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= Wii =
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Introduction
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The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by
Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and
in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's
fifth major home game console, following the GameCube, and is a
seventh-generation console alongside Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's
PlayStation 3.
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata directed the development of the Wii
with a strategy focused on appealing to a broader audience through
innovative gameplay, rather than competing with Microsoft and Sony on
raw computational power. Shigeru Miyamoto and Genyo Takeda led the
project, which was initially codenamed Revolution. The result was a
console that emphasized new forms of interaction, particularly through
its wireless controller, the Wii Remote, which featured
motion-tracking controls and could recognize gestures and function as
a pointing device. The Wii was Nintendo's first console with native
Internet connectivity, enabling online gaming and digital distribution
via the Wii Shop Channel. It also supported wireless connectivity with
the handheld Nintendo DS console for select games. Early models were
fully backward-compatible with GameCube games and accessories. Later
in its lifecycle, Nintendo released two more affordable versions: the
RVL-101 without GameCube compatibility and the Wii Mini further
removed features like online connectivity and SD card storage.
Because of Nintendo's reduced focus on computational power, both the
console and its games were less expensive to produce than its
competitors. The Wii was extremely popular at launch, causing the
system to be in short supply in some markets. 'Wii Sports', a pack-in
game became the killer app for the console while new entries in the
'Super Mario', 'Legend of Zelda', 'Pokémon', and 'Metroid' series
helped boost its popularity. Within a year, the Wii became the
best-selling console of the seventh generation as well as a social
phenomenon in many countries. Total lifetime sales of the Wii reached
over 101 million units, making it Nintendo's best-selling home console
until it was surpassed by the Nintendo Switch in 2021. As of 2022, it
remains the fifth-best-selling home console of all time.
The popularity of the Wii's motion-controlled games led both Microsoft
and Sony to develop their own competing products--the Kinect and
PlayStation Move, respectively. The Wii successfully achieved
Nintendo's goal of attracting a broader audience to video game
consoles, but it also alienated core gamers. In an attempt to
recapture this key demographic, Nintendo released their next home
console the Wii U in 2012, which proved to be a flop. The Wii was
discontinued in October 2013, though the Wii Mini continued production
for a few years, and some online services persisted until 2019.
2001–2003: Development
========================
Shortly after the release of the GameCube, Nintendo began conceptual
development on its next console. According to game designer Shigeru
Miyamoto, the company decided early to not aim to compete on hardware
power, instead prioritizing new gameplay experiences. The project was
initially referred to by the placeholder name "GameCube Next" (GCNext
or GCN). Nintendo originally envisioned pricing the console at around
.
Miyamoto cited the unconventional input controllers of 'Dance Dance
Revolution' as an inspiration for developing new kinds of controllers.
On September 24, 2001, Nintendo began collaborating with Gyration
Inc., a company that held several patents in motion-sensing
technology, to prototype motion-based input devices using Gyration's
patents.
After succeeding Hiroshi Yamauchi as Nintendo president in May 2002,
Satoru Iwata acknowledged that the company had fallen behind industry
trends, particularly in online gaming. He also wanted Nintendo to
develop hardware and video games that would appeal to all
demographics. Internal market research revealed that Nintendo's prior
focus on unconventional hardware had made its platforms more difficult
for third-party developers to support, weakening its competitive
position. One of Iwata's first major initiatives in response was the
development of the Nintendo DS, a dual-screen handheld console with a
touchscreen, to revitalize their handheld console line.
In 2003, Iwata met with Miyamoto and Genyo Takeda to discuss the
company's market strategy. He directed Takeda to “go off the tech
roadmap” in designing the new console, emphasizing that it needed to
be accessible, especially to non-traditional audiences, including
mothers. He also wanted backward compatibility with earlier Nintendo
games to reduce household clutter. Takeda led hardware development,
while Miyamoto focused on designing a new controller, leveraging
Gyration's motion-sensing technology. Iwata proposed using motion
controls as a means to simplify the gaming interface and expand its
appeal. An initial prototype was completed within six months.
The Nintendo DS was said to have influenced the design of the new
console. Nintendo observed that the DS's novel dual-screen interface
had attracted non-traditional players and aimed to replicate that
success on their home console platform. Designer Ken'ichiro Ashida
recalled, "We had the DS on our minds as we worked on the Wii. We
thought about copying the DS's touch-panel interface and even came up
with a prototype." The idea was ultimately abandoned to avoid
redundancy between the two systems. Miyamoto later remarked, "If the
DS had flopped, we might have taken the Wii back to the drawing
board."
2004–2005: Announcements
==========================
At E3 2004, Iwata first unveiled some details of the project under its
new codename, "Revolution," a reflection of his belief the console
would revolutionize the gaming industry. BBC News' technology editor
Alfred Hermida wrote that Nintendo's struggle to match Sony and
Microsoft in the home console market made success crucial.
The console, still named "Revolution", was formally presented to the
public at E3 in May 2005. At this time, the console's motion
controller was not yet finalized and was omitted from the unveiling.
Iwata held the console above him with one hand to emphasize its size
relative to its rivals. The reduced form factor meant lower power
consumption and less heat output, and was also designed to appeal to
parents, who were thought to be more likely to allow the device into
the living room if it was small and attractive. The console's
minimalist aesthetic invited comparisons to Apple's original iPod.
Iwata reportedly used a stack of three DVD cases as a reference for
the final size. The prototype shown was black, though the final retail
version, released the following year, was only available in white.
In September 2005, Iwata demonstrated a prototype of the controller at
the Tokyo Game Show. By this stage, the hardware closely resembled the
final Wii Remote and Nunchuk. During the presentation, Iwata
demonstrated the controller's motion-sensing capabilities, supported a
video with commentary from developers such as Hideo Kojima and Yuji
Horii, who had tested the controller and believed people would be
drawn in by it.
