by 9 people |
Introducing the Incredible Nintendo Wii Gaming System
As of November 19th, 2006, the "next-generation" console wars have officially been renamed to the "current-generation" console wars. November 19th marked the release of the Wii, Nintendo's newest console. This came only two days after Sony launched its PlayStation 3 on the 17th. The Wii's release has gamers the world over excited about gaming.
Nintendo is back for another round of the console wars with its Wii (pronounced "we"). After failing to meet expectations with the GameCube, Nintendo has changed its focus and is taking console gaming into a brand new direction. With the Wii, Nintendo aims to attract not only the hardcore gamers, but non-gamers as well. It may sound crazy, but if the recent overwhelming success of its handheld system the DS Lite is any indication, Nintendo may be on to something.
What makes the Wii so special? It isn't its amazing graphics. In fact, its graphics are only minimally superior to that of the original XBOX. What truly has people captivated is the way the games are played. Nintendo has introduced a brand new way of playing games. Gone are the days of button mashing on a joystick or gaming pad. With the Wii, you simply move the wand-like Wii Remote Controller
. Your actions are represented in real time on your television. The controller does have buttons on it, but there are far less of them compared to the XBOX360 and PlayStation3 controllers. Although only the basic games can be played with this remote, the more complex games require you to use a special remote attachment. The Wii Nunchuck Controller
or "nun-chuk" is an attachment that you plug in to the base of the regular remote. It contains an analog stick, as well as two trigger buttons. The nun-chuk's many uses include moving your character, shooting guns, interacting with various objects.
There is another way that the Nintendo Wii is differentiating itself from the other two consoles. It comes with something called the "Virtual Console". In a nutshell, the Virtual Console let's you download games from older gaming systems. Although not every game is available for purchase at this point, Nintendo plans on releasing new titles to its Virtual Console every week. Games from the following consoles will be available: the NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, Sega Genesis, and more. These games are purchased with points. These points can be bought thru the Wii console itself, or at retailers nationwide. Prices range from $5 for NES games to $10 for Nintendo 64 games. A special remote may be purchased to play the games of the Virtual Console. However, the games can also be played with a GameCube controller.
Currently, the Nintendo Wii
retails for $249.99. Included in the box are: the Wii game console, all the necessary wires and adapters, Wii Sports (a game featuring 5 different sports), and two variants of the controller; the regular remote, as well as the nun-chuk remote attachment. Additional remotes are $39.99 and the nun-chuks are sold separately for $19.99. The Wii Classic Controller
, which is used to play Virtual Console games, is also sold for $19.99 each.
If early sales and buzz are any indication, the Wii is, and will continue to be, a smashing hit. Nintendo is not only pleasing its hardcore fans, but catering to the casual and non-gamers as well. This is in stark opposition to Sony and Microsoft, who are mostly going after the hardcore gamers.
Nintendo is back for another round of the console wars with its Wii (pronounced "we"). After failing to meet expectations with the GameCube, Nintendo has changed its focus and is taking console gaming into a brand new direction. With the Wii, Nintendo aims to attract not only the hardcore gamers, but non-gamers as well. It may sound crazy, but if the recent overwhelming success of its handheld system the DS Lite is any indication, Nintendo may be on to something.
What makes the Wii so special? It isn't its amazing graphics. In fact, its graphics are only minimally superior to that of the original XBOX. What truly has people captivated is the way the games are played. Nintendo has introduced a brand new way of playing games. Gone are the days of button mashing on a joystick or gaming pad. With the Wii, you simply move the wand-like Wii Remote Controller. Your actions are represented in real time on your television. The controller does have buttons on it, but there are far less of them compared to the XBOX360 and PlayStation3 controllers. Although only the basic games can be played with this remote, the more complex games require you to use a special remote attachment. The Wii Nunchuck Controller or "nun-chuk" is an attachment that you plug in to the base of the regular remote. It contains an analog stick, as well as two trigger buttons. The nun-chuk's many uses include moving your character, shooting guns, interacting with various objects. There is another way that the Nintendo Wii is differentiating itself from the other two consoles. It comes with something called the "Virtual Console". In a nutshell, the Virtual Console let's you download games from older gaming systems. Although not every game is available for purchase at this point, Nintendo plans on releasing new titles to its Virtual Console every week. Games from the following consoles will be available: the NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, Sega Genesis, and more. These games are purchased with points. These points can be bought thru the Wii console itself, or at retailers nationwide. Prices range from $5 for NES games to $10 for Nintendo 64 games. A special remote may be purchased to play the games of the Virtual Console. However, the games can also be played with a GameCube controller.
