Last weekend I was in Walmart looking for an easy-to-use digital camera for my daughter. I walked past the Wii display and it looked like there were some boxes there. Surely, these must be some peripheral or somesuch, because I’d never seen Wii’s at Walmart since… well… ever! But no, these were the real deal. About seven of them.

So I picked one up, and Wii Play too for the extra controller. My wife and I had discussed this earlier, and we thought it would be a fun gaming system for her and the kids.

So we got it home and I neglected it for a bit so that I can play with my kids outside. My daughter was more interested in the new digital camera than the Wii, and ditto goes for my other daughter and son. Eventually I set up the system and got things running. And you know what? The kids enjoyed creating the Miis but soon lost interest. That was a disappointment.

But luckily since then things have improved. They’ve been playing it more and more, so I don’t feel like I just wasted hundreds of dollars. Whew!

But now that I had a Wii, I thought I’d look into the games some more (though I already had a general idea) to see if there’s anything that I would want to play. I know lots of people love the Mario games like Mario Kart, but they’ve never held my interest. I’ll play them, but only because we’re at Steve’s that evening and everyone else likes playing them. (Sorry Steve.)

So anyway, I’ve searched far and wide, and I found only one Wii title (that’s not available on my PS3) that piqued my interest. Boom Blox! That game looks like a lot of fun. I’ll give it a rent, and if I like it, I might just pick it up.

Now I need to find a game or two that my daughters (7 and 5, both with a low tolerance for failure) and son (2) will enjoy…

“Instead of going for the highest possible performance, which does not contribute to software development, our idea was to create a developer-friendly next generation TV game machine that maintained above-standard capabilities.” - Nintendo

The Wii is a new console coming out, from Nintendo, whose power is maybe a little bit better than the original Xbox’s. The above quote, however, is not about the Wii, but is actually about the GameCube! But it could have been about the Wii.

I have to wonder: is the Wiimote enough to sell the Wii? Interest in the Wii is quite high. And unlike what Nintendo did with the GameCube, Nintendo is actually trying to get third-party developers to write games for the Wii.

Gord (of “Acts of Gord” fame - see link) wrote an article near the GameCube’s launch to discuss the fact that the GameCube would not do well. As it turns out, he was right! It’s a great article - Gord has a great writing style and I suggest you check out this article and the rest of his stories.

His main points were:

• A new console should be more powerful than what’s out there already.
• People generally don’t buy more than one console.
• You need lots of gamers on a platform to attract developers. That’s something the PS2 had that the GameCube didn’t.

How does this compare to the launch of the Wii? Or the PS3 for that matter? I’ll let you guys discuss that.

Hmmm. I wonder if Gord could do a similar article about the next generation of consoles. I’ll e-mail him and see if he replies!

Acts of Gord - The Book of Chronicles

Did anybody notice anything about Nintendo’s Wii price, features, and availability announcement? If you’re thinking what I’m thinking, good. (It’s always good to think like me! ) But if not, I’ll give you some hints. Wii Channels. The Mii Channel. News and weather channels. “Appealing to current gamers as well as broadening the market.”

Ringing any bells?

Wasn’t it just half a year ago that Nintendo claimed that Sony was moving away from gaming by doing all sorts of crazy media stuff like movies and more. Nintendo isn’t abandoning the gamer! Nintendo is the last bastion for the real gamer! Nintendo cares about games only, nothing else! Nintendo won’t be distracted from giving you what you want: games! Okay, okay. So Nintendo didn’t actually say those things word for word. But whatever words they actually used, they certainly meant that.

Whatever happened to that?

I find it interesting that Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are all trying to do the same thing: branch out from games into other markets with their consoles. But as far as I remember, Sony and Microsoft didn’t say that they wouldn’t do that this generation, then turn around and do it after all. Only Nintendo did that.

I don’t hear anyone complaining that Nintendo broke their promise.

Not that I care. If they want to expand the market, fine. They can change their mind. Or maybe they just didn’t want to tip their hand too early. But I know, just know, that if Sony had done the same thing that the haters would come out of the shrubs and pounced on Sony like hyenas on a wounded zebra.

Either way, I hope Nintendo does well. We need strong competitors all around to improve our gaming experiences. I hope someone I know buys a Wii so that I can try it out. And according to all the gossip I read, everyone and their momma’s hairdresser is going to buy a Wii, so a friend with a Wii shouldn’t be hard to find.

Just in case you haven’t heard the news being blasted across the internet, here it is for you. Nintendo will launch the Nintendo Wii console in the US on November 19th for $250, bundled with a copy of Wii Sports. Games will be priced at $50. Downloadable games will cost between $5 and $10.

