The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generationconsole, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographicthan that of the two others.  As of January 2011, the Wii leads the generation over the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in worldwide sales, and in December 2009 broke the record for best-selling console in a single month in the United States.

A distinguishing feature of the console is its wireless controller, the Wii Remote, which can be used as a handheld pointing device and detects movement inthree dimensions. Another distinctive feature of the console is WiiConnect24, which enables it to receive messages and updates over the Internet while instandby mode.

The Wii is Nintendo’s fifth home console and the direct successor of the Nintendo GameCube, being fully backwardly compatible with all Gamecube games and most accessories. Nintendo first spoke of the console at the 2004 E3 press conference and later unveiled the system at the 2005 E3. Nintendo CEOSatoru Iwata revealed a prototype of the controller at the September 2005 Tokyo Game Show. At E3 2006, the console won the first of several awards. By December 8, 2006, it had completed its launch in four key markets.

Name

The console was known by the code name of “Revolution” until April 27, 2006, immediately prior to E3. The Nintendo Style Guide refers to the console as “simply Wii, not Nintendo Wii”, making it 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.” 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. The company has given many reasons for this choice of name since the announcement; however, the best known is:

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” and Forbes expressed fear “that the name would convey a continued sense of ‘kidiness’ [sic] to the console.” 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. Nintendo of America’s president Reggie Fils-Aime acknowledged the initial reaction and further explained the change:

Nintendo of America’s then-Vice President 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.”

Hardware

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, slightly larger than 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), 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 code name of “Revolution”. The console also features a recurring design theme: the console itself, 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 the update that includes System Menu 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 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, oneNunchuk 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, aSCART 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 disc reader of the Wii does not play DVD-Video or DVD-Audio discs. A 2006 announcement had stated a new version of the Wii capable of DVD-Video playback would be released in 2007; however Nintendo delayed its release to focus on producing the original console to meet demand. Nintendo’s initial announcement stated that it “requires more than a firmware upgrade” to implement and that the functionality could not be made available as an upgrade option for the existing Wii model. Despite this assertion, third parties have used Wii homebrew to add DVD playback to the original unmodified Wii units. The Wii also can be hacked to enable an owner to use the console for other activities than those intended by Nintendo. Several brands of modchips are available for the Wii.

Although Nintendo showed the console and the Wii Remote in white, black, silver, lime green, and red before it was released, it had only been available in white for its first two and a half years of sales. Black systems were made available in Japan in August 2009, in Europe in November 2009, and in North America on May 9, 2010. A red Wii system bundle was made available in Japan on November 11, 2010, commemorating the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. The UK version of the limited edition red Wii was released on October 29, 2010, preloaded with the original Donkey Kong game. It also featured the Wii Remote Plus, which is a new version of the controller with integrated Wii Motion Plus technology. The red Wii bundle was released in North America on November 7, 2010 bundled with New Super Mario Bros. Wii and the Wii Remote Plus.

On July 11, 2007, Nintendo revealed the Wii Balance Board at E3 2007 along with Wii Fit. It is a wireless balance board accessory for the Wii that contains multiple pressure sensors used to measure the user’s center of balance. Namco Bandai produced a mat controller, a simpler less sophisticated competitor to the balance board, that connects to the GameCube controller port.

Wii Remote

The 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 aproprietary 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 traditionalanalog 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. Nintendo has also since offered a stronger strap and the Wii Remote Jacket to provide extra grip and protection. The Wii MotionPlus was announced as a device that connects to the Wii Remote to supplement the accelerometer and Sensor Bar capabilities and enable actions to be rendered identically on the screen in real time. Nintendo also revealed the Wii Vitality Sensor, a fingertip pulse oximeter sensor that connects through the Wii Remote.

Technical Specifications

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][118] Based on the leaked specifications, the Wii is the least powerful of the major home consoles in its generation.

Processors:

• CPU: PowerPC-based “Broadway” processor, made with a 90 nm SOI CMOS process, reportedly†clocked at 729 MHz[119]
• GPU: ATI “Hollywood” GPU made with a 90 nm CMOS process,[120] reportedly† clocked at 243MHz[119]
• “Starlet”, part of the Hollywood package: an ARM926EJ-S processor reportedly† clocked at 243 MHz.[121]

Memory:

• 88 MB main memory (24 MB “internal” 1T-SRAM integrated into graphics package, 64 MB “external” GDDR3 SDRAM)[122]
• 3 MB embedded GPU texture memory and framebuffer.

Ports and peripheral capabilities:

• Up to 16 Wii Remote controllers (10 in Standard Mode, 6 in One Time Mode,[123] connected wirelessly via Bluetooth)
• Nintendo GameCube controller ports (4)
• Nintendo GameCube Memory Card slots (2)
• SD memory card slot (supports SDHC cards as of System Menu 4.0)
• USB 2.0 ports (2)
• Sensor Bar power port
• Accessory port on bottom of Wii Remote
• Optional USB keyboard input in message board, Wii Shop Channel, and the Internet Channel (as of 3.0 and 3.1 firmware update)[124]
• Mitsumi DWM-W004 WiFi 802.11b/g wireless module[125]
• Compatible with optional USB 2.0 to Ethernet LAN adapter
• ‘AV Multi Out’ port (See ‘Video’ section right)

Built-in content ratings systems:

• BBFC, CERO, ESRB, ACB, OFLC (NZ), PEGI, USK

Storage:

• 512 MB built-in NAND flash memory
• Expanded storage via SD and SDHC card memory (up to 32 GB)
• Nintendo GameCube Memory Card (required for GameCube game saves)
• Slot-loading disc drive compatible with 8 cm Nintendo GameCube Game Disc and 12 cm Wii Optical Disc
• Mask ROM by Macronix

Video:

• Custom ‘AV Multi Out’ port supporting composite video,[127] component video, S-Video (NTSC only) and RGB SCART (PAL only)
• 480p (PAL/NTSC), 480i (NTSC) or 576i (PAL/SECAM), standard 4:3 and 16:9 anamorphic widescreen

Audio:

• Main: Stereo – Dolby Pro Logic II-capable
• Controller: Built-in speaker

Power consumption:

• 18 watts when switched on
• 9.6 watts in standby with WiiConnect24 standby connection
• 1.3 watts in standby

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