Hold onto your hats, the "Wii" is here.

[tenguzero]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060427/tc_nm/nintendo_dc_2

Pronounced "We" (as in us, together.) Kind of an odd name, I think. But then again, I always thought "Playstation" sounded more like a model of a child's climbing toy than a gaming console. I'm not sure what to make of the controller, either -- is that going to be their standard, pack-in device? It sort of reminds me of an Intellivision or something. I definitely find Nintendo's approach to be admirable -- it sounds like they're looking to bring family or friends together around the entertainment system (like they used to show back in the day: mom, dad, and a couple kids gathered around the TV chomping little dots and fruit and dodging ghosts, or blasting ducks and clay disks.) Unfortunately, as we see the new society continue to roll out beneath us, we see families barely able to get together for a couple meals a week at the dinner table, never mind gaming time. Hell, even the boardgame companies now make shorter versions of the rule sets for their most popular games, so families can play Monopoly in half an hour, instead of two or three. On the other hand, the Mario Party games have been very popular, and multiplayer gaming continues to grow every year.

It seems like the name of the game lately really is lone-gamer interaction with a game, or at best other people over a network connection, as opposed to all gathered around the same screen in the same room. Anyone who's sat down with a few others for some heated and/or drunken Mario Party or Madden Football or Mario Kart or whatever might be the case can definitely attest to the fun that can be had. Oh, and the idea (however remote) of family actually getting together for an evening of Super Mario Strikers or something is a nice one as well.

Actually, now that I look at it, it's not hard to see that this is really just a continuation of the direction Nintendo has been heading in for a couple system generations now. And it seems like it's worked reasonably well so far.

[Muscletang]

What I like about this is the old school games that I'll be able to play.

All of the NES titles. All of the SNES titles. Most of the Sege Genesis titles (yes you heard me right). All of the N64 titles. All of the GC titles.

Also though they're changing their approach. They're getting more shooting games and stuff that teenagers and young adults will like. I mean the introduction to their system was with a FPS and not a Mario game like we usually see. The big thing though is that people who played a long, long, long time ago will be able to enjoy the classics...Super Mario Bros. 3 HELL YES!

I'm also very interested in the remote control for this thing.



As for the name though.....it sucks. Not to mention it's getting lots of hate from what I've been reading.

[CaptainBennett]

I can't wait to play the tennis and golf games.

[tenguzero]

I was watching a Nintendo demo movie on Google Video

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...06273&q=e3+wii

and I've got to say I'm pretty damn impressed. It's amazing to see how many games are seemingly vastly improved with the addition of motion sensing controllers. I think Nintendo's going to have a hit on their hands with this system. The key, of course, is going to hinge on the public's preference in the world of video games. Will the consumer sacrifice some graphical power for greater interactivity? (the Wii supposedly underwent the least upgrading in terms of graphics and processing power over its predecessor -- compared to the Sony and Microsoft units.) Obviously Nintendo will have a good pull with a solid niche/devoted group. The real test will be to see if the broader public is shallow enough to buy into eye candy and advanced technology (and they WILL pay for it considering the XBOX and PS3's prices compared to the Wii) or if the masses actually still care about playability.

If the lines at this year's E3 for the show-stealing Wii were any indicator, there may be hope for the masses yet

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...66935&q=e3+wii