Nintendo Wii Console Wii

Nintendo Wii Console Product Details

Released on 08/12/2006

• Wii sports games 'can bring health benefits'

  Playing virtual games such as tennis or boxing on the Nintendo Wii is beneficial for health, according to the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP).
  
  The hugely popular Wii Sports allows gamers to simulate popular sports including tennis and golf, and a spokesman for the CSP said that it can contribute to the recommended daily amount of exercise.
  
  "Physiotherapists support the idea of games consoles that encourage players to get up from the sofa and become more active," he said. "Playing virtual games like tennis or boxing will contribute to the 30 minutes of exercise you should aim for each day."
  
  He added that the Wii is good for motivating people who are usually not interested in sport.
  
  Meanwhile, the Wii is continuing to dominate next-generation console sales in Japan. Enterbrain figures seen by Reuters indicate that it sold more than 330,000 units in the four weeks to February 24th.
  
  Another upcoming exercise game for the Wii is Wii Fit.
  

  Published: 03/03/2008

• In-game advertising set for boom

  Advertising in video games is set to increase rapidly in the coming years, eMarketer reports.
  
  In fact, ad spending in games in the US is likely to grow from $295 million (£148 million) in 2007 to $511 million (£256 million) next year, and to $650 million (£326 million) in 2012.
  
  Unprecedented growth in the video game industry, led by Nintendo's fabulously popular Wii console, and the widening appeal of games is providing tempting for advertisers.
  
  "At a time when other sectors of the digital entertainment industry are struggling with lagging sales and rampant piracy, the US video game business is booming," said eMarketer's Paul Verna.
  
  To prove his point, Mr Verna compared video games to other big-budget media.
  
  "The top-selling video game title of the year, Halo 3, took in more revenue on its first day of sales than the biggest opening weekend ever for a movie, Spider Man 3, and even the final Harry Potter book's first-day sales," he said.
  
  In today's world, gamers are not just teenage boys, but may also include married women playing tennis on Wii Sports, for example.
  

  Published: 06/03/2008

• Nintendo scoops top dev studio prize

  Nintendo's Kyoto studio has been named the best games development studio in the world by Game Developer magazine.
  
  Think Services, the magazine's parent company, said in a statement: "For the first-ever countdown, of which the Top 20 Developers are listed and detailed in the March 2008 issue of Game Developer magazine, Nintendo''s Kyoto studio came out on top - thanks in no small part to incredible sales of a healthy lineup of DS and Wii software, notably Wii Play, Wii Sports, and two Brain Age games.
  
  "These titles rarely left Japanese and Western sales charts, demonstrating Nintendo''s mastery of the casual games market."
  
  The second place spot went to Infinity Ward, owned by Activision, because of the success of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
  
  Simon Carless, publisher of Game Developer magazine, said: "Nintendo''s incredibly accessible and well-designed games continue to support its hardware success, which is why they reached the Top Developer spot in this first-ever Top 50 Developer Report."
  

  Published: 11/03/2008

• Buyer's Guide: Nintendo Wii

  Wii - Fun for everyone!

  
  

  Who's it best for?

  
  

  The Wii console is a family friendly console, with games to suit everyone - from kids to keep fitters, wannabe sporting legends to wannabe war heroes, beginners to seasoned experts. There's even something for the OAPs amongst us.

  The Wii is often seen as a family and party console. However Nintendo is working hard to change that perception by releasing more and more 'hardcore' titles like Resident Evil 4 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex Edition.

  Best Bits

  
  

  Physical game play

  Thanks to its unique motion-sensing technology, the Wii offers a completely unique game play experience. Rather than passively sitting on a sofa for hours on end bashing away at a controller, the Wii sees you controlling your onscreen character by physically acting out its movements. No other console offers the same degree of full body game play.

  Simple to pick up and play

  Anyone of any age with any skill level can pick up and play a Wii game. It really is that easy.

  The ultimate party console

  Entertaining to play and amusing to watch, the Wii is a truly social console - great for getting people of all ages up off the sofa and joining in at family parties. You've never seen anything until you've seen Grandma, Uncle Ronnie, Mum and little Zak sitting in a virtual bob sleigh, leaning from left to right in unison while whizzing down a slope at a hundred miles per hour. Hysterical!

  The Wii even comes with the FREE Wii Sports to have you playing tennis, bowling, boxing and baseball straight out of the box!

  Worst Bits

  
  

  It's not as whiz bangy as the PS3 or Xbox
  The Nintendo Wii has the fewest hardware and multimedia capabilities of all of the next-gen consoles. Plus the graphics on the Wii just don't compete with those of the Xbox or PS3.

  Not suitable for small spaces
  By its very nature, the Wii requires space to move around in, particularly when playing sports and fitness titles - unlike the PS3 or Xbox, which could be played in a closet (if you were that way inclined).

  The accessories aren't cheap
  Wii accessories (whilst not essential) can all add up to a fair penny.

  Bonus Extras

  
  

  The Wii is able to play all official Gamecube games. Another added bonus is WiiConnect24, which enables it to receive messages and updates over the Internet while in standby mode.

  Online Features

  
  

  Wii has a built-in Wifi and its online service is FREE, FREE, FREE. Yay!

  Getting started
  Got Broadband? Got a wireless router? Brilliant. You'll be up and running in minutes. Don't have wireless connection? Not a problem; you'll simply need to use a special USB cable instead. It's a simple and hassle-free process, which doesn't require a degree in computer science.

