( 
)
The Wii (pronounced as the pronoun "we", IPA: /wiː/) is Nintendo's seventh-generation video game console. Previously known by its project code name of 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. In the December 2006 issue of Popular Science the console was awarded with the Grand Award Winner in Home Entertainment. The console was first launched in some markets in 2006 (see release date and price for detailed information).
Name
The console was known by the codename of "Revolution" until April 29, 2006, immediately prior to E3. According to the Nintendo Style Guide: A Guide to the Proper Usage of Some of Nintendo's Products, 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. Nintendo spells "Wii" with two "i"s to imply an image of 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:
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.
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, 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."[48]
Hardware
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). It also weighs 1.74kg(3.84 pounds), which makes it the lightest of the three current-gen 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".
The front of the console features a slot-loading media drive illuminated by a blue light which accepts both 12cm optical discs for Wii software and 8cm discs from Nintendo's prior console, the GameCube. The Disc slot light briefly illuminates when the console is turned on, when connected to WiiConnect24 and when receiving new data, such as messages, and upon having selected "Bright" or "Dim" in the "Slot Illumination" settings for WiiConnect24. The disc slot light does not stay illuminated during game play or when 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.
Software library
Games representing all of Nintendo's flagship franchises, such as the Zelda, Metroid, Mario, Animal Crossing, Pokémon, Super Smash Bros., Star Fox and Fire Emblem series have been announced for the Wii console. Likewise, there are many original titles for it as well as many expected third party games. Ubisoft has upped their number of titles in development for the console to 14 (eight of which are to be launch games and only three of which were previously known about), while Midway Games has announced they have six titles in development, and EA has recently increased their development efforts for the console, declaring they are going to support it '100%'.
Following a statement from Perrin Kaplan that the system would be region-free, Nintendo of America and Nintendo of Europe have come to an agreement that the console will be region-locked. However, the information was conveyed through an interview followed by corrections from spokespersons and left some uncertainty on the matter. Now as the Japan release has came Games now can tell that american games will run on the Japaness Wii. Sugesting that the Wii's region's restrictions will be simular to the Nintendo DS, which allow some games to be wifi, worldwide, and some to be region locked, like Animal Crossing: Wild World.
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. In the December 2006 issue of Popular Science the console was awarded with the Grand Award Winner in Home Entertainment. The console was first launched in some markets in 2006 (see release date and price for detailed information).
Name
The console was known by the codename of "Revolution" until April 29, 2006, immediately prior to E3. According to the Nintendo Style Guide: A Guide to the Proper Usage of Some of Nintendo's Products, 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. Nintendo spells "Wii" with two "i"s to imply an image of 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:
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.
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, 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."[48]
Hardware
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). It also weighs 1.74kg(3.84 pounds), which makes it the lightest of the three current-gen 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".
The front of the console features a slot-loading media drive illuminated by a blue light which accepts both 12cm optical discs for Wii software and 8cm discs from Nintendo's prior console, the GameCube. The Disc slot light briefly illuminates when the console is turned on, when connected to WiiConnect24 and when receiving new data, such as messages, and upon having selected "Bright" or "Dim" in the "Slot Illumination" settings for WiiConnect24. The disc slot light does not stay illuminated during game play or when 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.
Software library
Games representing all of Nintendo's flagship franchises, such as the Zelda, Metroid, Mario, Animal Crossing, Pokémon, Super Smash Bros., Star Fox and Fire Emblem series have been announced for the Wii console. Likewise, there are many original titles for it as well as many expected third party games. Ubisoft has upped their number of titles in development for the console to 14 (eight of which are to be launch games and only three of which were previously known about), while Midway Games has announced they have six titles in development, and EA has recently increased their development efforts for the console, declaring they are going to support it '100%'.
Following a statement from Perrin Kaplan that the system would be region-free, Nintendo of America and Nintendo of Europe have come to an agreement that the console will be region-locked. However, the information was conveyed through an interview followed by corrections from spokespersons and left some uncertainty on the matter. Now as the Japan release has came Games now can tell that american games will run on the Japaness Wii. Sugesting that the Wii's region's restrictions will be simular to the Nintendo DS, which allow some games to be wifi, worldwide, and some to be region locked, like Animal Crossing: Wild World.
Home Decor And Gifts Depot: All At Great Prices
All At Great Prices (ebay ID: AllAtGreatPrice2000)
New items coming every week, 30%-50% less than you expect to pay in specialty and department store. Come and check them out!
New items coming every week, 30%-50% less than you expect to pay in specialty and department store. Come and check them out!
Guide created: 12/02/06 (updated 05/06/08)
Thank you for voting. If your vote meets our 