The console's official name, "Wii," was announced in April, a month
ahead of E3 2006. The stylized spelling--with two lowercase "i"s--was
designed to represent both two people standing side by side and the
pairing of the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. In its announcement, Nintendo
explained: "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."
The name drew widespread mockery and criticism. 'Forbes' reported that
Nintendo fans feared the name would perpetuate the perception that
Nintendo made consoles primarily for children. 'BBC News' reported the
day after the name was announced that "a long list of puerile jokes,
based on the name," had appeared on the Internet. Some video game
developers and journalists expressed a preference for the codename
"Revolution." President of Nintendo of America Reggie Fils-Aimé
defended the name, saying that the company chose the name over
"Revolution" because they wanted something short, distinctive, and
easily pronounceable in all cultures.
The Wii was made available for press demonstrations at E3 2006, where
Nintendo also revealed several planned launch titles. At the same
event, the company reaffirmed its intention to release the console by
the end of 2006.
2006–2010: Launch
===================
Nintendo announced the launch plans and pricing for the Wii in
September 2006. The console first launched in the United States on
November 19, 2006, priced at . Other regional release dates and prices
included Japan on December 2, priced at , followed by Australasia on
December 7 at , and later, the United Kingdom on December 8 for , with
most of Europe receiving it at €249.99. Nintendo aimed to have around
30 Wii games available by the end of 2006 and anticipated shipping
over 4 million consoles by the year's end.
As part of its launch campaign, Nintendo promoted the Wii in North
America through a series of television advertisements directed by
Academy Award winner Stephen Gaghan. The internet ads campaign
featured slogans like "Wii would like to play" and "Experience a new
way to play". Launched in November 2006, the campaign had a budget
exceeding for the year.
These ads targeted a broader demographic compared to other consoles,
inviting parents and grandparents to experience the Wii. Nintendo’s
goal was to appeal to a wider audience than its competitors in the
seventh generation. In December 2006, Iwata stated that Nintendo
didn’t view itself as "fighting Sony," but instead focused on how to
expand the gaming demographic. This strategy proved successful as the
Wii became a global social phenomenon throughout 2007.
The Wii's launch in other regions took several years. It arrived in
South Africa on September 30, 2007, South Korea on April 26, 2008,
Taiwan on July 12, 2008, India on September 30, 2008, and Hong Kong on
December 12, 2009. Nintendo had planned to work with its localization
partner, iQue, to release the Wii in China in 2008, but was unable to
meet the requirements to circumvent the ban on foreign-made consoles
imposed by the Chinese government.
2011–2014: Successor and discontinuation
==========================================
Nintendo announced the successor to the Wii, the Wii U, at E3 2011.
Nintendo had recognized that the Wii had generally been shunned by the
core gaming audience as it was perceived more as a casual gaming
experience. The Wii U was aimed to draw the core audience back in with
more advanced features atop the basic Wii technology. The Wii U
features the Wii U GamePad, a controller with an embedded touchscreen
and output 1080p high-definition graphics that serves as a secondary
screen alongside the television. The Wii U is fully
backward-compatible with Wii games and peripherals for the Wii,
including the Wii Remote, Nunchuk controller and Wii Balance Board,
and select Wii U games including support for these devices. The Wii U
was first released on November 18, 2012 in North America; November 30,
2012 in Europe and Australia, and December 8, 2012 in Japan.
Nintendo continued to sell the revised Wii model and the Wii Mini
alongside the Wii U during the Wii U's first release year. During
2013, Nintendo began to sunset certain Wii online functions as they
pushed consumers towards the Wii U as a replacement system or towards
the offline Wii Mini, though the Wii Shop Channel remained available.
Nintendo discontinued production of the Wii in October 2013 after
selling over 100 million units worldwide, though the company continued
to produce the Wii Mini unit primarily for the North American market.
The WiiConnect24 service and several channels based on that service
were shuttered in June 2013. Support for online multiplayer games via
the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection were discontinued in May 2014, while the
Wii Shop was closed in January 2019, effectively ending all online
services for the console. The Wii Mini continued to be manufactured
for some time after.
Despite the Wii's discontinuation, some developers continued to
produce Wii games well beyond 2013. Ubisoft released 'Just Dance'
games for the Wii up to 'Just Dance 2020' (2019). Vblank
Entertainment's 'Shakedown: Hawaii' along with 'Retro City Rampage DX'
are the most recent Wii games, which were released on July 9, 2020
(more than 13 years after the Wii's launch). On January 27, 2020,
Nintendo announced that it will no longer repair any faulty Wii
consoles in Japan starting on February 6 due to a scarcity of spare
parts.
Console
=========
In building the Wii, Nintendo deliberately chose not to outpace the
performance of rival consoles. Unlike the company's previous consoles,
they built the Wii from commercial off-the-shelf hardware rather than
developing customized components. This decision significantly reduced
manufacturing costs, allowing Nintendo to offer the console at a lower
price point. As Miyamoto explained, "Originally, I wanted a machine
that would cost $100. My idea was to spend nothing on the console
technology so all the money could be spent on improving the interface
and software."
The Wii's central processing unit, named Broadway, is a 32-bit chip
developed by IBM. Based on the same PowerPC architecture as the
GameCube's Gekko processor, it runs at 729 MHz and was manufactured
using a more efficient 90 nm process, reducing power consumption by
about 20% compared to Gekko's 180 nm process. Other system functions
are handled by Hollywood, a system-on-a-chip (SoC) developed by ATI
that combines graphics, audio, and input/output functions. Its
graphics processing unit (GPU) is an updated version of the GameCube's
Flipper, running at 243 MHz, 1.5 times faster, allowing it to support
more advanced visual effects and including 3 MB of embedded texture
memory. It also contains Starlet, an ARM-based coprocessor with 96 KB
of RAM that manages input/output operations and system security.