  What will you find online?
  Once you're online you have access to a number of features and functions:

  • get the latest news and weather,
  • surf the Web,
  • message and email friends,
  • create a character and play yourself in a game,
  • view and send personal photos,
  • browse the Wii Shop,
  • plus download games and applications through the WiiWare service.

  Buying games online:
  Once online, you can purchase games from the Wii Shop using Wii Points.

  Wii Points can be purchased through your console using a credit card or in your local GAME store.

  Essential Accessories

  
  

  If you're new to consoles, figuring out which accessories are a must-have - and which ones will just fester in the bottom of your odds-and-sods drawer - can be quite a tricky business.

  The good news is that the Wii comes with everything you'll ever need to start playing right out of the box, including the all-important Wii Remote and Nunchuck. These are your two most important accessories. Without them it's virtually impossible to do anything on the Wii.

  Non-essential (but oh so fun) accessories
  The following accessories are among the most popular available for the Wii and are guaranteed to enhance your game play.

  • Additional Wii Remote Controller and Nunchuck: Everyone knows that Wii games are ten times better when played with friends. So once you've got your Wii Console, you'll probably want to invest in a second Wii Remote and Nunchuck Controller. These most certainly won't go to waste.
  • Wii Motion Plus: This is an expansion device for the Wii Remote that allows it to more accurately capture complex motion.)
  • Balance Board: Step - or sit - on this innovative accessory and it interprets the movement of your feet and brings the motions to life on screen. The Wii balance board doubles up as weighing scales, a running machine, a bob sleigh, and much more.
  • Steering Wheel: This is a must if you're playing one of the most popular video games ever... Mario Kart Wii.

  If you really want to go the whole hog, you can invest in all sorts of snazzy motion-sensor accessories, including tennis rackets, golf clubs, light guns, boxing gloves, fishing rods... and more.

  You'll find GAME's full range of Wii accessories here.

  Games

  
  

  Wii games tend to be more colourful and quirky, simply because of the motion sensing technology. Get a Wii and you'll quickly find yourself jumping around the living room, waving your arms about wildly and having a total blast.

  Summary

  
  

  It's not an all singing all dancing multi-media console like the Xbox and PS3 but it's fun, fun, fun. Perfect for families, great for beginners, popular at parties and terrific value. Even people who suck at video games, can play and still have fun.

   

• Sonic creator's new game bound for 3DS

  Yuji Naka, the creator of Sonic the Hedgehog, has just unveiled his latest project, and it's a 3DS and Wii game called Tenku no Kishi: Rodea.

  The game's been detailed in Famitsu and, thanks to translation by 1Up, it looks like Naka's been dreaming up an aerial shoot-m-up, which isn't a million miles away from the SEGA Saturn masterpiece NiGHTS. It looks like bosses are a much bigger part of the deal, however.

  With a story created by Takumi Miyajima, who wrote Tales of the Abyss and Arc Rise Fantasia, this is an exciting project. The games creators certainly think so, anyway, with Hitoshi Hasegawa, speaking on behalf of Kadokawa Games, the Japanese publisher, saying, "I've always wanted a game that captured the wonder of flying through the air, the sort of thing everyone's dreamed about at least once in their lives. The idiosyncrasies of player and camera control have always been a problem with that, but with his unique perspective and experience, Naka has been able to find a solution for us."

  If you're interested in checking out some of Naka's post-Sonic work, have a look at Ivy the Kiwi, a neat little platformer for the Wii and DS which is out right now.

• Nintendo: we still love buttons

  It hard to keep track of all the rumours swirling around with regard to Nintendo new console, but now Eurogamer reporting that, whatever else you may have heard, Nintendo will not be abandoning d-pads and buttons in favour of touch-screen only controls.

  And the news came from the very top, too, during an investor call with Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata. "When we look at [a tablet] from the viewpoint of 'developing software which uses a touch screen', I think it is an interesting device if it creates an experience that is in line with the trend created by Nintendo DS," he said. "On the other hand, we have never abandoned the + Control Pad and buttons for our game systems because we think these functions are advantageous when creating highly reactive games. In this meaning, I do not think Nintendo hardware will take on any of the current tablet forms as they are without buttons, to make our game devices. However, this is only when we consider tablets as game devices and, for other purposes, I think tablets are very interesting, and they are a form of hardware that will continue to grow."

  There you have it, then. As for which features Nintendo new machine will contain, wel all have to wait for this June E3 to find out.
  

• Drawsome Tablet coming soon for Wii

  Drawsome Tablet coming soon for Wii

  Ubisoft has announced that it will be releasing a new tablet-style controller peripheral for Wii.

  The Drawsome Tablet features an 8.5-inch screen that lets players create sketches that can be brought to life on their TVs, or else control games using stylus-based movements.

  It will come bundled with two separate titles, the first of which is Drawsome Artist, a virtual art studio that lets players sketch and colour their own masterpieces, with help from cartoon icons the Smurfs.

  Meanwhile, Drawsome Sketch Quest offers an innovative platform game experience, as gamers use their styluses to create bridges and trampolines to transport cute animal heroes through the world of PaperCity.

  The Drawsome Tablet follows in the footsteps of the popular uDraw GameTablet from THQ, which has proven a big enough hit to make the leap from Wii to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 this month.

  It could also help to whet appetites for Nintendo's new console, the Wii U, which features a high-tech tablet-style controller that provides revolutionary new ways to interact with games.

  Published: 09/11/2011

As a valued customer we now offer you the facility to sign up to email price alerts. Please enter the price you want to be, or below, and if drops to that level we will let you know...