Wii(pronounced as the pronoun "we") is Nintendo's seventh-generation video game console. Its project code name was Revolution. It is the successor to the Nintendo GameCube and competes against Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3.
A distinguishing feature of the Wii console is its wireless controller, the Wii Remote, which may be used as a handheld pointing device and can detect motion and rotation in three dimensions. The console also notably features WiiConnect24, which enables it to receive messages and updates over the Internet while consuming very little electrical power.
Nintendo first mentioned the console in the 2004 E3 press conference and later unveiled the system at the 2005 E3. Satoru Iwata revealed a prototype of the controller at the September 2005 Tokyo Game Show. At E3 2006, the Wii console won the Game Critics Awards for Best of Show and Best Hardware. The console was released on November 19, 2006 in North America and South America. It will be released on December 2, 2006 in Japan; December 7, 2006 in Australasia, Italy and Switzerland; December 8, 2006 in most of Europe; and December 9, 2006 in Spain.
The console was known by the codename of "Revolution" until immediately prior to E3 2006. Nintendo spells "Wii" with two "i"s to imply an image of players gathering together, as well as to represent the console's controllers. Nintendo has given many reasons for its choice of name since its announcement; however, the most well known is:
Wii sounds like 'we', which emphasizes that the console is for everyone. Wii can easily be remembered by people around the world, no matter what language they speak. No confusion. No need to abbreviate. Just Wii.
According to the Nintendo Style Guide: A Guide to the Proper Usage of Some of Nintendo's Products:
It is simply Wii, not Nintendo Wii. It is pronounced "we", indicating its all-inclusive nature. The name works best at the beginning of declarative statements. For clarity, it is best to avoid passive verbs and prepositions.
This means it will be the first home console Nintendo has marketed outside of Japan without the company name featured prominently in its trademark. Despite Nintendo's justification for the name, members of the press, online communities, and game developers initially reacted negatively to the name change. Some "wish Nintendo had stuck with 'Revolution'," pointed out phonetic similarities to the French word oui and mostly negative words in English,[38] or expressed "fear that the name would convey a continued sense of 'kidiness' [sic] to the console." Reggie Fils-Aime acknowledged the initial reaction and further explained the change:
Revolution as a name is not ideal; it's long, and in some cultures, it's hard to pronounce. So we wanted something that was short, to the point, easy to pronounce, and distinctive. That's how 'Wii,' as a console name, was created.
Nintendo defends its choice of "Wii" over "Revolution" and suggests to that those who dislike the name "live with it, sleep with it, eat with it, move along with it."
The Wii console is Nintendo's smallest home unit yet; measuring 44 mm wide, 157 mm tall, and 215.4 mm deep in the vertical orientation without the included stand(which itself measures 55.4 mm wide, 44 mm tall, and 225.6 mm deep). It is approximately the size of three standard DVD cases stacked together(approx. 4.5 cm x 15 cm x 20 cm). The console can be stood either horizontally or vertically. The front of the console features a slot-loading media drive illuminated by a blue light and accepts both 12cm optical discs for Wii software and 8cm discs from Nintendo's prior console, the GameCube. The Disc slot light illuminates briefly when the console is turned on and when WiiConnect 24 is turned on and when receiving new data, such as messages, and have selected "Bright" or "Dim" in the "Slot Illumination" settings for WiiConnect24. The disc slot light does not stay illuminated during game play or using other features of the Wii console. The ability to load differently sized discs is uncommon in slot-loading media drives, which typically only accept discs of a single size. Two USB ports(at the rear) and one SD card slot (behind a flap cover at the front of the console) are provided. A software update first needs to be downloaded from Nintendo to enable save/write functionality for SD cards.
Nintendo has shown the console and the Wii Remote in various colors, including white, black, silver, lime green, and red. The console will initially be available only in white. At E3 2006, the Wii Remote was shown in light blue. Numerous minor changes were made to the design between its original unveiling and launch, mostly in the Nintendo branding used and button placements.
A Nintendo spokesperson confirmed that Nintendo plans to release a version of the console with DVD-Video playback capabilities in Japan. The spokesperson also stated that releases of the DVD-Video capable version in other territories are not currently planned. On November 8, 2006, digital media company Sonic Solutions issued a press release stating that Nintendo has chosen their CinePlayer CE DVD Navigator software engine to provide DVD-Video functionality for a future version of the Wii console for release in the latter half of 2007. Nintendo of America confirmed to GameDaily BIZ on November 13, 2006 that the DVD-Video enabled Wii would be coming to North America at a higher price point than the standard Wii. Even though software will be used to enable DVD-Video functionality, it "requires more than a firmware upgrade" and could not be implemented through the WiiConnect24 network.
The Wii Remote is a one-handed controller that uses a combination of accelerometers and infrared detection (in conjunction with the sensor bar) to sense its position in 3D space. This allows users to control the game using physical gestures as well as traditional button presses. The controller connects to the Wii console using Bluetooth, and features force feedback, 4KB non-volatile memory and an internal speaker. The controller can connect to other devices through a proprietary port at the base of the controller. Perhaps the most important of these is the Nunchuk unit, which features an accelerometer and a traditional analog stick with two trigger buttons.
