Nintendo Wii preview video

[Comrade]

I liked this one better, did they scap it?

The image above has been resized. Click on it to see the full version.

I haven't heard anything about it recently, but the one I showed was clearly meant for the Virtual Console. I imagine they'll keep that GC/N64 style one around for people who prefer it.

[Mr. Oobir]

I liked this one better, did they scap it?

[image snipped]

That was a mockup by IGN of what the classic/shell controller might look like. The Classic controller is the actual product. I've also heard rumors that the Classic has clips on the back to hook on the main remote. Anyway, if you have a GameCube controller at home, I think that can be used with Virtual Console games and other retail products (like the next Super Smash Bros.)

I think that now, with the Wii remote technology, something like the Power Glove wouldn't be a bad idea. Especially two of them with a boxing game...

Either way, I'm picking up a Wii on day one.

[Matt]

i'm really pumped to see the games that developers will come up with on the Wii. the graphics race between playstation and xbox never really interested me. i'm glad nintendo's being innovative with this console generation.

i definitely won't get the system when it's first released, but maybe when Nintendo makes its first price drop.

[Fool]

That was a mockup by IGN of what the classic/shell controller might look like. The Classic controller is the actual product. I've also heard rumors that the Classic has clips on the back to hook on the main remote. Anyway, if you have a GameCube controller at home, I think that can be used with Virtual Console games and other retail products (like the next Super Smash Bros.)

I think that now, with the Wii remote technology, something like the Power Glove wouldn't be a bad idea. Especially two of them with a boxing game...

Either way, I'm picking up a Wii on day one.

I didn't know it was a mockup and I had forgotten about the 4 Game Cube controller ports that are supposed to be on the system, thanks.

[Fool]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14833055/
Nintendo Wii to hit U.S. stores Nov. 19
Video-game giant says successor to GameCube will cost $250

NEW YORK - Nintendo Co. announced Thursday that its Wii game console will go on sale in the U.S. on Nov. 19 for $250, hoping that like its plucky game character Mario, it will be able to take on the gorillas of the market: rival products from Sony and Microsoft.The Wii, which is about the size of a large paperback book, is both cheaper and smaller than Sony Corp.'s much-awaited PlayStation 3, which launches just two days earlier with $500 and $600 models.
The Wii (pronounced "wee") is the successor to Nintendo's GameCube, the third-best selling console of its generation after the PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox. Nintendo's Game Boy and DS are dominant in the market for portable game machines, but the company hasn't been a market leader in consoles since the early 1990s.

The company had promised to launch the Wii sometime in the last quarter of this year. By bringing it out on time, it's avoiding Sony's embarrassing PlayStation 3 delays.
The Wii breaks the mold of console controllers: It's a slim wand that communicates the user's movements wirelessly to the main machine. Nintendo demonstrated a bowling game in which the player swings the wand like he's throwing a ball down the lane. The wand relies in part on a sensor bar that needs to be installed, with tape or other means, on the front of the TV set, adding somewhat to the complexity of the setup. WTF? Tape?


Nintendo hopes the innovative controller, small size, low price and popular game franchises like Mario Brothers and Zelda will recruit new players to console gaming.
"The next step in gaming is bringing gaming to the masses," said Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime.
Nintendo plans to ship 4 million Wii units this year, with the largest share going to the Americas. By comparison, Sony expects to ship only 2 million PlayStation 3 units this year.

In a somewhat unusual move for the launch of a Japanese product, the Wii will go on sale in Japan two weeks after the U.S. launch.
"The release date is clearly a stab at Sony," said Ricardo Torres, editor at GameSpot.com. He believes Nintendo feels it can count on a positive reception in Japan, where its portable game players far outsell Sony's rival PSP.



Fils-Aime dismissed the notion that the release date had anything to do with Sony, saying the reason for the earlier launch is that the U.S. holiday shopping season starts before Japan's.
Nintendo is taking a gamble by putting out a console less powerful than the Xbox 360, which has been on the market since last year. The PlayStation 3 also will far surpass the Wii in rendering games in high-resolution, realistic graphics.
"We have a different paradigm for what turns on the consumer," Fils-Aime said. "If you want power, frankly, you're going to go somewhere else."
In particular, the Wii won't render high-definition video output. It's limited to a resolution slightly higher than that of standard TV. Nintendo is betting that HDTVs are still not common enough to be a major factor for people buying a game console. (That doesn't sound like a good theory)

However, some other features of the Wii will match the "big" consoles. It will be able to access the Internet if the user has a wireless network in the home, or buys an optional wired adapter. Through the connection, the user can retrieve weather and news reports, and download earlier games for earlier Nintendo consoles like "Donkey Kong." Those games will cost between $5 and $10.
Nintendo plans to provide games that let players connect to other players online, but none of the approximately 30 titles that will launch this year will have online play.

