wii

A distinguishing feature of the console is its wireless controller, the Wii Remote, which can be used as a handheld pointing device and can detect motion and rotation in three dimensions. Notable among the console's internal features is WiiConnect24, which enables it to receive messages and updates over the Internet while consuming very little electrical power.

Nintendo first mentioned the console at 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.^[9] In the 2006 E3, it won the first of several awards.^[10] By December 8, 2006, the console completed its launch in four key markets.

Launch

Main article: Wii launch

On September 14, 2006, and September 15, 2006, Nintendo announced release information for Japan, North and South America, Australasia (Oceania), Asia, and Europe, including dates, prices, and distribution.

At a June 7, 2006, policy briefing, Nintendo revealed plans to release 6 million console units and 17 million software units during the fiscal year ending March 31, 2007.^[11] This included the 4 million or more console units they expected to ship by the end of the 2006 calendar year.^[12] On September 14, 2006, it was announced that the majority of the 2006 shipments would be allotted to the Americas.^[13] As reported in December 8, 2006, the United Kingdom suffered a massive shortage of console units, as many high-street and online stores were unable to fulfill all preorders.^[14]

On December 26, 2006, Nintendo announced that they would release their console in South Korea by the end of 2007.^[15]

Titles

On November 14, 2006, it was announced that 21 titles would be available on launch day in North America and South America, with another 12 games being released in the 2006 launch window for a total of 33.^[16] Wii Sports is included with the console bundle in all regions excluding Japan. Despite the price point of US$60 quoted for many seventh generation games,^[17] Wii games cost at most US$50 at major retail stores.

Name

The console was known by the codename of "Revolution" until April 27, 2006, immediately prior to E3.^[21] According to the Nintendo Style Guide, the name "is simply Wii, not Nintendo Wii." This means it is the first home console Nintendo has marketed outside of Japan without the company name featured prominently in its trademark. While "Wiis" is a commonly used pluralization of the console, Nintendo has stated that the official plural form is "Wii Systems" or "Wii Consoles."^[22] Nintendo spells "Wii" with two lower-case "i" characters meant to resemble two people standing side by side, representing players gathering together, as well as to represent the console's controllers. The company has given many reasons for this choice of name since the announcement; however, the most well known is:

Despite Nintendo's justification for the name, some game developers and members of the press initially reacted negatively towards the change. They preferred "Revolution" over "Wii"^[24] and expressed fear "that the name would convey a continued sense of 'kidiness' [sic] to the console."^[25] The BBC reported the day after the name was announced that "a long list of puerile jokes, based on the name," had appeared on the Internet.^[26] Reggie Fils-Aime acknowledged the initial reaction and further explained the change:

Nintendo defended its choice of "Wii" over "Revolution" and responded to critics of the name by stating: "live with it, sleep with it, eat with it, move along with it."^[28]

Titles

On November 14, 2006, it was announced that 21 titles would be available on launch day in North America and South America, with another 12 games being released in the 2006 launch window for a total of 33.^[16] Wii Sports is included with the console bundle in all regions excluding Japan.

Demographic

Nintendo hopes to target a wider demographic with its console than that of others in the seventh generation.^[8] At a press conference for Dragon Quest IX, Satoru Iwata iterated "We're not thinking about fighting Sony, but about how many people we can get to play games. The thing we're thinking about most is not portable systems, consoles, and so-forth, but that we want to get new people playing games."^[29]

This is reflected in Nintendo's series of television advertisements in North America, directed by Academy Award-winner Stephen Gaghan, as well as Internet ads. The ad slogans are "Wii would like to play" and "Experience a new way to play." These ads ran starting November 15, 2006 and had a total budget of over US$200 million throughout the year.^[30] The productions are Nintendo's first broad-based advertising strategy and include a two-minute video clip showing a varied assortment of people enjoying the Wii system, such as urban apartment-dwellers, country ranchers, grandparents and parents with their children. The music in the ads is from the song "Kodo (Inside the Sun Remix)" by the Yoshida Brothers.^[31]