Hollywood integrates 24 MB of high-speed 1T-SRAM that works alongside
64 MB of GDDR3 memory mounted on the motherboard, bringing the total
system memory to 88 MB. In terms of computational power, the Wii was
about 1.5 to 2 times more powerful than the GameCube, but was the
least powerful of the major home consoles of its generation.
The Wii's motherboard has a WiFi module, supporting 802.11b and
802.11g modes, and a Bluetooth module to communicate with its
controllers. A USB-based LAN adapter can connect the Wii to a wired
Ethernet network.
Games are read via a front slot-loading optical drive compatible with
Nintendo's proprietary 12 cm Wii discs and 8 cm GameCube discs.
However, it does not support standard optical media such as DVDs or
CDs. Although Nintendo had planned on incorporating this feature into
later revisions of the Wii, the demand for the console meant a delay
in their schedule, until the feature lost interest. Nintendo later
explained that they felt that most consumers owned other devices with
DVD playback capability, and it allowed them to avoid the additional
cost associated with licensing patents for the technology. The optical
drive slot is illuminated with LEDs that indicate system activity, for
example, pulsing blue when receiving messages via WiiConnect24 or
during disc reading.
The system includes 512 MB of internal flash memory for storing saved
data and downloaded content. This storage could be expanded via SD
cards inserted into a slot behind a front panel. A later system update
enabled users to launch Wii channels and play Virtual Console and
WiiWare games directly from SD cards.
The rear of the console houses video output and power connectors,
along with two USB ports. When oriented vertically, the top panel
reveals four GameCube controller ports and two GameCube memory card
slots.
At launch, the Wii was Nintendo's smallest home console. Measuring
wide, tall, and deep in its vertical orientation, the system was
slightly larger than three DVD cases stacked together. The console was
designed to operate either horizontally or vertically. Its included
stand, used for stability in vertical placement, measures wide,
tall, and deep. Weighing , the Wii was the lightest of the three
major seventh-generation consoles.
Wii Remote
============
A wrist-mounted strap is included with the Wii Remote, with one end
affixed to the bottom of the unit. Nintendo strongly encouraged
players to use the strap in case the Wii Remote accidentally slipped
out of their hands. Nintendo recalled the original straps in December
2006 and provided a free, stronger strap as a replacement, as well as
packaging the new strap in future bundles after the company faced
legal challenges from users that reported damage to their homes from
the Wii Remote slipping from their hands while playing. In October
2007, Nintendo also added a silicone Wii Remote Jacket to shipments of
the Wii and Wii Remote, as well as a free offering for existing users.
The Jacket wraps around the bulk of the remote but leaves access to
the various buttons and connectors, providing a stickier surface in
the user's grip to further reduce the chance of the Remote falling out
of the player's hand.
Accessories can be connected to a Wii Remote through a proprietary
port at the base of the controller. The Wii shipped with the bundled
Nunchuk--a handheld unit with an accelerometer, analog stick, and two
trigger buttons--which connected to this port on the Wii Remote via a
cable 4 ft in length. Players hold both the Wii Remote and Nunchuk in
separate hands to control supported games.
The Wii MotionPlus accessory plugs into the port at the base of the
Wii Remote and augments the existing sensors with gyroscopes to allow
for finer motion detection. The MotionPlus accessory was released in
June 2009 with a number of new games directly supporting this new
functionality, including 'Wii Sports Resort' which included the
accessory as part of a bundle. The MotionPlus functionality was later
incorporated into a revision of the controller called the Wii Remote
Plus, first released in October 2010.
A number of third-party controller manufacturers developed their own
lower-cost versions of the Wii Remote, though these generally were
less accurate or lacked the sensitivity that Nintendo's unit had.
Other controllers and accessories
===================================
The Classic Controller is an extension for the Wii Remote, released
alongside the Wii in November 2006. Its form factor is similar to
classic gamepads such as that for the Super Nintendo Entertainment
System, with a d-pad, four face buttons, Start and Select buttons
alongside the Wii connection button, and two shoulder buttons.
Additionally, Nintendo included inputs present in modern controllers,
like 2 analog sticks and pressure sensitive shoulder buttons. Players
can use it with older games from the Virtual Console in addition to
games designed for the Wii. In 2009, Nintendo released the Wii Classic
Controller Pro, which was modelled after the GameCube and PlayStation
2 controllers form factor and amongst other additions, adds grips on
the bottom of the controller and rearranges the placement of the
shoulder buttons. However, unlike the GameCube and original Classic
Controller, the Classic Controller Pro does not have pressure
sensitive shoulder buttons.
The Wii Balance Board was released alongside 'Wii Fit' in December
2007. It is a wireless balance board accessory for the Wii, with
multiple pressure sensors used to measure the user's center of
balance. 'Wii Fit' offers a number of different exercise modes which
monitored the player's position on the board, as well as exercise
gamification, as to encourage players to exercise daily. In addition
to use in Nintendo's 'Wii Fit Plus' that expanded the range of
exercises using the Wii Balance Board, the accessory can be used in
other third-party games that translated the player's balance on the
unit into in-game controls such as 'Shaun White Snowboarding' and
'Skate It'. Namco Bandai produced a mat controller (a simpler,
less-sophisticated competitor to the Balance Board).