The sensor bar comes with the Wii console and can be placed anywhere near the display screen parallel to the screen's horizontal edge. Nintendo's developers went through several versions of the sensor bar. The final release version of the bar is approximately 20cm long and comes with its own stand for positioning in front of the TV. The use of the sensor bar allows the Wii Remote to be used as an accurate pointing device up to 5 meters. Concerns about the sensor bar being adversely affected by halogen lights and sunlight were raised after demo units failed to function optimally when placed outside. Nintendo confirmed that the sensitivity of the Wii sensor bar can be influenced by extreme lighting. However, this issue is not likely to come up in most homes.
Features
The operating system interface for the console is designed around the concept of television channels, with a Wii Menu used to access them. Separate channels are graphically displayed in a grid, and are navigated using the pointer capability of the Wii Remote. There are eight primary channels: the Disc Channel, Mii Channel, News Channel, Forecast Channel, Photo Channel, Wii Shop Channel, Internet Channel and Virtual Console Channel(s).
Backward Compatibility
The Wii console is backward compatible with all Nintendo GameCube software and most GameCube peripherals. This backwards compatibility is achieved with the help of the slot-loading drive being able to accept GameCube discs, and a set of four GameCube controller ports and two Memory Card slots, concealed by flip-open panels. A GameCube controller is required to play GameCube games, the Classic Controller will not function in this regard. Nintendo has stated that the Wii console is not compatible with the GameCube modem adapter, broadband adapter, Game Boy Player, AV cable, or AC adaptor.
Nintendo DS Connectivity
The Wii console supports 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.[citation needed] At Nintendo's corporate policy meeting in June 2006, Satoru Iwata explained that the DS uses its wireless connectivity to communicate with Wii and that no further accessories will be needed.
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 the Wii console which they would receive from Nintendo, similar to a DS Download Station. The console will also be able to expand Nintendo DS games.
Parental Controls
The console features parental controls, prohibiting younger users from playing games with content considered unsuitable for their age level. When a disc is inserted, it reads 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. However, the parental controls setting does not affect GameCube games.
European units will utilize the PEGI rating system,[68] whereas 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 the console will support the native rating systems of other territories, such as that of CERO in Japan, the USK in Germany, the BBFC in the United Kingdom (games in the UK carry a PEGI rating, but may be submitted for BBFC rating if they include certain content or at the publisher's discretion), or the OFLC in Australia.
Online Connectivity
The Wii console is able to connect to the Internet through its built-in 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and through a USB-to-Ethernet adaptor, with both methods allowing players to access the established Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service. Nintendo has stated that the console will implement standard Wi-Fi protocols. Wireless encryption by WEP, WPA and WPA2 appear to be supported. Just as for the Nintendo DS, Nintendo originally stated that they will not charge fees for playing via the service and the Friend Code system will control how players connect to one another. This system will also be implemented for console-based software such as the Wii Message Board, for which a feature is being considered for alerting registered friends for the Wii Message Board about new games that have been purchased.
The service has several features for the console, such as the Virtual Console, WiiConnect24 and the Wii Browser. The Wii console can also communicate and connect with other Wii systems by wireless LAN, enabling local wireless multiplayer on different television sets. Battalion Wars 2 first demonstrated this feature, for non-split screen multiplayer between two or more televisions. Nintendo announced two Wi-Fi enabled games at LGC 2006 in Leipzig: Mario Strikers Charged, and Battalion Wars 2. Although the console features an online mode, Nintendo has not provided the programming tools for 3rd party developers yet, meaning that only first party Wii games will be online, at least in 2006. Nintendo has also stated that it will release an Ethernet Kit for the Wii console, which allows users to connect the console to a standard internet router without wireless support. The console also has the ability to connect to the Internet using the Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector.
At E3 2006 Nintendo announced WiiConnect24, a feature that will allow the Wii console to remain connected to the Internet in standby mode. The console only uses the amount of electricity equivalent to that of a miniature lightbulb. Some possible uses of WiiConnect24 that were mentioned include allowing friends to visit a player's village 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 them to one's Nintendo DS, similar to a DS Download Station.
The first firmware update for the Wii via the Wii Connect 24 feature, was somewhat of a disaster for Nintendo causing a small number of Wiis to become unusable and forcing the user to get a free replacement Wii from Nintendo but losing save data (although a quicker replacement), or to be returned to Nintendo in order to keep saved Miis or saved games.
FIRMWARE
Similar to the other next-gen consoles, the Nintendo Wii requires firmware updates from time to time. This was confirmed by IGN[79], when it was discovered that to use the Online Channels, a firmware update was required. Some earlier produced units were reportedly shipped with older firmware, and had some problems. Most however ship with the latest version.