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So what’s the deal with this Wii that everyone is going on about? The Wii is Nintendo fifth home console, a direct cousin of the Nintendo Game Cube, and even plays all official GameCube games. The year after its 2006 debut, it surpassed sales of its direct competitors, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 combined, and sales have only gone up each year since. So what’s the big deal? Why is everyone talking about the Wii?
The Wii (and yes, the Nintendo Style Guide mandates the console be called just “Wii” and not “Nintendo Wii”) was first imagined in 2001 when Nintendo game designers decided power wasn’t everything in a gaming system, and it was time for a new type of player interaction. The real key to the Wii’s success is the innovative Wii Remote, which tracks movement in 3D space, allowing the user to control game play using physical gestures. The remote accomplishes this by using a combination of built-in accelerometers and infrared detection to sense its position in 3D space when pointed at the LEDs within the Sensor Bar.
This was a revolution in gaming technology! In fact, “Revolution” was the gaming system’s code name in the early days of its development before they went with the shorter “Wii”. Finally, a gaming system that gets kids off of the couch and moving around! Kids love it, parents love it, even grandparents are not immune to the charms of the Wii. Nintendo is reaching out to a larger demographic than ever before in advertising campaigns, depicting people of all ages and from all walks of life, from ranch to urban center, enjoying the console in their ads. And the Wii offers games that appeal to more than adolescent boys. You can bowl, play tennis, box, or any number of active games.
Many people have wondered about the name, and Nintendo has taken a lot of flak for its choice. According to Nintendo, however, Wii was chosen because it sounds like “We”, which emphasizes that the console is for everyone. Plus, the name is easy to remember, no matter what language you speak. The two lower-case “i”s in the name are meant to resemble two people standing side by side, gathering to play the game.
The Wii has taken the world by storm, far surpassing the sales of other gaming systems in Canada, Australia, and the US, just to name a few, for its innovative design, which takes player interaction to a whole new level. This summer, wii predict Wiis will be getting some heavy play as kids enjoy the hazy, lazy days of summer. The price point has dropped, and refurbished Wii systems are now available from refurbished electronics dealers such as Dyscern.com. If you haven’t tried it, we highly recommend you give it a play, and see what all the fuss is about!
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