Look out Microsoft and Sony! Wii has arrived!

First of all I would like to wish all Sysguy Clients and Friends a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year!

I was lucky enough to get a Nintendo Wii for my 6 year old son for Christmas. While I am not a gamer (I don’t have time) and have never been a big Nintendo fan, the Wii is changing my mind!

One of the things I have disliked about Nintendo in the past was that when they brought out a new console it was never backward compatible, nor were the grahics ever up to the quality of the Microsoft and Sony consoles. The Wii has changed all that! The Wii, while it has it’s own game format, it is backward compatible not only with Nintendo GameCube games, but also controllers and memory cards (take that MS). In addition using the Internet and Wii Marketplace you can buy selected games and download them from early Ninitendo consoles (NES, N64 and Sega).

But the biggest thing about the Wii is the new controller scheme! The Wii features a wireless remote and an attachment called the Nunchuk. The great thing about these controllers while they are wireless, the console comes with a sensor bar that you connect and rest on top of your TV. What this sensor bar does is pick up movements of the controllers and translate them to controls. The console also comes with one game called Wii sports. This is one of the most addictive games I have ever played. Wii Sports features Golf, Bowling, Baseball, Tennis and Bowling, and with the new controllers you actually physically move to play the games. For example, if you are playing golf you hold the Wii remote as a golf club then actually swing! You hit tennis balls, bowl, and swing a baseball bat. Boxing uses the Nunchuk controller as well and you dodge, guard yourself and throw punches at opponents and bags! After one day of playing with the kids, my muscles are sore as if I had just hit two buckets of balls my first day out! Every game screen reminds you that you should attach the wriststrap before playing and to make sure you have room. This is important as there have been reports of controllers slipping out of hands and smashing TV screens! Nintendo has also announced a replacement program for early controllers as they have very thin strings connecting the handstraps and these have been breaking!

It will be interesting to see more games coming out for the Wii, personally I am waiting for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007 for Wii, where you will be able to swing away on your own!

While you have been able to get attachments for the other systems for these type of games, they only worked with certain games and there always was an additional cost!

Other cool features allow you to surf the Internet on the console, get your local weather forecast, and view news reports.

I can see that as more people get a taste of the console that it will appeal to a lot more people than the previous Nintendo ttarget market, 8-15 year olds. Even my daughter who will play games occaisionally on the consoles we have, is hooked on the Wii! I think I am too!

Stephen