also come included with the console.
Wii RemoteEdit
Added by Image import scriptThe controller is truly what makes the system shine. Using integrated apparatuses (such as accelerometers and gyroscopes), the Wii Remote is able to sense movement in 3-D space. Using this, the Wii can simulate things such as having a sword fight, playing almost any sports game, solving puzzles, and much more. It closely resembles a television remote, designed this way on purpose in order to make it easy to relate to the familiarity of the TV remote. Its emphasis on motion sensing capabilities also help to make games less difficult and more natural, as to appeal to all groups of people. It also has various attachments which are plugged into the expansion port at the bottom of the controller. One such attachment, referred to as the Nunchuk, adds two more buttons, an analog stick, and has its own built in accelerometer. The expansion port can also allow other attachments such as the Classic Controller.
The controller was formerly referred to as the Revmote by the gaming community. As the real name of the console was revealed, nowadays the controller is known as the "Wiimote", though the correct name according to Nintendo is simply "Wii Remote".
All new Wii remotes come with a built in Wii MotionPlus. Games such as The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword need the accessory to be played. The Motion Plus was first introduced and is bundled with Wii Sports Resort.
FeaturesEdit
Wii Menu and ChannelsEdit
Added by BIG BILL BLINKThrough the Nintendo Channel, players can watch trailers of Nintendo and third party video games, download Nintendo DS demos, give surveys for games they've purchased, and watch developer videos for recently released titles. The videos that are available are different for each country.
On the Message Board, which isn't technically a channel, players can post messages, send messages, receive messages from others, receive messages from Nintendo or receive messages from a video game they're playing. For example, Nintendo may send you a message regarding a firmware update, or Bonsai Barber for WiiWare may send you a message, telling you that you've missed a scheduled appointment with one of the in game characters. The Message Board also records the player's playing history (except for GameCube games).
Virtual ConsoleEdit
Added by Image import script- List of Virtual Console titles (North America)
- List of Virtual Console titles (Europe)
- List of Virtual Console titles (Japan)
WiiWareEdit
WiiWare is a service similar to the Virtual Console that allows users to download games made specifically for it, whereas the Virtual Console features previously made video games. WiiWare games, unlike Virtual Console titles, usually make use of the Wii's unique features and have more impressive graphics, though they usually take up more space. Both WiiWare and Virtual Console games can be placed on SD Cards and can be played from them (they must be temporarily copied to the Wii before playing them).
Backward CompatibilityEdit
When is was launched, the Wii was fully compatible with every GameCube game, controller, and accessory (Such as the Microphone and the DK Bongos), the only exception being the GameBoy player accessory. It is possible to play any game from the GameCube library without issue, avoiding the compatibility issues that the competing Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3 had. The GameCube discs are able to be placed into the Wii's disc slot and auto-adjust to the size of the GameCube disc. The Wii includes four controller ports and two memory slots to maintain complete compatibility with the GameCube. This feature makes the Wii the first Nintendo console to have backwards compatibility with a previous console. However in late 2011, a newly redesigned model of the Wii named the Wii Family Edition was released in Europe and North America that removed this backward compatibility, although the original model is still sold alongside the newer model.
Model NoEdit
MODEL NO. REV-001(USA)
AccessoriesEdit
- Wii Jacket
- Operation Manual
- Wii Remote
- Wii Wheel (if bundled with Mario Kart)
- Sensor Bar
- Instruction Booklet (if bundled with games)
- Nunchuk
- Classic Controller (sold separately)
- Wii MotionPlus+ (may be sold separately)
- Wii Power Supply
- Wii Console stand
Top Ten Best Selling Wii GamesEdit
- Wii Sports
- Mario Kart Wii
- Wii Sports Resort
- Wii Play
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii
- Wii Fit
- Wii Fit Plus
- Super Mario Galaxy
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl
- Wii Party
See alsoEdit
- List of Wii games
- List of Wii accessories
- WiiConnect24
- Wii Trademarks
- Wii Domain Names
- Wii Channel Menu
- News Portal
- Wii's Gallery
External linksEdit
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