Nintendo Wii: The Unexpected Victor in the Video Game Wars

If you asked the average video game player about a year and a half ago as to which of the “next generation consoles” would be the one system that every respectable video game player should have in their entertainment center, very few individuals would say “The Nintendo Revolution is the only way to go!” At that time we knew little about the system beyond the fact that it was technologically inferior to the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3.

The Nintendo Wii, formerly called the Nintendo Revolution, features a PowerPC chip codenamed “Broadway”, an ATI video processing unit, 512mb of storage, 480p video, two USB ports, one SD memory card slot, four game-cube controller ports, 2 GameCube memory card ports, WiFi wireless networking. The graphics and central processing of the system are technologically inferior to the Sony PlayStation3 and the Microsoft Xbox 360. Both the Xbox and the PlayStation 3 can display its graphics in high definition, whereas the new Nintendo cannot.

Why would users want to purchase a Nintendo Wii if it is technologically behind the times? Nintendo realized that graphics and the speed of the system mean very little. For years game companies have built bigger better versions of games with fancier graphics with very little innovation beyond shinier images. There are tons of classic games which people play all the time that are quite enjoyable.

Additionally, a lot of the games on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are often very difficult to pick up and play if the user does not have a lot of experience playing games on video game consoles. Instead the Nintendo Wii chose not to aim its video game system at hard-core video game players, instead it decided it would go for a previously un-tapped market of non-games, by creating easy to pick-up games that are just fun to play, regardless of how much experience one has playing video games. One such game which accomplishes this task is “Wii Sports,” which specifically targets non-gamers. Wii Sports allows users to play various sports titles on the Nintendo Wii with the use of the Nintendo Wii’s controller, which is a unique piece of equipment.

The unique and innovative controller for the Nintendo Wii is another reason why the Wii will ultimately do very well in the 7th generation of console games. It offers the first true unique innovation since the original PlayStation. Instead of being a two-handed pad with various buttons and controller pads, it is a wand with gyroscopes used to detect motion, and a sensor which allows the controller to act much like a computer mouse would in PC video games. It is said that the controller is very intuitive and easy to pick up, which is great for the non-gamer. The controller offers a unique innovation that other consoles are lacking, and for the serious gamer, there is still a traditional GameCube-esque controller available, making it a winner for the entire family.

Finally, the Nintendo Wii offers what is called a virtual console to allow users to play games from previous generation consoles, including the GameCube, Nintendo 64, SNES, NES and the Sega Genesis and the situs casino online terbesar which is impressive that it has installed all the online games in it. This will allow people who still enjoy playing older classic games to continue to do so for a very inexpensive price.

Nintendo made a slam dunk with the Nintendo Wii. It’s marketed at both non-games and gamers alike, features more innovation than simply “better graphics”, and its unique controller and virtual console will make it an essential part of home entertainment centers for years to come.