Hardware

The Wii console is Nintendo's smallest home unit yet; it measures 44 mm (1.73 in.) wide, 157 mm (6.18 in.) tall, and 215.4 mm (8.48 in.) deep it its vertical orientation. The included stand measures 55.4 mm (2.18 in.) wide, 44 mm (1.73 in.) tall, and 225.6 mm (8.88 in.) deep. The console weighs 1.2 kg (2.7 lbs),^[32] which makes it the lightest of the three seventh generation consoles. The console can be placed either horizontally or vertically. The prefix for the numbering scheme of the system and its parts and accessories is "RVL-" after its project code name of "Revolution".^[33]

The front of the console features an illuminated slot-loading optical media drive that accepts both 12cm Wii Optical Discs and Nintendo GameCube Game Discs. The blue light in the disc slot illuminates briefly when the console is turned on, and pulsates when new data such as messages have been received from WiiConnect24. When there is no WiiConnect24 information, the light is off. The disc slot light remains off during game play or when using other features. Two USB ports are located at its rear, and an SD card slot hides behind the cover on the front of the console. The SD card can be used for uploading photos as well as backing up saved game data and downloaded Virtual Console games. As a presently impenetrable system of digital rights management, Virtual Console data cannot be restored to any system except the unit of origin.^[34] To use the SD slot, a software update must be downloaded, so game saves cannot be transferred to or from a system that has not been connected to the Internet.

Nintendo has shown the console and the Wii Remote in various colors, including white, black, silver, lime green, and red,^[35][36] but initially it is only available 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.

The launch Wii package includes the console, a stand to allow the console to be placed vertically, a circular clear stabilizer for the main stand, one Wii Remote, one Nunchuk attachment, one Sensor Bar, a removable stand for the sensor bar, one external main power adapter, two AA batteries, one composite AV cable with RCA connectors (component video and other types of cables are available separately), and (in all regions excluding Japan) a copy of Wii Sports.

A Nintendo spokesperson has announced that the company plans to release a version of the console with DVD-Video playback capabilities in 2007.^[37] This corroborates an earlier press release by digital media company Sonic Solutions, stating that Nintendo had chosen their CinePlayer CE DVD Navigator software engine to provide this functionality. Even though software will be used to enable DVD-Video functionality, it apparently "requires more than a firmware upgrade" and cannot therefore be implemented through the WiiConnect24 network.^[37]

Wii Remote

Main article: Wii Remote

The Wii Remote is a one-handed controller that uses a combination of accelerometers and infrared detection (from an array of LEDs inside the Sensor Bar) to sense its position in 3D space. This design allows users to control the game using physical gestures as well as traditional button presses. The controller connects to the console using Bluetooth, and features force feedback, 4KB non-volatile memory^[38] and an internal speaker. The Wii Remote can connect to other devices through a proprietary port at the base of the controller. The device bundled with the Wii retail package is the Nunchuk unit, which features an accelerometer and a traditional analog stick with two trigger buttons. In addition, an attachable wrist strap can be used to prevent the player from unintentionally dropping or throwing the Wii Remote. In response to incidences of strap failures, Nintendo is offering a stronger replacement of all straps.^[39]

Technical specifications

Nintendo itself has released few technical details regarding the Wii system, but some key facts have leaked from the press.^[1][38] Though none of these reports have been officially confirmed, most point to the Wii as basically being an extension or advancement of the previous Nintendo GameCube architecture.

* None of the clock rates have been confirmed by Nintendo, IBM, or ATI.

Legal issues

Interlink Electronics filed a patent-infringement lawsuit against Nintendo over the pointing functionalities of the Wii Remote, claiming, "loss of reasonable royalties, reduced sales and/or lost profits as a result of the infringing activities" of Nintendo.^[47] Anascape Ltd, a Texas-based firm, also filed a lawsuit against Nintendo for patent infringements.^[48][49] Green Welling LLP filed a class action lawsuit against Nintendo for their "defective wrist straps."^[50]

Features

Wii Channels

Main article: Wii Channels

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 six primary channels: the Disc Channel, Mii Channel, Photo Channel, Wii Shop Channel, Forecast Channel, and News Channel. The Forecast Channel was released on December 19, 2006.^[51] The News Channel is set to be released on January 27, 2007.^[52]

Two additional channels can be downloaded from the Wii Shop Channel: the Internet Channel and Virtual Console Channel(s). A beta version of the Internet Channel was released on December 22, 2006 and is available for download on the Wii Shop Channel. The full version is to be released in March, which will be free until June. After June a fee of 500 Wii Points will be required for purchase.^[53]

