Nintendo Wii

Nintendo's next-gen console is close at hand. The official launch date is November 19. I'm sure everyone has fond memories of Nintendo gaming systems, whether it'd be the 8-bit NES, 16-bit SNES, Nintendo-64, all variations of the Game Boy and probably the Gamecube and Nintendo DS to a lesser scale. Nintendo has also brought some of the most loveable characters to the gaming world; the plumbers Mario and Luigi, the adventurer Link (from the Zelda series) and the hairy ape Donkey Kong.

On September 16, Nintendo diarrhea'd the world with a press event that provides more juicy details about their Wii system. The ones I find most interesting are the US$249.99 price tag at launch and the 101 launch titles that have been confirmed. In contrast, the XBOX360 cost US$299 for the barebones and US$399 for a fully loaded system. The PS3 will launch at an even higher price of US$499 barebones and US$599 fully loaded. Of the 101 confirmed launch titles, the most interesting would be a new Mario game and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Nintendo also have a few "weird" games lined up like one called Cooking Mama... *huh?*

Looks like Nintendo is going the Apple path in terms of design and usage models. The unit itself screams APPLE APPLE APPLE! It looks sleek and would fit right at home in a ultra-chic modern living room. Continuing with the Apple theme, Nintendo is also a major proponent of the "less is more" way of doing things. As such, Wii doesn't boast the 6-core CPU of the XBOX360 or the HDMI output of the PS3. It runs with one CPU and Nintendo proprietary 12cm discs and is backward compatible with Gamecube discs. Heck, if it keeps the prices down I don't mind. One look at released screenshots is enough to tell me its sufficient!


The most interesting feature of the Wii are the nunchaku-type controllers which are a world away from the traditional console gamepad. Nintendo have always tried to be the oddball in the console family and this really shows it. Even the name "Wii" is a bit of an oddball. The controllers are Bluetooth wireless controllers and each console can have up to 4 Wii controllers. The controllers have motion sensors in them so you can wave them around in games that support them. I can just imagine 4 guys, standing in a living room playing lightsaber battles with each other. Or golf. Or dragon dance drums. Interesting, but oddball for sure, which may affect take-up rates in Malaysia. One look at it and I go "Where are all the buttons??!"

There will also be an online service called Virtual Console that will have, among other things, a download service for gamers to download Nintendo games of yesterday to their consoles to play. Big names like Contra and Mario Bros are in the list. It does come at a price of US$10 per game though...

When will the unit be available in Malaysia is unknown at the moment. I do hope someone in my company decides to send me to the States in November for training or whatever so I can try out this funky little console! No money to buy lah!

Check out Nintendo and Gamespot for more on Wii.