Currently, the Nintendo Wii
retails for $249.99. Included in the box are: the Wii game console, all the necessary wires and adapters, Wii Sports (a game featuring 5 different sports), and two variants of the controller; the regular remote, as well as the nun-chuk remote attachment. Additional remotes are $39.99 and the nun-chuks are sold separately for $19.99. The Wii Classic Controller, which is used to play Virtual Console games, is also sold for $19.99 each.If early sales and buzz are any indication, the Wii is, and will continue to be, a smashing hit. Nintendo is not only pleasing its hardcore fans, but catering to the casual and non-gamers as well. This is in stark opposition to Sony and Microsoft, who are mostly going after the hardcore gamers.
What's Your Most Favorite Nintendo Wii Game?
Cast your vote!
Loading poll. Please Wait...
The Legend of Zelda
My unbiased review ;o), Part 1
The Game: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Published by: Nintendo
Developed by: Nintendo
Genre: Third-Person Adventure
Number of Players: 1
Release Date:
US: November 19, 2006
Japan: December 2, 2006
Europe: December 8, 2006
ESRB Content Descriptors: Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence
The Premise from Nintendo:
When an evil darkness enshrouds the land of Hyrule, a young farm boy named Link must awaken the hero - and the animal - within. When Link travels to the Twilight Realm, he transforms into a wolf and must scour the land with the help of a mysterious girl named Midna. Besides his trusty sword and shield, Link will use his bow and arrows by aiming with the Wii Remote controller, fight while on horseback and use a wealth of other items, both new and old.
----------
The Game:
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
is another installment of the world-famous Legend of Zelda franchise. For the first time ever, Nintendo has released a Zelda game for a console's launch. This third-person action adventure builds upon the simple premise of a hero, Link, trying to save Princess Zelda. Sound familiar? If you've ever played a Zelda game in your life, it should. The Legend of Zelda
My unbiased review ;o), Part 2
Gameplay:Like most other Legend of Zelda games, the game starts off very slow. Nintendo does a very good job of building the storyline and its characters. This is a single-player action adventure game; however, you will find a number of interesting mini-games within the game's storyline. The most popular of these being fishing. With the addition of the Wii remote, fishing has gone from a necessary chore in older Zelda games, to fantastic fun. You can easily spend hours simply fishing in Twilight Princess. There are a total of 9 dungeons in this installment of Zelda, each with its own unique set of monsters and bosses. Conservative estimates have put this installment of Zelda to be over 50 hours of gameplay for the main storyline alone. One could easily put in over 100 hours of gameplay if you take the time to do all the quests and play the mini-games. The game sticks to its traditional roots by not having any voice acting. This can be quite a nuisance for some players, but I don't find it a big deal at all.
The Controls:
The Wii remote and nun-chuk are on full display for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Link is controlled using the nun-chuk attachment. A simple flick of the wrist let's you use your sword, and the combination of both remotes lets you use your bow in the most satisfying way of any video game ever. You simply aim, pull back the remote, and fire. The controller also emits the arrows' sound from its internal speaker.
Graphics:
Of all the Nintendo Wii launch games, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
has by far the best graphics. Although it is basically a direct port from the GameCube version, which is scheduled for release later in the year, the graphics are superbly well done.Audio:
Twilight Princess has a fantastic musical score with many classic Zelda chimes. The sound effects are also well done. The internal speaker on the Wii remote is often used and adds a lot to the overall experience.