One of Iwata's initiatives at Nintendo was focused on "quality of
life" products, those that encouraged players to do other activities
beyond simply sitting and playing video games as to promote physical
wellbeing. The use of motion controls in the Wii served part of this,
but Nintendo developed additional accessories to give awareness of
one's health as a lead-in for the company to break into the healthcare
field. At E3 2009, Nintendo had presented a "Vitality Sensor"
accessory that would be used to measure a player's pulse as a lead-in
to a larger quality of life initiative, but this product was never
released. In a 2013 Q&A, Satoru Iwata revealed that the Vitality
Sensor had been shelved, as internal testing found that the device did
not work with all users, and its use cases were too narrow. Despite
this, Nintendo has continued Iwata's quality of life program with
further products on later consoles and games.
A number of first- and third-party accessories were developed that the
Wii Remote could be slotted into and then used in a more physical
manner that took advantage of the accelerometer and gyroscopic
functions of the controller. Some copies of 'Mario Kart Wii' shipped
with the Wii Wheel, a plastic steering wheel frame with the Wii Remote
could be inserted into, so that players could steer more effectively
in game. Rhythm games that used plastic instruments, such as 'Guitar
Hero III', shipped with instruments that the Wii Remote could be
slotted into; the remote powered the various buttons on the controller
and relayed that to the Wii.
Variants and bundles
======================
The Wii launch bundle included the console; a stand to allow the
console to be placed vertically; a plastic stabilizer for the main
stand, one Wii Remote, a Nunchuk attachment for the Remote, a Sensor
Bar and a removable stand for the bar to mount on a television set, an
external power adapter, and two AA batteries for the Wii Remote. The
bundle included a composite A/V cable with RCA connectors, and in
appropriate regions such as in Europe, a SCART adapter was also
included. A copy of the game 'Wii Sports' was included in most
regional bundles.
Although Nintendo showed the console and the Wii Remote in white,
black, silver, lime-green and red before it was released, it was only
available in white for its first two-and-a-half years of sales. Black
consoles were available in Japan in August 2009, in Europe in November
2009 and in North America in May 2010. A red Wii system bundle was
available in Japan on November 11, 2010, commemorating the 25th
anniversary of 'Super Mario Bros.' The European version of the
limited-edition red Wii bundle was released on October 29, 2010, which
includes the original 'Donkey Kong' game pre-installed onto the
console, 'New Super Mario Bros. Wii' and 'Wii Sports'. The red Wii
bundle was released in North America on November 7, 2010, with 'New
Super Mario Bros. Wii' and 'Wii Sports'. All of the red Wii system
bundles feature the Wii Remote Plus, with integrated Wii MotionPlus
technology.
Revisions
===========
The prefix for the numbering scheme of the Wii system and its parts
and accessories is "RVL-" for its codename, "Revolution". The base Wii
console had a model number of RVL-001, for example.
{{Anchor|RVL-101}} Cost-reduced model
=======================================
A cost-reduced variant of the Wii (model RVL-101) was released late
into the platform's lifespan that removed the GameCube controller
ports and memory card slots found on the original model. This means
that this model is incompatible with GameCube games alongside the
GameCube Controller for Wii games that support it. This model is often
referred to as the "Wii Family Edition", the name given to the bundle
when it was first sold in Europe, however the term can, and is
typically used to refer to any RVL-101 Wii, not just the bundle sold
in Europe. Additionally, it does not include a stand, as it is
intended to be positioned horizontally. Nintendo announced the new
revision in August 2011 as a replacement for the original Wii model
which it was discontinuing in certain regions including Europe and the
United States. The new unit in its bundles was priced at , a further
reduction for the Wii's MSRP at the time of established in September
2009.
The console was first released in North America on October 23, 2011,
in a black finish, bundled with a black Wii Remote Plus and Nunchuk,
along with 'New Super Mario Bros. Wii' and a limited-edition
soundtrack for 'Super Mario Galaxy'. It was released in Europe on
November 4, 2011, in a white finish, bundled with a white Wii Remote
Plus and Nunchuk, along with 'Wii Party' and 'Wii Sports'. A special
bundle featuring a blue version of the revised Wii model and Wii
Remote Plus and Nunchuk with the inclusion of 'Mario & Sonic at
the London 2012 Olympic Games' was released in Europe on November 18,
2011, in collaboration with Sega. Nintendo later revised the North
American bundle by replacing the prior pack-in game and soundtrack
with the original 'Wii Sports' duology; the new bundle was released on
October 28, 2012.
{{Anchor|RVL-201}} Wii Mini
=============================
The Wii Mini (model RVL-201) is a smaller, redesigned Wii with a
top-loading disc drive. In addition to the lack of GameCube support,
the Wii Mini removes Wi-Fi support and online connectivity, along with
the removal of the SD card slot. It also removed support for 480p and
component video output. According to Nintendo of Canada's Matt Ryan,
they stripped these features to bring down the price of the console
further as to make it an option for those consumers that had not yet
gotten a Wii or for those who wanted a second Wii in a different
location. Ryan stated that while removing the online functionality
would prevent some games from being played, most Wii games could still
be played without it. The Wii Mini is styled in matte black with a red
border, and includes a red Wii Remote Plus and Nunchuk. According to
Ryan, the red coloring was indicative of the planned exclusive release
in Canada. A composite A/V cable, wired Sensor Bar and power adapter
are also included.
The Wii Mini was first released on December 7, 2012, exclusively in
Canada with a MSRP of . It was later released in Europe on March 22,
2013, and in the United States on November 17, 2013. The Canadian and
European releases did not include a game, while 'Mario Kart Wii' had
been included in all launch bundles in the United States. Nintendo
added several best-selling and critically acclaimed Wii games to its
Nintendo Selects label and marketed those alongside the Wii Mini's
release. The Wii Mini was never released in countries outside of
Canada, Europe and the United States.
Software
======================================================================
The console has many internal features made available from its
hardware and firmware components. The hardware allows for
extendability (via expansion ports), while the firmware (and some
software) could receive periodic updates via the WiiConnect24 service.