[Fool]

http://wii.ign.com/articles/732/732669p1.html
US Wii Price, Launch Date Revealed
The news we've all been waiting for.

September 13, 2006 - (This story has been updated with new and clarified information from Nintendo's North American presentation.)
Nintendo fans finally have a price and release date for the company's new generation console, Wii. The Big N has officially announced that the system will hit retail in North and South America for $249.99 on November 19. The New York Times initially published the story and seems, in fact, to have beaten Nintendo Co. Ltd with the news. Nintendo's Wii console will come packaged with one Wii remote, one nunchuck attachment, an AC Adapter, an audio/video cable, a sensor bar, sensor bar stand, a Wii console stand, and two batteries. The US package will also come bundled with a copy of Wii Sports, a compilation sports game that best shows off the mechanics of the system's unique controller. Wii Sports features tennis, baseball, golf, and previously-unannounced bowling and boxing games.
Nintendo said it would provide Wii owners with more than 25 unique games this year.

Wii's much-talked-about Virtual Console download service, which enables gamers to purchase classic games, will offer a library of some 30 titles by the end of the year. Titles will include entries from the Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong franchises, Nintendo said. Virtual Console games will cost between $5 and $10 each. Specifically, Nintendo Co. Ltd. announced that Virtual Console games would cost 500 yen ($5), 800 yen ($8) or 1,000 yen ($10); we're presuming these prices are for NES, SNES, and N64 games respectively.

The Big N confirmed that it would charge $49.99 for its new Wii games, which is $10 cheaper than the cost of typical Xbox 360 titles. (Please note that this price is for first-party games; prices have not been announced for third-party Wii games -- publishers are free to set their own prices on Wii titles.)


Nintendo revealed that Wii's various controllers would be available to buy separately at launch. The Wii remote will cost $39.99; the nunchuck $19.99 and the classic controller about $20.

In a surprise announcement, Nintendo said that it wanted to make Wii a living room centerpiece by shipping the system with features outside of the videogame realm. Wii will include a photo channel, enabling users to display their digital photos through the console. It will also boast regularly updated news and weather channels. In addition, the Opera browser will be available for the system, enabling users to access the web with the console.


One of the channels available on Wii is called the "Mii Channel." Here, players can customize avatars by selecting from a variety of face shapes, hair styles, color schemes, and so on. The hook is that these avatars can not only be stored on the console itself, they can also be transferred to the Wii remote itself -- presumably so players can easily access their personalized characters and take them with them when playing against friends.


Sony recently announced that it would ready 400,000 PS3s in North America and another 100,000 in Japan for the system's launch. Nintendo said it plans to ship 4 million Wii units worldwide by the end of the year.
Nintendo will launch Wii in Japan on December 2 of this year for 25,000 yen, the company revealed. North America will get the system first.
Nintendo of Japan has added an amazing breakdown of the Wii's various interfaces to its overseas website. Everything is in Japanese, but the videos speak for themselves. Readers can check the site directory for a 14-page walkthrough of the system's ambitious features. Included in the list of options are demonstrations of the weather forecast, Mii, and photo channels. The forecast launches a virtual globe that can be spun in any direction. In the photo channel, users can load hundreds of their favorite photos and edit them in real-time. It's possible to message friends with Mii character profiles and to send pictures in messages. And the videos demonstrate surfing the Web with Wii's Opera browser. These are absolute must-see videos.

[UxKa]

kinda sucks that the IR sensor will have to be 'taped', or on a stand as the second article implies. the really early previews i saw had the sensor on the Wii itself, which sounds like a better idea to me. also sounds like a lot of the pre-preview stuff i saw wont be available... dvd burner, making games, VR helmet. at least it is cheap, and i bet it wont have issues like microsoft and sony initially do rushing their systems out the door.

[Fool]

That VR helmet vid was a fake btw. It was done well though.

[Moodini31]

I just watched that Wii preview video for the first time, and I gotta admit, I'm really feeling it. I seriously got a big smile on my face watching that cat swing the controller and hit a homerun out of the park. Awesome!

I said I was going to be an exclusive 360 gamer, but I see now that I will own every system on the market again. It may take me a little more time to round up all of them this gen though. ($$$$$$$$)

[DrRay11]

I said I was going to be an exclusive 360 gamer, but I see now that I will own every system on the market again. It may take me a little more time to round up all of them this gen though. ($$$$$$$$)

Yeah, same here. Fucking money.