Wii
Ok Everyone it is time for info on the Nintendo Wii
The Wii (pronounced as the English pronoun we, IPA: /wiː/) is a home video game console released by Nintendo. A distinguishing feature of the console is its wireless controller, the Wii Remote, which can be used as a handheld pointing device and detect movement in three dimensions. Another distinctive feature of the console is WiiConnect24, which enables it to receive messages and updates over the Internet while in standby mode.[7]
As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of both.[8] The Financial Times reported that as of September 12, 2007, the Wii is the sales leader of its generation, based on sales figures from Enterbrain, NPD Group, and GfK.[9]
The Wii is Nintendo's fifth home console, the direct successor to the Nintendo GameCube, and able to play all official GameCube games. Nintendo first spoke of the console at the 2004 E3 press conference and later unveiled the system at the 2005 E3. Satoru Iwata revealed a prototype of the controller at the September 2005 Tokyo Game Show.[10] At E3 2006, the console won the first of several awards.[11] By December 8, 2006, it had completed its launch in four key markets.The console was conceived in 2001, as the Nintendo GameCube was first seeing release. According to an interview with Nintendo's game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, the concept involved focusing on a new form of player interaction. "The consensus was that power isn't everything for a console. Too many powerful consoles can't coexist. It's like having only ferocious dinosaurs. They might fight and hasten their own extinction."[12]
Two years later, engineers and designers were brought together to develop the concept further. By 2005, the controller interface had taken form, but a public showing at that year's E3 was withdrawn. Miyamoto stated that, "[W]e had some troubleshooting to do. So we decided not to reveal the controller and instead we displayed just the console."[12] Nintendo president Satoru Iwata later unveiled and demonstrated the Wii Remote at the September Tokyo Game Show.[10]
The Nintendo DS is said to have influenced the Wii design. Designer Ken'ichiro Ashida noted, "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 eventually rejected, with the notion that the two gaming systems would be identical. Miyamoto also expressed that, "[I]f the DS had flopped, we might have taken the Wii back to the drawing board."[12]
Nintendo has attributed the success of the Wii to the ideas presented in the business strategy book Blue Ocean Strategy.[13] Within the context of a Blue Ocean Strategy analysis, the key factors of the Wii reflect what is termed the "Six Path Framework" described within the book. While Nintendo has not publicly released the factors used, it is believed that they include "price", "movie playing", "graphics", "physics", "fun", "game library", and "magic wand". Applying the Four Actions Framework would eliminate movie playing, reduce graphics and physics, raise fun and the game library, and lead to the creation of their "magic wand": the Wii RemoteThe console was known by the code name of "Revolution" until April 27, 2006, immediately prior to E3.[15] According to the Nintendo Style Guide, the name "is simply Wii, not Nintendo Wii." This means it is the first home console Nintendo has marketed outside of Japan without the company name featured in its trademark. While "Wiis" is a commonly used pluralization of the console, Nintendo has stated that the official plural form is "Wii systems" or "Wii consoles."[16] Nintendo's spelling of "Wii" with two lower-case "i" characters is meant to resemble two people standing side by side, representing players gathering together, as well as to represent the Wii Remote and Nunchuk.[17] The company has given many reasons for this choice of name since the announcement; however, the best known is:
“
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. No need to abbreviate. Just Wii.[17]
”
Despite Nintendo's justification for the name, some video game developers and members of the press reacted negatively towards the change. They preferred "Revolution" over "Wii"[18] and expressed fear "that the name would convey a continued sense of 'kidiness' [sic] to the console."[19] The BBC reported the day after the name was announced that "a long list of puerile jokes, based on the name," had appeared on the Internet.[20] Nintendo of America's president Reggie Fils-Aime acknowledged the initial reaction and further explained the change:
“
Revolution as a name is not ideal; it's long, and in some cultures, it's hard to pronounce. So we wanted something that was short, to the point, easy to pronounce, and distinctive. That's how 'Wii,' as a console name, was created.[21]
