Is the Wii Worth the Wait?

By Lyle Roser

The Nintendo Wii is the most difficult to find video of game consoles. I have personally looked for over a year before I finally found and purchased one. However, I am not at all disappointed. The Wii has tons of great features at a great price.

The most obvious feature of the Wii is the motion sensor controller. Trust me; it is far from a gimmick. In the right hands the controller can be used to create video game magic. It is an innovative way of interacting with your games. Also, the controller is completely wireless. Once controllers are synced with the Wii, they will instantly connect to it with the press of a button. You can even turn on the Wii remotely with the press of a button. The remote also has rumble and a speaker. All of these features make them a huge step forward in gaming. It is amazing how much Nintendo packed into such a small and economic package.

Another great feature of the Wii is its built-in storage. You do not have to worry about buying a memory card, which never seems to have enough space. The Wii divides this storage into blocks, which are just the unit of hard drive space. A game typically uses a few blocks and with 2200 available, the average user will have plenty of space.

The Wii also features “Miis,” which are virtual avatars that players can create in their image. They can be used in games like Wii Sports and Super Mario Galaxy to keep track of your stats and saves. Also, playing as your Mii in Wii Sports adds a level of emersion into the game.

The Wii also features what are called Channels, which can do all kinds of things. They are like television channels, as they have different options on each. For example, one lets you explore a globe and check the weather around the world. There is also a News Channel and that lets you surf the internet with a web browser based on Opera Web Browser. As Nintendo updates the firmware on the Wii, they add new channels to the system, constantly expanding the usefulness of the Wii.

I am also impressed by the look and feel of the console. Its shiny white exterior and shape are really slick looking. It lays down on its side, or on the edge in the included stand. Even though it has a fan, it is nearly silent. Unlike the Xbox 360, which has a large, loud fan, you will easily forget the Wii is on.

Finally, the price of the Wii is one of its best selling points. It is $250 for the console, which comes with the game Wii Sports. Games are just $50, compared to $60 for games on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. The remotes are a little pricey, I have to admit, but they are filled with a lot of features in return. The remote is $40 and the Nunchuck is $20.

The Wii has met my expectations and exceeded them. Nintendo has built a console which is chock full of features and value. It may not have the high powered glitz of the Xbox 360 or Playstation 3, but it makes up for that with charm. I predict that the Wii will continue to sell at an impressive rate and may become one of the most beloved video game consoles ever.