Wii Menu
==========
The development of the Wii Menu, the main user interface for the Wii,
was led by Takashi Aoyama of Nintendo's Integrated Research &
Development Division. The project, named the "Console Feature
Realization Project", was to figure out what the Wii interface could
show running in a low-power mode on an around-the-clock schedule that
would be of interest for people to look at if they were not playing
games. The idea of having continually updated weather and news reports
made logical sense from testing, and this led to the idea of
presenting these similar to a row of televisions each set to a
different television channel as if in an electronics shop, creating
the "channels" concept. A user can navigate to any channel window to
bring that to the forefront, whether to launch the game or application
or to get more information that was being displayed. For example, the
Forecast Channel would display a brief summary of the local area's
temperature and short-term weather forecast, while clicking on the
channel brought up an interactive globe that the user could manipulate
with the Wii Remote to explore real-time weather conditions across the
Earth.
The Wii launched with six channels: the Disc Channel which was used to
launch Wii and GameCube titles from an optical disc; the Mii Channel
to create Mii avatars; the Photo Channel which could be used to view
and edit photos stored on an SD card; the Wii Shop Channel to purchase
new games and applications; the Forecast Channel and the News Channel.
In addition to default channels that came with the Wii, new channels
could be added through system updates, downloaded applications from
the Wii Shop Channel, or added by games themselves. Shortly after
launch, other free channels created by Nintendo were made available to
users, including the Internet Channel, a modified version of the Opera
web browser for the Wii which supports USB keyboard input and Adobe
Flash Player.
The Wii Menu channels feature music composed by video game composer
Kazumi Totaka.
Mii
=====
The Wii introduced the use of player-customized avatars called Miis,
which have been continued to be used by Nintendo in the Wii U, the
Nintendo 3DS family, and, to a lesser extent, the Nintendo Switch.
Each player on a Wii console was encouraged to create their own Mii
via the Mii Channel to be used in games like 'Wii Sports' and some of
the system software like the Mii Channel. For example, players would
select their Mii in 'Wii Sports', creating their in-game avatar for
the game. Miis could be shared with other players through the Mii
Channel.
Nintendo DS connectivity
==========================
The Wii system supports wireless connectivity with the Nintendo DS
without any additional accessories. This connectivity allows the
player to use the Nintendo DS microphone and touchscreen as inputs for
Wii games. The first game utilizing Nintendo DS-Wii connectivity is
'Pokémon Battle Revolution'. Players with either the 'Pokémon Diamond'
or 'Pearl' Nintendo DS games are able to play battles using the
Nintendo DS as a controller. 'Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes
of Time', released on both Nintendo DS and Wii, features connectivity
in which both games can advance simultaneously. Nintendo later
released the Nintendo Channel, which allows Wii owners to download
game demos of popular games such as 'Mario Kart DS', or additional
data to their Nintendo DS in a process similar to that of a DS
Download Station. The console is also able to expand Nintendo DS
games.
Online connectivity
=====================
The Wii console connects to the Internet through its built-in
802.11b/g Wi-Fi or through a USB-to-Ethernet adapter; either method
allows players to access the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service. The
service has several features for the console, including Virtual
Console, WiiConnect24, the Internet Channel, the Forecast Channel, the
Everybody Votes Channel, the News Channel and the Check Mii Out
Channel. The Wii can also communicate (and connect) with other Wii
systems through a self-generated wireless LAN, enabling local wireless
multi-playing on different television sets. 'Battalion Wars 2' first
demonstrated this feature for non-split screen multi-playing between
two (or more) televisions.
Third-party applications
==========================
Third-party media apps were added to the Wii's online channels,
typically offered as free downloads but requiring subscriber logins
for paid services. Among some of these included the BBC iPlayer in
November 2009, Netflix in November 2010, Hulu in February 2012,
YouTube in December 2012, Amazon Prime Video in January 2013, and
Crunchyroll in October 2015. In June 2017, YouTube ended support for
its Wii channel. In January 2019, Nintendo ended support for all
streaming services on the Wii.
Parental controls
===================
The console features parental controls, which can be used to prohibit
younger users from playing games with content unsuitable for their age
level. When one attempts to play a Wii or Virtual Console game, it
reads the content rating encoded in the game data; if this rating is
greater than the system's set age level, the game will not load
without a password. Parental controls may also restrict Internet
access, which blocks the Internet Channel and system-update features.
Since the console is restricted to GameCube functionality when playing
GameCube Game Discs, GameCube software is unaffected by Wii
parental-control settings.
The Wii also includes a system that records the playtime based on any
game or app on the system. While Nintendo decided against a profile
system that would require each user to identify themselves, they kept
the cumulative playtime tracking system, which cannot be erased or
altered, to give parents the means to review their children's use of
the Wii.
Games
======================================================================
Retail copies of games are supplied on proprietary, DVD-type Wii
optical discs, which are packaged in keep cases with instructions. In
Europe, the boxes have a triangle at the bottom corner of the paper
sleeve-insert side. The triangle is color-coded to identify the region
for which the title is intended and which manual languages are
included. The console supports regional lockout: software available in
a region can be only played on that region's hardware.
Twenty-one games were announced for launch day in North and South
America, with another twelve announced for release later in 2006.
Among the system's launch titles in all regions included 'Wii Sports',
which was bundled in all Wii packages except in Japan and South Korea,
'The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess', Sega's 'Super Monkey Ball:
Banana Blitz', and Ubisoft's 'Red Steel'. 'Metroid Prime 3:
Corruption' had been slated as a Wii launch title, but was pushed into
2007 a few months before the Wii's launch. Nintendo had also planned
to release 'Super Smash Bros. Brawl' as a launch title, but its
director Masahiro Sakurai stated there were difficulties in adapting
the format to the Wii's motion controls to require more time for the
game's development.