Pros and Cons:
+ Fantastic story
+ Great puzzles
+ Great level design
+ Incredible graphics
+ Very long
- Very long
Overall:
10 / 10
Spotlight on The Legend of Zelda
How To Set Up The Nintendo Wii
When you first get your Nintendo Wii
console home and open that rather small, compact box, you might find that there are entirely too many pieces for your liking, and that setting up is suddenly a little more daunting than it should be. In all reality, it's an easy matter, and once you get the wires in place, Nintendo makes it a matter of a few quick and easy points of the cursor to get playing.
Most people will choose to place their Wii vertically, with the stand, that slick looking slant we all see on television. For that, you'll need to take the vertical stand and the round piece of plastic and slide them together. These are the basic stands for your Wii, and will slide directly onto the console fairly easily, following the diagram included with your packaging.
Next, you'll want to get all of your wires plugged in. Since the Wii Remote Controller is wireless, you'll only need to worry about the plugs. The AC adaptor and AV plugs are as simple as any other gaming console, plugging directly into the wall and your TV. Make sure to use a grounded socket or power strip to plug it into.
The only other tricky part of installation is the sensor bar. The sensor bar is the long black bar with an incredibly long cord kept separate from the rest of your parts. The sensor bar is basically important for getting a good clean accurate read when you're moving your Wii remote to and fro on the screen. For games like Zelda, where you'll often be aiming with your remote, you'll want accuracy and that's what the sensor bar does for you.
console home and open that rather small, compact box, you might find that there are entirely too many pieces for your liking, and that setting up is suddenly a little more daunting than it should be. In all reality, it's an easy matter, and once you get the wires in place, Nintendo makes it a matter of a few quick and easy points of the cursor to get playing.Most people will choose to place their Wii vertically, with the stand, that slick looking slant we all see on television. For that, you'll need to take the vertical stand and the round piece of plastic and slide them together. These are the basic stands for your Wii, and will slide directly onto the console fairly easily, following the diagram included with your packaging.
Next, you'll want to get all of your wires plugged in. Since the Wii Remote Controller is wireless, you'll only need to worry about the plugs. The AC adaptor and AV plugs are as simple as any other gaming console, plugging directly into the wall and your TV. Make sure to use a grounded socket or power strip to plug it into.The only other tricky part of installation is the sensor bar. The sensor bar is the long black bar with an incredibly long cord kept separate from the rest of your parts. The sensor bar is basically important for getting a good clean accurate read when you're moving your Wii remote to and fro on the screen. For games like Zelda, where you'll often be aiming with your remote, you'll want accuracy and that's what the sensor bar does for you.
How To Set Up The Nintendo Wii
Cont.
Generally, placing it on top of your TV is as good a place as any. It has small, sticky attachments for attaching it and keeping it from sliding off. However, you might find that your TV is too high, possible mounted on the wall. You'll want the sensor bar connected at arm level, the direction in which you'll be pointing your remote when playing. If it's unlikely that you'll aim straight up, it's probably best that you place the sensor bar below the TV, hence the incredibly long cord. You can also purchase a Wii Wireless Sensor Bar
which is a whole lot more convenient.The last step in getting your Wii console ready to play is setting up the remote. The Wii Remote Controller
does take two AA batteries, luckily included with your console. Pop them in. Make sure also that the wrist strap is firmly attached to the remote and is around your wrist. You may have heard horror stories of flying Wii remotes; don't let it happen to you.Now, make sure your remote is synched to your console. On the back panel of your Wii remote, where the batteries are put in, there is a tiny red button. On the front of the console, where the memory card slot is, there's another tiny red button. Press the one on your remote first. An LED will blink on the console. Now press the red button on your console until the LED stops blinking. And you're set to go.