In Japan, launch date is two weeks later, on December 2nd. Cost is 25,000 Yen. There will be 16 Wii launch titles in Japan.

According to the Japanese Wii website, this is what people will get with their Wii:

* Wii hardware
* “Wiimote” controller and wrist strap (1)
* Nunchuck controller (1)
* Sensor bar
* Sensor bar stand
* A/V cable (unspecified connection)
* AC adaptor
* Hardware stand
* Hardware support plate (purpose of which remains unknown)
* 2 AA batteries

Interesting times…

Nintendo Wii launch details
What you get with a Wii (in Japan)

Nintendo has said that that the Wii will have free online play as well. Via Gamasutra:

When asked about the pricing model for online use of the Wii, Fils-Aime commented that: “We will offer online-enabled games that the consumers will not have to pay a subscription fee for. They’ll be able to enjoy that right out of the box. The Wii console is going to be Wi-Fi enabled, so essentially, you’ll be able to plug it in and go. It won’t have hidden fees or costs.”

* GASP *

Wait a sec! That’s not possible, is it? You can’t offer online play for free, can you? Software would be too expensive, or the service wouldn’t really be that good. Or something. Something bad. Something that makes it not possible, even though companies have been doing it for years.

Oh wait, yeah, right. I forgot. This is Nintendo. Nintendo can do it, but Sony can’t. Yeah, I forgot about that.

Fils-Aime Confirms Free Online Play For Wii

IGN has a great article unearthing the secrets of the Wii controller. A couple interesting things to note. The batteries are two AA batteries that will last between 30 and 60 hours, depending on what features of the remote you use. Upon booting up, some LED’s will show how full the batteries are, which is cool.

Nintendo uses a sensor bar to detect remote movement, and you place this bar on top or below your television. It is about 20cm in length and has sensors in each end.

The controller uses Bluetooth technology to communicate with the console, like the PS3 does. It operates on a 2.4GHz band. All the buttons on the controller are digital. I don’t think that refers to the trigger button under the remote.

Lastly, there a little bit of memory on the controller, but nobody seems to know what it’s for. Strange, huh?

IGN: Wii Controllers: Unlocking the Secrets

Popular opinion, and a bunch of gamer surveys, show that the Wii holds more interest for gamers in Japan than the PS3 does. These reports are contrary to what Amazon.com Japan sees when it comes to their shoppers.

Accoring to PUNCHJUMP, Amazon Japan has published a graph that shows the customer interest in each platform, and the 60GB PS3 edges out Nintendo’s Wii. Not suprisingly, the 20GB PS3 was the least popular choice.

Like all speculation without any actual sales numbers, this should be taken with a grain of salt. Nonetheless, I find it interesting that Japanese gamers seem to talk up the Wii, but when push comes to shove at an online store, they’re more interested in the PS3.

How will things turn out in the real world? We have four months to find out!

PS3 more popular than Wii on Amazon Japan

Nintendo’s Miyamoto is defending their choice not to add HD support to the Wii. From some of the comments I’ve seen here, I’m beginning to think that some people don’t care about HD at all. For all of you out there like that: you don’t know what you’re missing! Playing an Xbox 360 game on Todd’s 32″ SDTV is child’s play compared to playing the same Xbox 360 games on my 57″ HDTV, or Mike’s 55″ HDTV! There’s simply no contest.

So for all you future Wii owners out there, I feel for you man. At least you have the hope that Nintendo’s next console will be HD.

Miyamoto defends decision not to go down HD route

Nintendo has finally revealed the name for it’s next gen gaming machine that was known as the Revolution: Nintendo Wii……

Erm maybe you need an explanation? Well here it is from the official Wii site:

Introducing … Wii.

As in “we.”

While the code-name Revolution expressed our direction, Wii represents the answer.

Wii will break down that wall that separates video game players from everybody else.

Wii will put people more in touch with their games … and each other. But you’re probably asking: What does the name mean?

Wii sounds like “we,” which emphasizes this 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.

Wii has a distinctive “ii” spelling that symbolizes both the unique controllers and the image of people gathering to play.

And Wii, as a name and a console, brings something revolutionary to the world of video games that sets it apart from the crowd.

So that’s Wii. But now Nintendo needs you.

Because, it s really not about you or me.

It’s about Wii.

And together, Wii will change everything.

I’ve got a few different emotions running through me at the moment. One of them is laughter. The other is it makes sense….

I could easily make a joke about urine but I think I’ll stay well clear of that area. At least they haven’t made claims about being the centre of the universe…

Your thoughts?