New Wii games included those from Nintendo's flagship franchises such
as 'The Legend of Zelda', 'Super Mario', 'Pokémon', and 'Metroid'.
Nintendo has received third-party support from companies such as
Ubisoft, Sega, Square Enix, Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, and
Capcom, with more games being developed for Wii than for the
PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360. Nintendo also launched the New Play
Control! line, a selection of enhanced ports of first-party GameCube
games that have been updated to capitalize on the Wii's motion
controls.
Backward compatibility
========================
The original launch Wii consoles are backward-compatible with all
GameCube software, memory cards, and controllers, although Korean Wii
consoles do not have backward compatibility. A Wii console in the
backwards compatibility mode is restricted to GameCube functionality,
and a GameCube controller is required to play and a GameCube memory
card. Because of the lack of the expansion port on the Wii, devices
using the expansion port, such as the GameCube Broadband Adapter and
Modem Adapter and the Game Boy Player do not work. The revised Wii
model and the Wii Mini lack the GameCube backward compatibility
features.
Virtual Console
=================
The Virtual Console service allowed Wii owners to play games
originally released for Nintendo's older consoles, including the
Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System,
and the Nintendo 64. Later updates included games from third-party
consoles and computers, including the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive and Sega
Mark III/Master System, NEC TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine, SNK Neo Geo, the
Commodore 64 computer, the MSX computer (only in Japan), and various
arcade games through Virtual Console Arcade. Virtual Console games
were distributed over broadband Internet via the Wii Shop Channel and
were saved to the Wii internal flash memory or to a removable SD card.
Once downloaded, Virtual Console games can be accessed from the Wii
Menu as individual channels or from an SD card via the SD Card Menu.
WiiWare
=========
WiiWare was Nintendo's foray into digital distribution on the Wii,
comparable to the existing Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network.
The service allowed players to purchase games digitally through the
Wii Shop, downloading the games to their console to be directly ran
from it. Besides facilitating this form of distribution, WiiWare was
also envisioned to help support smaller and independent game
developers, offering these teams a less expensive route to produce Wii
games without having to go through retail production and distribution
channels. The WiiWare channel launched on March 25, 2008, and remained
active including through the Wii U's lifetime until the Wii Shop
Channel was discontinued in 2019.
Critical reviews
==================
The system was well received after its exhibition at E3 2006, winning
the Game Critics Awards for Best of Show and Best Hardware. Later in
December, 'Popular Science' named the console a Grand Award Winner in
home entertainment. The game proceeded to win multiple awards; the
console was awarded Spike TV's Video Games Award, a Golden Joystick
from the Golden Joystick Awards, and an Emmy Award for game controller
innovation from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
IGN and 'The Guardian' named the Wii the 10th greatest video game
console of all time out of 25, and 'GameSpot' chose the console as
having the best hardware in its "Best and Worst 2006" awards.
The Wii was praised for its simple yet responsive controls, as well as
its simplicity that appeals to broader audiences. Although Dan Grabham
of Tech Radar enjoyed its simple mechanics, stating how "even
grandparents can pick things up pretty quickly", he also enjoyed the
depth of content carried over from the GameCube. CNET likened the
"no-brainer" setup and the easy to navigate home screen. Will Wright,
the creator of 'The Sims', called the Wii "the only next gen system
I've seen", and rather considered the PS3 and the Xbox 360 as simply
successors with "incremental improvement". He believed that the Wii
did not only improve on graphics, but also complimented how it "hits a
completely different demographic". Reviewers were fond of the compact
design, with Ars Technica comparing it to an Apple product.
By 2008, two years after the Wii's release, Nintendo acknowledged
several limitations and challenges with the system (such as the
perception that the system catered primarily to a "casual" audience
and was unpopular among hardcore gamers). Miyamoto admitted that the
lack of support for high-definition video output on the Wii and its
limited network infrastructure also contributed to the system being
regarded separately from its competitors' systems, the Xbox 360 and
PlayStation 3. Miyamoto originally defended Nintendo's decision to not
include HD graphics in the Wii, stating that the number of HDTV's in
people's homes at the time was "really not that high, yet. Of course I
think five years down the road it would be pretty much a given that
Nintendo would create an HD system, but right now the predominant
television set in the world is a non-HD set." In 2013, Miyamoto said
in an interview with Japanese video game website 4Gamer that "Even for
the Wii, no matter how much it made the system cost, it would have
been great if it were HD in the first place."
At the same time, criticism of the Wii Remote and Wii hardware
specifications had surfaced. Former GameSpot editor and Giantbomb.com
founder Jeff Gerstmann stated that the controller's speaker produces
low-quality sound, while Factor 5 co-founder Julian Eggebrecht stated
that the console has inferior audio capabilities and graphics.
UK-based developer Free Radical Design stated that the Wii hardware
lacks the power necessary to run the software it scheduled for release
on other seventh-generation consoles. Online connectivity of the Wii
was also criticized; Matt Casamassina of 'IGN' compared it to the
"entirely unintuitive" service provided for the Nintendo DS.
Although the Wii Mini was met with praise for being cheap, considering
it was bundled with a Wii Remote, Nunchuk and a copy of 'Mario Kart
Wii', it was considered inferior compared to the original console.
Critics were disappointed in the lack of online play and backward
compatibility with GameCube games, and also believed the hardware was
still rather quite large, being about half the size of the Wii;
'Eurogamer's' Richard Leadbetter thought the Wii Mini was not any more
"living room friendly", as he believed the "bright red plastics make
it stand out much more than the more neutral blacks and whites of
existing model's casing." He stated that the overall design was rough
in texture, and seemed to have been built with emphasis on durability.