You should be able to press the power button on your remote now and play your brand new Wii console. You might want to run a quick system update upon startup, but if not, you can put a game in and start swinging that remote around.
Hot Nintendo Wii Gear from Amazon.com!
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byWii Exercise: Games That Keep You In Shape
Video games have always been directly associated with sitting on your couch, slumped into a day old spot on your favorite cushion and idly pushing buttons on a blocky controller. But Nintendo has changed the face of gaming by introducing their stand up and swing format with the Wii and its famous Wii Remote Controller.But can the Nintendo Wii really keep you in shape? There are a few games that make it seem so. And for anyone who's seen any of the Wii's hyperactive commercials, you know that some would jump across the room, swinging their remotes wildly when playing Wii Tennis or Boxing.
Some researchers and quick witted marketers have started citing the battle against childhood obesity and the fact that the Wii has its gamers up and moving rather than sitting on the couch as a way to keep the laziest of afterschool gamers in shape. And it seems to be working.
The Wii Sports compilation is probably still the best example of how gamers can get a little workout with their gaming. The motion for Wii Bowling or Wii Boxing almost directly requires that gamers stand up and move their entire body to properly play, and in doing so there's the real possibility of doing some exercise. Some people have even complained of "Wii elbow", a hybrid of sorts between Tennis and Wii exercise.
The effects are amazing though, especially in a time when games are becoming bigger, more intense, and increasingly involving, while failing to engage any kind of interaction outside of two very rapidly calloused thumbs. If you're sitting inside in a snow storm, or are allergic to the pollen that populates nearly every corner of he world come spring time, a Nintendo Wii can actually keep you from packing on too many extra pounds while gaming all day.
Wii Exercise: Games That Keep You In Shape
Cont.
Nintendo Wii Sports Pack is the obvious choice for basic gaming exercise, but what if you've finally burned out on Nintendo's tech demo and the very limited swing and jab of Tennis and Boxing? There are plenty of games that you might not even suspect of giving you a workout. Zelda involves a lot of swinging and slashing every time you run across an enemy, and any good golf game, the best of them all being Nintendo Wii Golf, requires a full windup and swing for every shot, itself a mildly stimulating activity.Nearly every game for the Wii requires the movement and windup of a good workout, and as some have found, it can actually turn into losing weight and staying fit while playing your favorite video game. I personally cannot wait for the release of a Virtua Tennis, Wii Tennis on steroids.
And the best part of all is that if you really don't feel like working out at the moment, it's entirely possible to slouch back into that couch and flick your wrist idly for a while. But, you'll quickly find that playing your Wii without the enthusiasm and physically involved motion with which it was intended is not nearly so fun as it should be.
Nintendo Wii Cheat Saves
The Nintendo Wii Cheat Saves and Media Manager application is a Windows based software utility that allows you to manage Cheat saves, Movies, Music and Photos on your Nintendo Wii SD card(s).
CHEAT SAVES - Includes Virtual Console Functions: Download cheatsaves for the best selling Wii games, N64, SNES and NES Virtual Consolegames. Download, upload, backup, delete and edit game descriptions and save valuable space on your SD card! Upload your best Wii, N64, SNES and NES gamesaves to the Xploder online Community Database to share them with others! Backup Virtual Console games - Copy your Virtual Console games from the Wii to SD card; save space on your Wii and store a back-up safely on the PC.
MOVIES - Convert PC movie files to MJPEG format for Wii playback! Transfer the movie files onto your SD card, then watch them on your bigscreen TV. Formats includes non copy-protected DVDs (VOB), MKV, Xvid, DivX, MPEG 1, M1P, MPEG 2, TS, M2P, WMV, ASF, MP4 and AVI formats.
MUSIC - CD to MP3: Import music CDs and convert to MP3, with auto album, artist and track naming - play MP3s along with your slideshows!
IMAGES - Manage JPEG photo and image files to create the best slideshows on your Wii!
And so much more!
Click here for the HOT Xploder Cheat Saves for the Nintendo Wii!