You can check out a cool vid for the Wii below:

NINTENDO - Wii

IGN is supposedly in the know about the upcoming Revolution’s specs. Here’s the relevant paragraph:

Insiders stress that Revolution runs on an extension of the Gekko and Flipper architectures that powered GameCube, which is why studios who worked on GCN will have no problem making the transition to the new machine, they say. IBM’s “Broadway” CPU is clocked at 729MHz, according to updated Nintendo documentation. By comparison, GameCube’s Gekko CPU ran at 485MHz. The original Xbox’s CPU was clocked at 733MHz. Meanwhile, Xbox 360 runs three symmetrical cores at 3.2GHz.

And:

The overall system memory numbers we reported last December have not greatly fluctuated, but new clarifications have surfaced. Revolution will operate using 24MBs of “main” 1T-SRAM. It will additionally boast 64MBs of “external” 1T-SRAM. That brings the total number of system RAM up to 88MBs, not including the 3MB texture buffer on the GPU. By comparison, GameCube featured 40MBs of RAM not counting the GPU’s on-board 3MBs. The original Xbox included 64MBs total RAM. Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 operate on 512MBs of RAM.

Those specs would make the Revolution about as powerful as the original Xbox. Which is not really a next-gen leap. People have been complaining that many Xbox 360 games don’t look next-gen enough compared to what is being done on the PS2 and Xbox today. With specs like these, it’s obvious that Nintendo is not even trying to keep up. Frankly, I wasn’t expecting Nintendo to come out with the most powerful system, but I was expecting something better than the current generation, and I’m now unsure that we’ll even be seeing that.

That new controller better be really good!

IGN - Revolution’s Horsepower

Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto said the following in an interview:

Any announcement about PS3 will affect Nintendo. But we don’t see it as a competition between the two consoles, although the customers always do.

I think that maybe he should change his viewpoint a little, because this dude is gonna get smoked otherwise. I think he’s confusing the fact that the PS3 and Revolution will have different kinds of games with the fact that consumers only have so many dollars to spend on video gaming entertainment.

I and several friends of mine each have just one console from the current generation. Now I don’t know their reasons, but I know mine. It’s because I can’t afford to buy more than one consoles and its controllers and its games. Nor do I have the room next to my television for all that clutter. And while many people will buy more than one system, there will be many many people who will buy only one.

Sony wants it to be the PS3, and Nintendo better realize that.

Audioholics - No competition, says Miyamoto

IGN got their grubby little hands on a Revolution controller development kit that plugs into a GameCube. I guess they’re still working on that Revolution hardware! Anyway, IGN gives their impressions, and one of the ones that really stand out is how small the controller is. Its length is no wider than the width of a GameCube controller, which is pretty small. I thought it would be at least half-again as big.

The IGN has more details, but it really doesn’t amount to much. Take a peek if you’re interested anyway.

IGN: Hands-on: Revolution Dev Kit

On the weekend at ps3forums.com I noticed some people said that they could pre-order PlayStation 3’s at Toys ‘R Us in Canada. So I sauntered (read: drove like a maniac) over to my local Toys ‘R Us, and sure enough, Saturday was the first day of taking pre-orders. I was actually the first guy to pre-order a PS3, they hadn’ even set up the sign yet. I saw the letters laid out for the sign, and interestingly, it said that you could pre-order both PS3’s and Revolutions! So all you Nintendo nuts out there, take note.

So they hadn’t set up the sign, and they hadn’t printed out the tickets yet either. So I waited around and chatted with the cashier about the PS3 while waiting for the manager dude to set me up. So I put my receipt and ticket in a very safe place for retrieval come this fall (hopefully). They asked for a $50 deposit, which they said was refundable if I decided to change my mind about the pre-order.

Anybody else pre-order their PS3 yet?

Related to my discussion of the Revolution in my post about the console war, I have a new poll for you.

Will the Revolution play a larger role than the GameCube did?

Yes - much larger. (Takes significant market share from PS3 & 360.)
Yes - a little more. (Takes small market share from the PS3 & 360.)
No - about the same. (Market share about the same as the GC.)
No - worse. (Revolution will do worse than the GC did.)

Pick your poison. (Poll is in the sidebar.)

I haven’t mentioned the Revolution in a while, so I thought I’d take a gander at what’s happening in Nintendo’s back yard. And unlike the Sony camp, Nintendites are actually getting some good information from their chosen gaming company.

First of all, it will be released in North America by Thanksgiving this year. So 10 months or so is the longest we’ll have to wait for the Revolution. I personally won’t be buying one, but I hope someone I know will. I’d like to try out that crazy controller.

And it looks like that controller won’t be costing you too much. The system will cost less than $300. My guess is that “less than $300″ turns out to be $299. But that’s still a decent price for what promises to be a groundbreaking game machine. Too bad it doesn’t do HDTV.

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