'Nintendo Life' reviewer Damien McFerran said that the lightweight
design of the Wii Mini makes it feel "a little cheaper and less
dependable" with empty space inside the shell. CNET criticized the
pop-open lid for inserting disks to be "cheap-feeling".
Third-party development
=========================
The Wii's success caught third-party developers by surprise due to
constraints of the hardware's distinct limitations; this led to
apologies for the quality of their early games. In an interview with
Ubisoft's Yves Guillemot and Alain Corre admitted that they made a
mistake in rushing out their launch titles, promising to take future
projects more seriously. An executive for Frontline Studios stated
that major publishers were wary of releasing exclusive titles for the
Wii, due to the perception that third-party companies were not
strongly supported by consumers. 1UP.com editor Jeremy Parish stated
that Nintendo was the biggest disappointment for him in 2007.
Commenting on the lack of quality third-party support, he stated that
the content was worse than its predecessors, resulting in "bargain-bin
trash".
Additionally, the lack of third-party support also came from the fact
that first-party games released by Nintendo were too successful, and
developers were having issues with competing. Game developers, such as
Rod Cousens, CEO of Codemasters were having issues with the slow sales
on the Wii. The 'Nikkei Business Daily', a Japanese newspaper, claimed
that companies were too nervous to start or continue making games for
the console, some of which considering the Wii to be a fad that will
eventually die down in popularity. Nintendo considered why this was
the case was due to the fact that they "know the Wii's special
characteristics better than anyone", and began developing the games
for the console long before its release, giving them a head start.
Due to struggling sales during 2010, developers began creating
alternative options. Capcom took note of the difficulty of making
money on the Wii, and shifted their content to making fewer games, but
with higher quality. According to Sony, many third-party developers
originally making games for the Wii started focusing attention more of
the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
{{Anchor|System Sales}} Sales
===============================
Raw data
Initial consumer reaction to the Wii appears to have been positive,
with commentators judging the launch to have been successful. The
launch of the Wii in November 2006 was considered the largest console
launch by Nintendo in the Americas, Japan, Europe and Australia. The
console outsold combined sales of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in
several regions in its launch period. The Wii remained in short supply
through the first year. The company had already shipped nearly 3.2
million units worldwide by the end of 2006, and worked to raise
production amounts to 17.5 million through 2007, but warned consumers
that there would be shortages of the Wii through that year. Wii sales
surpassed Xbox 360 sales by September 2007. To meet further demand,
Nintendo increased production rates of the Wii from 1.6 million to
around 2.4 million units per month in 2008, planning to meet the
continued demand for the console.
At the March 2009 Game Developers Conference, Iwata reported that the
Wii had reached 50 million sales. Nintendo announced its first price
reductions for the console in September 2009, dropping the MSRP from
to . The price cut had come days after both Sony and Microsoft
announced similar price cuts on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
consoles. Nintendo stated that the price reduction was in anticipation
of drawing in more consumers who still cautious about buying a video
game console. The Wii became the best-selling home video game console
produced by Nintendo during 2009, with sales exceeding 67 million
units.
In 2010, sales of the Wii began to decline, falling by 21 percent from
the previous year. The drop in sales was considered to be due to a
combination of the introduction of the PlayStation Move and Kinect
motion control systems on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 systems, and
the waning fad of the Wii system. Wii sales also weakened into 2011 as
third-party support for the console waned; major publishers were
passing over the Wii which was underpowered and used non-standard
development tools, and instead focused on games for the PlayStation 3,
Xbox 360 and personal computers. Publishers were also drawn away from
the Wii with the promise of the more powerful Wii U in the near
future. Wii sales continued to decline into 2012, falling by half from
the previous year. After its release in Canada on December 7, 2012,
the Wii Mini had sold 35,700 units by January 31, 2013.
The Wii surpassed 100 million units sold worldwide during the second
quarter of 2013. The Wii had total lifetime sales of 101.63 million
consoles worldwide as of March 31, 2016, the last reported data for
the console by Nintendo. At least 48 million consoles were sold in
North America, 12 million in Japan, and 40 million in all other
regions. , the Wii is the fifth-best-selling home console of all time,
surpassed by the original PlayStation (102.4 million units), the
PlayStation 4 (117.2 million units), the Nintendo Switch (125.62
million units), and the PlayStation 2 (159 million units). , the Wii
is Nintendo's second-best-selling home console, having been outsold by
the Nintendo Switch in late 2021 at 143.42 million units.
, nine Wii games had sold over ten million units globally, which
included 'Wii Sports' (82.90 million, including pack-in copies),
'Mario Kart Wii' (37.38 million), 'Wii Sports Resort' (33.14 million),
'New Super Mario Bros. Wii' (30.32 million), 'Wii Play' (28.02
million), 'Wii Fit' (22.67 million), 'Wii Fit Plus' (21.13 million),
'Super Smash Bros. Brawl' (13.32 million), and 'Super Mario Galaxy'
(12.80 million). A total of 921.85 million titles had been sold for
the Wii by June 30, 2022. The popularity of 'Wii Sports' was
considered part of the console's success, making it a killer app for
the Wii as it drew those that typically did not play video games to
the system.
Legal issues
==============
There were a number of legal challenges stemming from the Wii and Wii
Remote. Several of these were patent-related challenges from companies
claiming the Wii Remote infringed on their patents. Most of these were
either dismissed or settled out of court. One challenge was from iLife
Technologies Inc., who sued Nintendo over their Wii Remote's motion
detection technology for patent infringement in 2013. iLife initially
won a judgement against Nintendo in 2017. The case was overturned in
2020, with the appellate court ruling that iLife's patents were too
broad to cover the specific motion detection technologies developed by
Nintendo.