Where To Stay Up To Date On Wii Shipments
Yo! Tell me what you think!
Holler back!
Be sure to lensroll, bookmark, and rate this lens at the top of the page, too! Thanks for stopping by my "hood!"
johnchan wrote...
Thanks visiting my lens http://www.squidoo.com/nintendo_wii buddy...and here I'm paying respect to yours here. Nice...very nicely done lens on Nintendo Wii...you must be a big fan of Nintendo Wii gaming I can tell. Please keep up the good work!
Posted August 05, 2008
Lensmaster
jessywaite
great lens on the wii, ive got one myself and i love it! nothing is cooler. the display stand that comes with it is great too keeps its up!
http://displaystandworld.com
Posted April 22, 2008
gwkell wrote...
Thanks for the great lens. I'd like more information about Catering Services and Games.
Posted March 02, 2008
MCStylin wrote...
Great Wii lens you have here...a 5 star piece of work!
Feel free to stop by: Wii Video Games lens.
Posted December 24, 2007
Wii Game Review: SSX Blur
Nintendo Wii: Purchasing Tips for a Great Deal
There is always at least one constant in the world of game console launches: shortages. It is no different this time around as all 3 of the big name consoles, the Microsoft XBOX360, the Sony PlayStation3, and the Nintendo Wii, can't seem to keep up with the high demand. Nintendo executives were prepared for potential shortages, and produced millions of consoles for the launch of the Nintendo Wii. What they weren't prepared for was the overwhelming demand for their new console. Nintendo expected to have over 4 million units available worldwide for the launch period. That is from its initial launch on November 19, to Christmas. So far every shipment made from Nintendo to the retailers has sold out within 24 hours of arrival on the store shelves. It may be quite tricky to get your hands on a Wii before Christmas. This article will provide you with some tips with regards to purchasing a Wii.If you go to a retailer and they are out of stock, the first thing you want to do is stay patient. If you missed out on your opportunity to get a Wii during this week's shipment, it's not the end of the world. There will be plenty of Wiis available between now and Christmas. What you don't want to do is get impatient and buy a Wii on eBay for double the price.
Having said that, eBay is definitely the first place to check for deals for the Wii. You will want to avoid any of the "Buy it Now" auctions, as they will charge more than the retail price. What you want to be looking for are regular bid auctions. Make a search for "Wii" sort the auctions by "time remaining". If you are living in the United States, you'll want to display only the results from North America. The reason for this is that there are a lot of scammers on eBay, and these scammers are typically located in Japan or other overseas countries. All this will give you the list of all the Wii auctions ending soonest. What you want to be looking for are auctions where the current bid is lower than the retail price of the Wii. These are the auctions you'll want to be bidding on. One thing to check before bidding is the shipping cost. Some people will deliberately have a low cost, but charge an outrageous amount for shipping. This method does not always work, as there are always plenty of people bidding on the auctions as well. But with a little luck, you may be able to snatch up a Wii for cheap. The same principle applies for Wii games, controllers, and other accessories. 
Another way to get a great deal on a Wii is to buy it in a bundle. Some stores will offer the Wii bundled with various games, accessories, etc. These bundles are usually quite expensive; however it does save you some money. One thing you need to consider before buying a bundle is if you really need and/or want everything in the bundle. For example, if you don't want 2 of the games included, maybe it would be cheaper to buy everything separately. Also, even if you want everything in the bundle, you should take note of what the price would be if you bought every item separately. Nintendo Wii Newz
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byGet a FREE Nintnedo Wii!
...and you thought that nothing worth a damn in life was free!
Nintendo Wii Buzz
Fetching RSS feed... please stand bySquidoo Secrets!
Want to know how to make a killer Squidoo site? Click the banner below!
by MaddGamerX
Yo!
My name is Madd Gamer X, but you can call me Madd ;). I am a video gaming enthusiast. I write articles (in between homework assignments, Shhhh! Do...
(more)
