Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Nintendo Wii
Posted by Chris Gohlke in "HARDWARE" @ 04:14 PM
"Much ado's already been made about Nintendo's new revolution in gaming, the motion-sensitive and online-ready Wii, so we'll spare you the hyperbole and cut straight to the chase. If you're an HDTV-owning home theater enthusiast who puts surround sound capability, eye-popping technological pizzazz, Blu-ray/DVD support and on-demand access to downloadable music and video content above base game play, this is the point where you can officially stop reading. Beg, plead, whine, cheat… steal from some poor teen who preordered the unit, even. Whatever it takes to get the job done, the system you're looking to lay hands-on this year is the PlayStation 3. However, should you be a longtime hobbyist chagrined by the industry's recent focus on cookie-cutter sequels, a gaming neophyte intrigued by this growing interactive entertainment fad, a fan of all-time great franchises like Mario and Zelda or simply an everyday admirer with a passing interest in the subject matter, we've got some good news. The Wii is your console of choice, and just the sort of eye-opening kick in the pants the biz has been desperately in need of for, oh, roughly the last half-decade or so."
If you have been following the Wii development, there is not much new here for you, but if you haven't I suggest you give it a read. I'm really excited about the Wii (even though I am really upset with Amazon for totally messing up their preorder). This looks to be a great system for non-hardcore gamers while still offering something interesting for hardcore gamers. When we were in college, my wife and I played a lot of video games (original Nintendo, Sega Genesis, and even some Atari 2600). With the newer systems the game play and controllers were no longer appealing for her, so we really don't play together much anymore. I'm hoping the Wii changes that. The combination of retro classics and new games with innovative and intuitive game play should make this a winner for Nintendo. I applaud them for thinking outside the box. The Wii should open up a whole new, and larger, demographic for them to sell to.
If you have been following the Wii development, there is not much new here for you, but if you haven't I suggest you give it a read. I'm really excited about the Wii (even though I am really upset with Amazon for totally messing up their preorder). This looks to be a great system for non-hardcore gamers while still offering something interesting for hardcore gamers. When we were in college, my wife and I played a lot of video games (original Nintendo, Sega Genesis, and even some Atari 2600). With the newer systems the game play and controllers were no longer appealing for her, so we really don't play together much anymore. I'm hoping the Wii changes that. The combination of retro classics and new games with innovative and intuitive game play should make this a winner for Nintendo. I applaud them for thinking outside the box. The Wii should open up a whole new, and larger, demographic for them to sell to.
