Nintendo’s upcoming games console, the Wii, will launch in Australia on December 7 at AUD $399.95. The press release just came into my inbox at 9.14pm – a few minutes ago as this is being blogged! Details below…

Aimed at the mass market more than ever before, with the intuitive ‘Wii Remote’ controller which lets you interact with your games as never before, the Wii console offers some very interesting and compelling competition to the Xbox 360 and the as-yet unreleased Sony PS3.  

The price includes the console itself, one wireless Wii Remote controller, one Nunchuk™ controller that connects to the base of the Wii Remote, and what Nintendo calls a “groundbreaking collection of five different Wii Sports games on one disc, which anyone can play using simple movements, experienced or not”.

The Wii’s on-screen menu aims to make gaming an inviting and enjoyable experience for anyone of just about any age using a series of on-screen “channels” that make up the Wii Channel Menu. It’s also the starting point for all of the console’s functions. The interface is simple, letting users pick games to play, get news or weather (when connected to the Internet as many games consoles are these days), view and send photos or even create playable caricatures of themselves to use in actual games. Additional functions allow users to redeem Wii Points and download classic games to Wii’s Virtual Console.

Nintendo is hoping that the variety of options available through the Wii Channel Menu will motivate gamers and non-gamers to turn on Wii’s power every day.

The Wii remote is certainly clever – it’s a first-of-its-kind controller whose position can be detected in a 3-D space. The new controller allows users to pinpoint targets in games or move through the Wii Channel Menu with precision and ease, and is meant to be picked up and used – Nintendo says that it will be understood immediately by everyone, regardless of their previous experience with video games, and this will make gaming more intense, and fun, than is possible by mashing buttons (pressing them repeatedly) on the type of controller we’re used to seeing with games consoles.

An example is the Wii Sports tennis game where you swing the Wii Remote like a racquet to hit the ball, as in real life. You can add topspin or slice the ball just by angling your hands and wrist like you would in a real match.

20 software titles will be available from the launch date until Dec 31, with more naturally coming next year. Launch titles include Wii Sports, a compilation of tennis, baseball, golf, bowling and boxing and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Wii’s self-loading media bay also can play the entire library of hundreds of Nintendo GameCube titles from day one, while the ‘Wii Virtual Console’ will provide downloadable access to hundreds of older games from Nintendo’s previous console systems.

Serious gamers will end up owning all three major consoles, and a PC, but the Nintendo Wii is shaping up to be the one console you can safely buy for anyone, from kids, to gaming loving teens, adults and even your Grandmother. Will you be getting her one this Christmas? :-)

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Entry was posted on Friday, September 15th, 2006 at 10:30 pm under Technology.

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