Backward compatibility

The Wii console is backward compatible with all Nintendo GameCube software and most GameCube peripherals. Compatibility with software is achieved with the slot-loading drive's ability to accept GameCube discs. Peripherals can be connected via set of four GameCube controller ports and two Memory Card slots concealed by flip-open panels.^[1] A GameCube controller is required to play GameCube games, as neither the Wii Remote nor the Classic Controller functions in this capacity. A GameCube memory card is also necessary to save, as the Wii internal flash memory will not save GameCube games. Nintendo has stated that the console is not compatible with the GameCube modem adapter, broadband adapter, Game Boy Player, AV cable, or AC adaptor.

Nintendo DS connectivity

The Wii system 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.^[54] At Nintendo's corporate policy meeting in June 2006, Satoru Iwata explained that the DS uses its wireless connectivity to communicate with the console and that no further accessories are needed.

The connectivity allows the player to use functions like the Nintendo DS 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 are able to play battles using their Nintendo DS as a controller.^[55] It has also been announced that the Nintendo DS is able to play game demos downloaded from the console, which they would receive from Nintendo, similar to a DS Download Station.^[56] The console is also able to expand Nintendo DS games.^[55]

Parental controls

The console features parental controls, prohibiting younger users from playing games with content considered unsuitable for their age level. When a Wii or Virtual Console game is attempted to be played, it reads the content rating encoded in the game data; 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 mainly use the PEGI rating system,^[57] whereas North American units use the ESRB rating system.^[58] The Wii unit supports the native rating systems of many countries, including CERO in Japan, the USK in Germany, both the PEGI and BBFC in the United Kingdom and the OFLC in Australia and New Zealand.

Online connectivity

Main articles: Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, WiiConnect24, Virtual Console, and Internet Channel

The Wii unit 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.^[1] Nintendo has stated that the console implements standard Wi-Fi protocols. Wireless encryption by WEP, WPA (TKIP/RC4) and WPA2 (CCMP/AES) are supported.^[59] Just as for the Nintendo DS, Nintendo does not charge fees for playing via the service^[8][60] and the Friend Code system controls how players connect to one another. It is reported that only one Wii system code is required.^[61][60] This system also implements 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.^[62]

The service has several features for the console including the Virtual Console, WiiConnect24, Internet Channel and the Forecast Channel. The console can also communicate and connect with other Wii systems through a self-generated 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.^{citation needed]}

Firmware

The Wii firmware can receive periodic updates from time to time via the WiiConnect24 service. The first firmware update via WiiConnect24 (which added Internet-based channels and SD card support to the system) caused a small portion of units to become unusable, forcing users to either send their units to Nintendo for repairs (if they wished to retain their saved data), or exchange it for a free replacement.^[63]

Software library

See also: List of Wii games

Games representing all of Nintendo's flagship franchises, such as the The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Mario, Animal Crossing, Pokémon, Super Smash Bros., and Fire Emblem series have been announced for the console, with only The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess being released to date in all territories. WarioWare has seen release in Japan, America and Europe. Likewise, there are many original titles for it as well as many expected third party games.^[64] Ubisoft will release eight titles over the launch period, and have stated that they have a further six currently in development while Midway Games have announced six titles.^[65] EA has declared their '100%' support for the console^[66]and has since gone on to purchase long-time partner Headgate Studios, which now develops exclusively for Nintendo's console.^[67]

Though Perrin Kaplan had originally stated that the system would be region-free,^[68] corrections from Nintendo of America and Nintendo of Europe concurred that the console does support regional lockout.^[69]

Reception

At E3 2006, Nintendo's console won the Game Critics Awards for Best of Show and Best Hardware.^[10] In the December 2006 issue of Popular Science the console was awarded with the Grand Award Winner in Home Entertainment.^[70] Spike TV's Video Games Award also granted the console the award in breakthrough technology.^[71] GameSpot chose the console as the Best Hardware on their Best and Worst 2006 awards show.^[72] The system was also chosen as one of PC World magazine's 20 Most Innovative Products of the Year.^[73]

Criticism of the Wii Remote and the Wii hardware has surfaced in various areas. The controller's speaker has met criticism for producing low-quality sound.^[74] One game developer has stated that the Wii hardware would be unable to run their software set for release on other consoles of the same generation.^[75]