”
Nintendo of America's then-VP of Corporate Affairs Perrin Kaplan defended its choice of "Wii" over "Revolution" and responded to critics of the name by stating, "Live with it, sleep with it, eat with it, move along with it and hopefully they'll arrive at the same place."[22]On September 14, 2006, Nintendo announced release information for Japan, North and South America, Australasia (Oceania), Asia and Europe, including dates, prices, and projected unit distribution numbers. It was announced that the majority of the 2006 shipments would be allotted to the Americas,[23][dead link] and that 33 titles would be available in the 2006 launch window.[24] The United Kingdom suffered a large shortage of console units as many high-street and online stores were unable to fulfill all pre-orders when it was released on December 8, 2006.[25] Some UK stores still had a shortage of consoles as of March 2007,[26] demand still outpaced supply in the United States as of June 2007,[27] and the console "selling out almost as quickly as it hits retail shelves" in Canada as of April 2008.[28][29]
The Wii was launched in South Korea on April 26, 2008, in Taiwan on July 12, 2008[30] and will be released in China sometime in 2008.Since its launch, the monthly sales numbers of the console have been higher than its competitors across the globe. According to the NPD Group, the Wii sold more units in the United States than the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 combined in the first half of 2007.[34] This lead is even larger in the Japanese market, where it currently leads in total sales, having outsold both consoles by factors of 2:1[35] to 6:1[36] nearly every week from launch until November 2007.[37] In Australia, the Wii exceeded the record set by the Xbox 360 to become the fastest selling games console in Australian history.[38]
On September 12, 2007, it was reported by the Financial Times that the Wii had surpassed the Xbox 360, which was released one year previously, and had become the market leader in home console sales for the current generation, based on sales figures from Enterbrain, NPD Group, and GfK.[9] This is the first time a Nintendo console has led its generation in sales since the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.[9] Nintendo warned that the Wii would remain in short supply throughout 2007,[39] while the company produces approximately 1.8 million Wii consoles each month.[40]
In 2007, the Wii was the second best-selling game console (behind the Nintendo DS) in the US and Japan with 6.29 million and 3,629,361 units sold respectively, according to the NPD Group and Enterbrain.[41][42][43][44] During the same year, the Wii had outsold the PlayStation 3 by 3:1 in Japan, while the Xbox 360 had sold 257,841 units in that region that year, according to Enterbrain.[45][46] In Europe, the Wii sold 0.7 million units in 2006 and 4.8 million in 2007 according to estimates by Electronic Arts.[47][48] Prior to the release of the NPD Group's video game statistics for January 2008, the Wii has been ahead of the Xbox 360 and PS3 in US sales in most months since the Wii and PS3 were released, according to data by the NPD Group.[49] In the United States, the Wii has sold 10.9 million units as of July 1, 2008, making it the leader in current-generation home console sales, surpassing the Xbox 360 which was released a year prior to the Wii,[50] according to the NPD Group.[51]
In Japan, the Wii had surpassed the number of Nintendo GameCube units sold by January 2008;[43] the Wii has sold 6.67 million units as of September 1, 2008, according to Enterbrain.[52] According to the NPD Group, the Wii surpassed the Xbox 360 to become the best-selling "next generation" home video game console in Canada with 813,000 units sold by April 1, 2008, and was the best-selling home console for 13 of the past 17 months;[28][29] in the first six months of 2008, the Wii has sold 318,000 units in Canada, outselling its nearest competitor, the PlayStation 3, almost 2:1.[53] According to the NPD Group, the Wii has sold a total of 1,060,000 units in Canada as of August 1, 2008, making it the first current generation home console to surpass the million unit mark in that country; in the first seven months of 2008, the Wii outsold the PS3 and the Xbox 360 combined with 376,000 units sold in Canada.[54] In the United Kingdom, the Wii leads in current generation home console sales with 3.6 million units sold as of September 2008, according to GfK Chart-Track.[55][56] Nintendo anticipates worldwide sales of the Wii to reach 50 million units by March 2009.[57]
While Microsoft and Sony have experienced losses producing their consoles in the hopes of making a long-term profit on software sales, Nintendo reportedly has optimized production costs to obtain a significant profit margin with each Wii unit sold.[58] According to the Financial Times, this direct profit per Wii sold may vary from $13 in Japan to $49 in the United States and $79 in Europe.[59]Nintendo hopes to target a wider demographic with its console than that of others in the seventh generation.[8] At a press conference for the upcoming Nintendo DS game Dragon Quest IX in December 2006, Satoru Iwata insisted "We're not thinking about fighting Sony, but about how many people we can get to play games. The thing we're thinking about most is not portable systems, consoles, and so forth, but that we want to get new people playing games."[60]
This is reflected in Nintendo's series of television advertisements in North America, directed by Academy Award winner Stephen Gaghan, as well as Internet ads. The ad slogans are "Wii would like to play" and "Experience a new way to play." These ads ran starting November 15, 2006 and had a total budget of over US$200 million throughout the year.[61] The productions are Nintendo's first broad-based advertising strategy and include a two-minute video clip showing a varied assortment of people enjoying the Wii system, such as urban apartment-dwellers, country ranchers, grandparents, and parents with their children. The music in the ads is from the song "Kodo (Inside the Sun Remix)" by the Yoshida Brothers.[62] The marketing campaign has proved to be successful: pensioners as old as 103 have been reported to be playing the Wii in the United Kingdom.[63] A report by the British newspaper The People also stated that Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain has played using the console.The Wii is Nintendo's smallest home console to date; it measures 44 mm (1.73 in) wide, 157 mm (6.18 in) tall and 215.4 mm (8.48 in) deep in its vertical orientation, the near-equivalent of three DVD cases stacked together. The included stand measures 55.4 mm (2.18 in) wide, 44 mm (1.73 in) tall and 225.6 mm (8.88 in) deep. The system weighs 1.2 kg (2.7 lb),[65] which makes it the lightest of the three major seventh generation consoles. The console can be placed either horizontally or vertically. The prefix for the numbering scheme of the system and its parts and accessories is "RVL-" after its project code name of "Revolution".[66] The console also features a recurring theme or design: the console itself, SD cards, the power supply and all the sockets have one of their corners chipped off in a triangular fashion.
The front of the console features an illuminated slot-loading optical media drive that accepts both 12 cm Wii Optical Discs and Nintendo GameCube Game Discs. The blue light in the disc slot illuminates briefly when the console is turned on and pulsates when new data is received through WiiConnect24. After firmware update 3.0, the disc slot light activates whenever a Wii disc is inserted or ejected. When there is no WiiConnect24 information, the light stays off. The disc slot light remains off during gameplay or when using other features. Two USB ports are located at its rear. An SD card slot hides behind the cover on the front of the console. The SD card can be used for uploading photos as well as backing up saved game data and downloaded Virtual Console games. To use the SD slot for transferring game saves, an update must be installed. An installation can be initiated from the Wii options menu through an Internet connection, or by inserting a game disc containing the updated firmware. Virtual Console data cannot be restored to any system except the unit of origin.[67] An SD card can also be used to create customized in-game music from stored MP3 files, as first shown in Excite Truck, as well as music for the slideshow feature of the Photo Channel. Version 1.1 of the Photo Channel removed MP3 playback in favor of AAC support.
Nintendo has shown the console and the Wii Remote in white, black, silver, lime green, and red,[68][69] but it is currently available only in white. Shigeru Miyamoto stated that other colors would become available after the easing of supply limitations.[70]
The Wii launch package includes the console, a stand to allow the console to be placed vertically, a circular clear stabilizer for the main stand, one Wii Remote, one Nunchuk attachment, one Sensor Bar, a removable stand for the bar, one external main power adapter, two AA batteries, one composite AV cable with RCA connectors, a SCART adapter in European countries (component video and other types of cables are available separately), operation documentation, and, in all regions except Japan and South Korea, a copy of the game Wii Sports.
The Wii can be hacked to enable an owner to use the console for activities other than those intended by Nintendo.[71] Several brands of modchips are available for the Wii.
Nintendo plans to release a version of the console with DVD-Video playback capabilities. This new model will use the CinePlayer CE DVD Navigator software engine by Sonic Solutions.[72] After announcing the DVD version for 2007, Nintendo delayed its release to focus on producing the original console to meet demand.[73] Although software will be used to enable DVD-Video functionality, Nintendo has stated that it "requires more than a firmware upgrade" to implement and that the functionality would be unavailable as an upgrade option for the existing Wii model.[72] Despite Nintendo's assertion that a firmware update would be unable to provide DVD playback to existing Wii consoles, a homebrew DVD player was released for the original Wii.[74]
At the Nintendo Fall Press Conference on October 2008, Satoru Iwata announced that Wii owners would have the option to download WiiWare and Virtual Console content directly onto an SD card. The option would offer an alternative to "address the console's insufficient memory storage". The feature will become available in Japan in the spring of 2009The Wii Remote is the primary controller for the console. It uses 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 design allows users to control the game using physical gestures as well as traditional button presses. The controller connects to the console using Bluetooth and features rumble as well as an internal speaker. The Wii Remote can connect to expansion devices through a proprietary port at the base of the controller. The device bundled with the Wii retail package is the Nunchuk unit, which features an accelerometer and a traditional analog stick with two trigger buttons. In addition, an attachable wrist strap can be used to prevent the player from unintentionally dropping or throwing the Wii Remote. In response to incidents of strap failure, Nintendo is offering a free, stronger replacement for all straps.[76] Nintendo has also since offered the Wii Remote Jacket to provide extra grip and protection.Nintendo has released few technical details regarding the Wii system, but some key facts have leaked through the press. Though none of these reports has been officially confirmed, they generally point to the console as being an extension or advancement of the Nintendo GameCube architecture. More specifically, the reported analyses state that the Wii is roughly 1.5 to 2 times as powerful as its predecessor.[1][77] Based on the leaked specifications, the Wii is the least powerful of the major home consoles in its generation. The Wii uses a storage system similar to the GameCube, which uses "block" units rather than bytes. The conversion from blocks to bytes is roughly 8.12 blocks to one megabyte
As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of both.[8] The Financial Times reported that as of September 12, 2007, the Wii is the sales leader of its generation, based on sales figures from Enterbrain, NPD Group, and GfK.[9]
The Wii is Nintendo's fifth home console, the direct successor to the Nintendo GameCube, and able to play all official GameCube games. Nintendo first spoke of the console at the 2004 E3 press conference and later unveiled the system at the 2005 E3. Satoru Iwata revealed a prototype of the controller at the September 2005 Tokyo Game Show.[10] At E3 2006, the console won the first of several awards.[11] By December 8, 2006, it had completed its launch in four key markets.The console was conceived in 2001, as the Nintendo GameCube was first seeing release. According to an interview with Nintendo's game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, the concept involved focusing on a new form of player interaction. "The consensus was that power isn't everything for a console. Too many powerful consoles can't coexist. It's like having only ferocious dinosaurs. They might fight and hasten their own extinction."[12]
Two years later, engineers and designers were brought together to develop the concept further. By 2005, the controller interface had taken form, but a public showing at that year's E3 was withdrawn. Miyamoto stated that, "[W]e had some troubleshooting to do. So we decided not to reveal the controller and instead we displayed just the console."[12] Nintendo president Satoru Iwata later unveiled and demonstrated the Wii Remote at the September Tokyo Game Show.[10]
The Nintendo DS is said to have influenced the Wii design. Designer Ken'ichiro Ashida noted, "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 eventually rejected, with the notion that the two gaming systems would be identical. Miyamoto also expressed that, "[I]f the DS had flopped, we might have taken the Wii back to the drawing board."[12]
Nintendo has attributed the success of the Wii to the ideas presented in the business strategy book Blue Ocean Strategy.[13] Within the context of a Blue Ocean Strategy analysis, the key factors of the Wii reflect what is termed the "Six Path Framework" described within the book. While Nintendo has not publicly released the factors used, it is believed that they include "price", "movie playing", "graphics", "physics", "fun", "game library", and "magic wand". Applying the Four Actions Framework would eliminate movie playing, reduce graphics and physics, raise fun and the game library, and lead to the creation of their "magic wand": the Wii RemoteThe console was known by the code name of "Revolution" until April 27, 2006, immediately prior to E3.[15] According to the Nintendo Style Guide, the name "is simply Wii, not Nintendo Wii." This means it is the first home console Nintendo has marketed outside of Japan without the company name featured in its trademark. While "Wiis" is a commonly used pluralization of the console, Nintendo has stated that the official plural form is "Wii systems" or "Wii consoles."[16] Nintendo's spelling of "Wii" with two lower-case "i" characters is meant to resemble two people standing side by side, representing players gathering together, as well as to represent the Wii Remote and Nunchuk.[17] The company has given many reasons for this choice of name since the announcement; however, the best known is:
“
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. No need to abbreviate. Just Wii.[17]
”
Despite Nintendo's justification for the name, some video game developers and members of the press reacted negatively towards the change. They preferred "Revolution" over "Wii"[18] and expressed fear "that the name would convey a continued sense of 'kidiness' [sic] to the console."[19] The BBC reported the day after the name was announced that "a long list of puerile jokes, based on the name," had appeared on the Internet.[20] Nintendo of America's president Reggie Fils-Aime acknowledged the initial reaction and further explained the change:
“
Revolution as a name is not ideal; it's long, and in some cultures, it's hard to pronounce. So we wanted something that was short, to the point, easy to pronounce, and distinctive. That's how 'Wii,' as a console name, was created.[21]
”
Nintendo of America's then-VP of Corporate Affairs Perrin Kaplan defended its choice of "Wii" over "Revolution" and responded to critics of the name by stating, "Live with it, sleep with it, eat with it, move along with it and hopefully they'll arrive at the same place."[22]On September 14, 2006, Nintendo announced release information for Japan, North and South America, Australasia (Oceania), Asia and Europe, including dates, prices, and projected unit distribution numbers. It was announced that the majority of the 2006 shipments would be allotted to the Americas,[23][dead link] and that 33 titles would be available in the 2006 launch window.[24] The United Kingdom suffered a large shortage of console units as many high-street and online stores were unable to fulfill all pre-orders when it was released on December 8, 2006.[25] Some UK stores still had a shortage of consoles as of March 2007,[26] demand still outpaced supply in the United States as of June 2007,[27] and the console "selling out almost as quickly as it hits retail shelves" in Canada as of April 2008.[28][29]
The Wii was launched in South Korea on April 26, 2008, in Taiwan on July 12, 2008[30] and will be released in China sometime in 2008.Since its launch, the monthly sales numbers of the console have been higher than its competitors across the globe. According to the NPD Group, the Wii sold more units in the United States than the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 combined in the first half of 2007.[34] This lead is even larger in the Japanese market, where it currently leads in total sales, having outsold both consoles by factors of 2:1[35] to 6:1[36] nearly every week from launch until November 2007.[37] In Australia, the Wii exceeded the record set by the Xbox 360 to become the fastest selling games console in Australian history.[38]
On September 12, 2007, it was reported by the Financial Times that the Wii had surpassed the Xbox 360, which was released one year previously, and had become the market leader in home console sales for the current generation, based on sales figures from Enterbrain, NPD Group, and GfK.[9] This is the first time a Nintendo console has led its generation in sales since the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.[9] Nintendo warned that the Wii would remain in short supply throughout 2007,[39] while the company produces approximately 1.8 million Wii consoles each month.[40]
In 2007, the Wii was the second best-selling game console (behind the Nintendo DS) in the US and Japan with 6.29 million and 3,629,361 units sold respectively, according to the NPD Group and Enterbrain.[41][42][43][44] During the same year, the Wii had outsold the PlayStation 3 by 3:1 in Japan, while the Xbox 360 had sold 257,841 units in that region that year, according to Enterbrain.[45][46] In Europe, the Wii sold 0.7 million units in 2006 and 4.8 million in 2007 according to estimates by Electronic Arts.[47][48] Prior to the release of the NPD Group's video game statistics for January 2008, the Wii has been ahead of the Xbox 360 and PS3 in US sales in most months since the Wii and PS3 were released, according to data by the NPD Group.[49] In the United States, the Wii has sold 10.9 million units as of July 1, 2008, making it the leader in current-generation home console sales, surpassing the Xbox 360 which was released a year prior to the Wii,[50] according to the NPD Group.[51]
In Japan, the Wii had surpassed the number of Nintendo GameCube units sold by January 2008;[43] the Wii has sold 6.67 million units as of September 1, 2008, according to Enterbrain.[52] According to the NPD Group, the Wii surpassed the Xbox 360 to become the best-selling "next generation" home video game console in Canada with 813,000 units sold by April 1, 2008, and was the best-selling home console for 13 of the past 17 months;[28][29] in the first six months of 2008, the Wii has sold 318,000 units in Canada, outselling its nearest competitor, the PlayStation 3, almost 2:1.[53] According to the NPD Group, the Wii has sold a total of 1,060,000 units in Canada as of August 1, 2008, making it the first current generation home console to surpass the million unit mark in that country; in the first seven months of 2008, the Wii outsold the PS3 and the Xbox 360 combined with 376,000 units sold in Canada.[54] In the United Kingdom, the Wii leads in current generation home console sales with 3.6 million units sold as of September 2008, according to GfK Chart-Track.[55][56] Nintendo anticipates worldwide sales of the Wii to reach 50 million units by March 2009.[57]
While Microsoft and Sony have experienced losses producing their consoles in the hopes of making a long-term profit on software sales, Nintendo reportedly has optimized production costs to obtain a significant profit margin with each Wii unit sold.[58] According to the Financial Times, this direct profit per Wii sold may vary from $13 in Japan to $49 in the United States and $79 in Europe.[59]Nintendo hopes to target a wider demographic with its console than that of others in the seventh generation.[8] At a press conference for the upcoming Nintendo DS game Dragon Quest IX in December 2006, Satoru Iwata insisted "We're not thinking about fighting Sony, but about how many people we can get to play games. The thing we're thinking about most is not portable systems, consoles, and so forth, but that we want to get new people playing games."[60]
This is reflected in Nintendo's series of television advertisements in North America, directed by Academy Award winner Stephen Gaghan, as well as Internet ads. The ad slogans are "Wii would like to play" and "Experience a new way to play." These ads ran starting November 15, 2006 and had a total budget of over US$200 million throughout the year.[61] The productions are Nintendo's first broad-based advertising strategy and include a two-minute video clip showing a varied assortment of people enjoying the Wii system, such as urban apartment-dwellers, country ranchers, grandparents, and parents with their children. The music in the ads is from the song "Kodo (Inside the Sun Remix)" by the Yoshida Brothers.[62] The marketing campaign has proved to be successful: pensioners as old as 103 have been reported to be playing the Wii in the United Kingdom.[63] A report by the British newspaper The People also stated that Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain has played using the console.The Wii is Nintendo's smallest home console to date; it measures 44 mm (1.73 in) wide, 157 mm (6.18 in) tall and 215.4 mm (8.48 in) deep in its vertical orientation, the near-equivalent of three DVD cases stacked together. The included stand measures 55.4 mm (2.18 in) wide, 44 mm (1.73 in) tall and 225.6 mm (8.88 in) deep. The system weighs 1.2 kg (2.7 lb),[65] which makes it the lightest of the three major seventh generation consoles. The console can be placed either horizontally or vertically. The prefix for the numbering scheme of the system and its parts and accessories is "RVL-" after its project code name of "Revolution".[66] The console also features a recurring theme or design: the console itself, SD cards, the power supply and all the sockets have one of their corners chipped off in a triangular fashion.
The front of the console features an illuminated slot-loading optical media drive that accepts both 12 cm Wii Optical Discs and Nintendo GameCube Game Discs. The blue light in the disc slot illuminates briefly when the console is turned on and pulsates when new data is received through WiiConnect24. After firmware update 3.0, the disc slot light activates whenever a Wii disc is inserted or ejected. When there is no WiiConnect24 information, the light stays off. The disc slot light remains off during gameplay or when using other features. Two USB ports are located at its rear. An SD card slot hides behind the cover on the front of the console. The SD card can be used for uploading photos as well as backing up saved game data and downloaded Virtual Console games. To use the SD slot for transferring game saves, an update must be installed. An installation can be initiated from the Wii options menu through an Internet connection, or by inserting a game disc containing the updated firmware. Virtual Console data cannot be restored to any system except the unit of origin.[67] An SD card can also be used to create customized in-game music from stored MP3 files, as first shown in Excite Truck, as well as music for the slideshow feature of the Photo Channel. Version 1.1 of the Photo Channel removed MP3 playback in favor of AAC support.
Nintendo has shown the console and the Wii Remote in white, black, silver, lime green, and red,[68][69] but it is currently available only in white. Shigeru Miyamoto stated that other colors would become available after the easing of supply limitations.[70]
The Wii launch package includes the console, a stand to allow the console to be placed vertically, a circular clear stabilizer for the main stand, one Wii Remote, one Nunchuk attachment, one Sensor Bar, a removable stand for the bar, one external main power adapter, two AA batteries, one composite AV cable with RCA connectors, a SCART adapter in European countries (component video and other types of cables are available separately), operation documentation, and, in all regions except Japan and South Korea, a copy of the game Wii Sports.
The Wii can be hacked to enable an owner to use the console for activities other than those intended by Nintendo.[71] Several brands of modchips are available for the Wii.
Nintendo plans to release a version of the console with DVD-Video playback capabilities. This new model will use the CinePlayer CE DVD Navigator software engine by Sonic Solutions.[72] After announcing the DVD version for 2007, Nintendo delayed its release to focus on producing the original console to meet demand.[73] Although software will be used to enable DVD-Video functionality, Nintendo has stated that it "requires more than a firmware upgrade" to implement and that the functionality would be unavailable as an upgrade option for the existing Wii model.[72] Despite Nintendo's assertion that a firmware update would be unable to provide DVD playback to existing Wii consoles, a homebrew DVD player was released for the original Wii.[74]
At the Nintendo Fall Press Conference on October 2008, Satoru Iwata announced that Wii owners would have the option to download WiiWare and Virtual Console content directly onto an SD card. The option would offer an alternative to "address the console's insufficient memory storage". The feature will become available in Japan in the spring of 2009The Wii Remote is the primary controller for the console. It uses 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 design allows users to control the game using physical gestures as well as traditional button presses. The controller connects to the console using Bluetooth and features rumble as well as an internal speaker. The Wii Remote can connect to expansion devices through a proprietary port at the base of the controller. The device bundled with the Wii retail package is the Nunchuk unit, which features an accelerometer and a traditional analog stick with two trigger buttons. In addition, an attachable wrist strap can be used to prevent the player from unintentionally dropping or throwing the Wii Remote. In response to incidents of strap failure, Nintendo is offering a free, stronger replacement for all straps.[76] Nintendo has also since offered the Wii Remote Jacket to provide extra grip and protection.Nintendo has released few technical details regarding the Wii system, but some key facts have leaked through the press. Though none of these reports has been officially confirmed, they generally point to the console as being an extension or advancement of the Nintendo GameCube architecture. More specifically, the reported analyses state that the Wii is roughly 1.5 to 2 times as powerful as its predecessor.[1][77] Based on the leaked specifications, the Wii is the least powerful of the major home consoles in its generation. The Wii uses a storage system similar to the GameCube, which uses "block" units rather than bytes. The conversion from blocks to bytes is roughly 8.12 blocks to one megabyte
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