There were lawsuits against Nintendo claiming physical damage done by
ineffective wrist straps on the Wii Remote when they slipped out of
players' hands and broke television screens or windows. The first
class action suit filed in December 2006 led Nintendo to issue a
product recall for the existing wrist straps and send out new versions
that had an improved securing mechanism for the wrist. A second class
action lawsuit was filed by a mother in Colorado in December 2008,
claiming the updated wrist straps were still ineffective. This suit
was dismissed by September 2010, finding for Nintendo that the wrist
straps were not knowingly faulty under Colorado consumer protection
laws.
Impact on Nintendo
====================
The Wii has been recognized as Nintendo's "blue ocean" strategy to
differentiate itself from its competitors Sony and Microsoft for the
next several years. The Wii has since become seen as a prime example
of an effective blue ocean approach. While Sony and Microsoft
continued to innovate their consoles on hardware improvements to
provide more computational and graphics power, Nintendo put more
effort towards developing hardware that facilitated new ways to play
games. This was considered a key part to the success of the console,
measured by sales over its competitors during that console generation.
However, Nintendo did not maintain this same "blue ocean" approach
when it took towards designing the Wii U, by which point both Sony and
Microsoft had caught up with similar features from the Wii. These
factors partially contributed towards weak sales of the Wii U.
Part of the Wii's success was attributed to its lower cost compared to
the other consoles. While Microsoft and Sony have experienced losses
producing their consoles in the hopes of making a long-term profit on
software sales, Nintendo reportedly had optimized production costs to
obtain a significant profit margin with each Wii unit sold. Soichiro
Fukuda, a games analyst at Nikko Citigroup, estimated that in 2007,
Nintendo's optimized production gave them a profit from each unit sold
ranging from in Japan to in the United States and in Europe. The
console's final price at launch of made it comparatively cheaper than
the Xbox 360 (which had been available in two models priced at and )
and the then-upcoming PlayStation 3 (also to be available in two
models priced at and ). Further, Nintendo's first-party games for the
Wii were set at a retail price of , about less expensive than average
games for Nintendo's competitors. Iwata stated they were able to keep
the game price lower since the Wii was not as focused on
high-resolution graphics in comparison to the other consoles, thus
keeping development costs lower, averaging about per game compared to
required for developing on the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3.
Health effects
================
The Wii was marketed to promote a healthy lifestyle via physical
activity. It has been used in physical rehabilitation, and its health
effects have been studied for several conditions. The most studied
uses of Wii for rehabilitation therapy are for stroke, cerebral palsy,
Parkinson's disease, and for balance training. The potential for
adverse effects from video game rehabilitation therapy (for example,
from falls) has not been well studied as of 2016.
A study published in the 'British Medical Journal' stated that Wii
players use more energy than they do playing sedentary computer games,
but Wii playing was not an adequate replacement for regular exercise.
Some Wii players have experienced musculoskeletal injuries known as
'Wiiitis', 'Wii knee', 'Wii elbow' (similar to tennis elbow) or
'nintendinitis' from repetitive play; a small number of serious
injuries have occurred, but injuries are infrequent and most are mild.
In May 2010, Nintendo gave the American Heart Association (AHA) a $1.5
million gift; the AHA endorsed the Wii with its Healthy Check icon,
covering the console and two of its more active games, 'Wii Fit Plus'
and 'Wii Sports Resort'.
Homebrew, hacking, and emulation
==================================
The Wii has become a popular target for homebrewing new functionality
and video games since its discontinuation. For example, homebrew
projects have been able to add DVD playback to unmodified Wii
consoles. The Wii also can be hacked to enable an owner to use the
console for activities unintended by the manufacturer. Several brands
of modchips are available for the Wii.
The Wii Remote also became a popular unit to hack for other
applications. As it connected through standard Bluetooth interfaces,
programmers were able to reverse engineer the communications protocol
and develop application programming interfaces for the Wii Remote for
other operating systems, and subsequently games and applications that
used the Wii Remote on alternate platforms. Further hacks at the
hardware level, typically taking apart the Wii Remote and Sensor Bar
and reconfiguring its components in other configurations, led to other
applications such as remote hand and finger tracking, digital
whiteboards, and head tracking for virtual reality headsets.
The Wii has been a popular system for emulation; while the act of
creating such emulators in a cleanroom-type approach have been
determined to be legal, the actions of bringing the Wii system
software and games to other systems has been of questionable legality
and Nintendo has actively pursued legal action against those that
distribute copies of their software. The open-source Dolphin project
has been able to successfully emulate the Wii and GameCube through
several years of cleanroom efforts.
Music
=======
Joe Skrebels of 'IGN' has argued that the Wii's greatest and longest
lasting legacy is that of the music composed by Totaka for the
console, writing: "Motion controls, Miis, and balance boards have all
been removed or diminished as Nintendo moved on, but take a quick look
across YouTube, TikTok, or Twitter, and I guarantee it won't take all
that long to hear a Wii track. Covers and memes featuring music from
the Wii are 'everywhere.' Music written for the Wii has taken on a new
life as a cultural touchstone, and inspired people far beyond the
confines of the little white wedge it was composed for." 'The
Washington Post's' Michael Andor Brodeur described the Mii Channel
music as "a cultural touchstone", while Martin Robinson of 'Eurogamer'
called the theme of the Wii Shop Channel "a song so infectious it went
on to become a meme"; both the Mii Channel theme and Wii Shop Channel
theme have inspired jazz covers.
See also
======================================================================
*History of Nintendo
External links
======================================================================
*
* [
http://wii.com/ Global and general Wii site]
*
*
License
=========
All content on Gopherpedia comes from Wikipedia, and is licensed under CC-BY-SA
License URL:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Original Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii
