Wii

The Wii is the latest seventh generation home console released by Nintendo that competes with Sony’s Playstation 3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360. Nintendo’s Wii is widely recognised for its short and catchy name, the wireless motion sensor Wii remote and the way people play games on Wii. LittleBigGamer takes look at this ground-breaking console and here’s what we have to say.

Wii

The BIG

Well, what can I say? Motion Sensor controllers and a remote used for playing sports games such as boxing and tennis? Now that’s revolutionary gaming and Wii is here to provide that experience to you. Compared to its old predecessors like the Nintendo64 or the GameCube, the Wii was created to be slimmer than the previous consoles which made it by far the slimmest home console made by Nintendo. Old school controllers with weird buttons are now history as Wii uses motion sensor controllers such as the Wii remote. The remote detects player movements in three dimensions; an example of this is Wii Sports game – tennis. The players hold their Wii remotes and use it to swat the ball in such a fashion as if they’re really playing real tennis. There are also other Wii Accessories that you can use in playing depending on what type of game and to add more unique experience unto it such as the; Guitar Hero controller for Wii, the Nunchuck controller, the Wii Zapper which looks like a crossbow, the classic Nintendo controller for other normal games that doesn’t require player movements.

The Wii also features backward compatibility with all of the GameCube games as well as it can connect GameCube controllers with its Nintendo GameCube ports on the top of the console. The Wii can only play GameCube games while retaining only the exact features depending on what GameCube game and it will require you to play it only with GameCube controllers. Wii remotes and the Classic Nintendo controller won’t work for it while saving GameCube games will also require you GameCube memory cards to save your game.

The Wii also supports wireless connectivity with the handheld console, Nintendo DS without any add-on accessories. It allows the player to use the touch screen and Nintendo DS microphone functionality as inputs for Wii games. Nintendo has also released the Nintendo Channel that allows Wii owners to download game demos for their Nintendo DS.

Another cool feature for the Wii is its online connectivity called WiiConnect24 which allows players to connect for online multiplayer gaming with other Wii users and other several features such as the Virtual console and other Nintendo channels. The good thing about Wii online connectivity is that it doesn’t charge fees whenever players are playing via the service.  The Wii console also supports wireless LAN connectivity for local wireless multiplayer games on different television sets.

Wii Remote

The Little

The revolutionary Wii console lacks the HD graphics and the surround system in competence with the PS3 and the Xbox360. Another downside of this console is that it doesn’t play CDs and DVDs as it only plays Wii games and GameCube games, other media features such as music can only be played through a game called Wii Music. Game controllers for the Wii are made wireless and that means that they all have batteries within them, it’ll take some time to get used to it especially when you’re in the middle of a very nice encore on Guitar Hero and your battery suddenly drops out on you. No statement has been released for internal chargeable batteries for the controllers and players will still be forced to get used to it for now.

I’ve read a lot lately about a Wii game called Wii Fit that allows players to exercise indoors and having fun while playing and there are some news that I’ve seen where players getting injured or hurt while using the Wii console, particularly playing the game Wii Fit. Most games for the Wii require a lot of physical player movements for normal physically active person, but how about kids or players who aren’t?

What LittleBigGamer thinks…

The lack of freedom of media features such as CDs, DVDs and online features has convinced gamers to purchase the PS3 and the Xbox 360 but the wireless controllers, the style of gameplay and the Wii exclusive games still makes this console a console that is hard to resist.

Wii Fit

Wii Console Specs

General

* Name Nintendo Wii
* Type Game console
* Form Factor Desktop
* Height 1.75 in
* Weight 3.84 lbs

Game Console

* Color Support Color
* Media Type Nintendo Wii disc,  Nintendo GAMECUBE disc

Processor

* Type IBM PowerPC
* Instruction Set RISC

Memory / Storage

* RAM Installed ( Max ) 512 MB

Video

* Video Output ATI Hollywood

Input Device

* Type Joystick , Remote control
* Connectivity Technology Wired , Wireless
* Features Motion sensor , Rumble feedback , Built-in speaker

Connections

* Connector Type ( 4 pin USB Type A ) , 4 x Game controller , Component video output , Composite video output , S-Video output , 2 x USB
* Expansion Slots Total (Free) 2 Nintendo GameCube Memory Card , 1 SD Memory Card

Miscellaneous

* Included Accessories Wireless controller