The Next Gen War

Nintendo Wii

Release date: 11/19/2006

Retail Boxes:
Wii System - $249.99
Vertical stand; remote; nunchuk controller attachment; composite video cable; Wii Sports

Backwards Compatibility: Excellent - Plays all GameCube games. GameCube controller and memory card required.

Availability: Moderate - Getting one on launch day is going to be tough, but your chances should improve as more consoles reach stores in following weeks.

What do you notice when you look at Nintendo's Wii? Two things: the crazy, TV remote-like controller, and the decidedly attractive price. Nintendo's strategy for this generation of hardware is simple: leave the other two to one-up each other with ever more complex and expensive hardware, and get back to what it's all about: great games.

Specifically, Nintendo is hoping the Wii will appeal to fans of classic Nintendo games, those who've fallen out of gaming, older non-traditional gamers, kids, parents: in short, all the folks left cold by the high-intensity, high price offerings of Sony and Microsoft.

So the first thing they did was ditch complex, unfriendly controllers, going instead for something that's as simple and natural as it can be. Fire up Wii Sports, which comes free with the Wii, and you'll see how: swing the controller, and your on-screen character swings his tennis racket. The remote (and its nunchuk-like companion unit) senses its alignment, motion, and position relative to your TV, enabling you to control the game by just waving your arms about, with no complex button systems to memorize.

Although the Wii's online gaming service is decidedly stripped down compared to the other two, it offers one unique feature: channels that bring the ability to read news and weather forecasts, view digital photos, browse the web, or post messages to other Wii users. Another channel lets you create your own avatar (or "Mii") from a pre-set range of cartoony body parts and facial features. Some games, like Wii Sports, can use your Mii as a controllable character.

But wait: there's more. One channel allows Wii owners to download classic "Virtual Console" games to the machine, saving them to its internal memory or to an SD memory card. By the end of the year, 30 games from the days of the NES, Super NES, Nintendo 64 and Genesis will be available: highlights include the original Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong Jr., F-Zero and Super Mario 64. Pricing of the games varies between $5 and $10 according to their original platform.

Top Five Game Picks:

1. Legend of Zelda No other Wii game approaches the kind of anticipation we have for the latest in the long-running and spectacularly popular Zelda series.

2. Warioware: Smooth Moves Smooth moves indeed from Wario, as another Nintendo handheld classic comes to the Wii.

3. Rayman Raving Rabbids Master designer Michel Ancel has ditched the classic Rayman platformer style for a more varied, genre-hopping approach that suits the Wii's unique controls down to the ground.

4. Trauma Center Second Opinion - Nurse! Sponge! Get up close and personal with other people's internal organs in Trauma Center, sequel to a recent DS hit.

5. Downhill Jam A more kid-friendly approach marks this latest in the long-running Tony Hawk series of skateboarding games.

• Go to World of Wii on Yahoo! to connect with the Wii community and more!

Choose A System:

Microsoft Xbox 360 Sony PlayStation 3 Nintendo Wii

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