Wii: Release and Information

[bamthedoc]

Later than expected, but I can certainly live with it.

Nintendo announced, today September 14th of 2006, that their latest system, the Fifth Generation Nintendo Entertainment System, or Wii, will launch, promply, on November 19th of 2006 in the United States. The price-point for US launch will be 250 USD, which actually translates higher than the expected Japanese launch two weeks later. Of little surprise, Nintendo is beating Sony out the front gate.

On tope of that, Nintendo is releaseing 60 total titles at launch! That's 30 new and 30 retro titles available for the purchaser at the date of launch. These numbers are higher than any other system at launch, and the support is resounding! At least three companies have five (EA, Activision, and Ubisoft) or more titles ready for the US launch.

30 New Games, 30 Retro Titles, User-Friendly 'Channels' Make it the Affordable System for Gamers, Newcomers and Families

Click images to view larger

NEW YORK, Sept. 14, 2006 – Nintendo will reshape the home entertainment and video game landscape with the launch of its heralded Wii™ home video game console. The Americas will lead the worldwide launch on Nov. 19. Wii will be sold as an affordable, mass-consumer product at an MSRP of just $249.99. The price includes one wireless Wii Remote controller, one Nunchuk™ controller and the groundbreaking collection of five different Wii Sports games on one disc, which anyone can play using simple movements, experienced or not.

Every Wii console includes another distinctive feature: a series of on-screen “channels†that make up the Wii Channel Menu, which makes the console approachable and customizable for everyone, from the most avid gamer to people who have never played before. The Wii Channel Menu is the starting point for all of the console’s functions. The “channels†offer a gateway to a rich variety of entertainment options. When connected to a TV, the Wii Channel Menu offers a simple interface, letting users pick games to play, get news or weather, view and send photos or even create playable caricatures of themselves to use in actual games. Additional functions allow users to redeem Wii Points and download classic games to Wii’s Virtual Console™. The variety of options available through the Wii Channel Menu motivates both gamers and non-gamers to turn on Wii’s power every day.

Wii is creating worldwide excitement with its unique control system, an inventive, first-of-its-kind controller whose position can be detected in a 3-D space. The new controller allows users to pinpoint targets in games or move through the Wii Channel Menu with precision and ease. This intuitive control system will be understood immediately by everyone, regardless of their previous experience with video games. With this one small controller, Wii makes games both easier and more intense than anything previously experienced. For example, in the Wii Sports tennis game, players swing the Wii Remote like a racket to hit the ball, as in real life. They can add topspin or slice the ball just by angling their hands and wrist like they would in a real match.

“Wii reinvents games for the devoted player,†says Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. “But more importantly, Wii breaks the wall separating players from non-players by delivering the best game experiences for the most affordable price. We believe the next leap is games for the masses – young and old, gamer or non, alone, with a friend or with the whole family.â€

Fils-Aime made his remarks in New York, shortly after Nintendo executives in Japan announced Wii will launch there on Dec. 2.

Between launch day and Dec. 31, Wii owners will enjoy a robust lineup of 30 software titles, with selections for everyone from video game veterans to newcomers. Some top Nintendo launch titles include Wii Sports, a compilation of tennis, baseball, golf, bowling and boxing; The Legend of Zelda®: Twilight Princess; and EXCITE TRUCK™. While publishers are free to set their own prices for games, first-party Nintendo titles will have an MSRP of $49.99. Wii’s self-loading media bay also can play the entire library of more than 530 Nintendo GameCube™ titles from day one.

Third-party developers around the world have lined up to provide unprecedented support for Wii.

“I believe the Wii will attract new and casual gamers to the world of interactive entertainment,†says Larry Probst, Chairman and CEO, Electronic Arts. “It’s a fun, easy and economical system that will become a bridge to gaming for mainstream audiences. At EA, we are putting more support behind the Wii than any Nintendo hardware launch since the Super NES.â€

“The Wii is changing audience interaction, opening up whole new experiences that have never been possible in video games,†says Robert Kotick, Chairman and CEO, Activision, Inc. “With the instinctual control of the Wii Remote, Nintendo is advancing the gaming experience to the broadest audience of gamers. Activision is excited about the launch of the Wii and the opportunity it offers. So much so, we plan to have five titles available at launch – our strongest lineup ever for a new console. We have more development resources devoted to the Wii than to any previous Nintendo platform. The Wii is likely to have a profound impact on the size, growth and overall opportunities for the video game market.â€

“The Wii control scheme opens up unexplored areas for our talented teams to innovate when creating games,†says Laurent DeToc, President of Ubisoft North America. “It’s invigorating for us. We believe that it will help create a new level of interest in video games and engage more players around the world.â€

Additional information about the list of Virtual Console games and the pricing structure will be revealed in the coming weeks. For the latest details, please visit the official website at Wii.com.

The original Revolution News Thread has been unstuck and will no longer be used.



I encourage you to post any information you have and explore the sites I have listed. This is looking good to me ^_^

 

[bamthedoc]

Wii Hardware

Source

Design
Featuring a compact design that makes it a natural addition to any television setup, the Wii console is white in color and can be displayed either vertically or horizontally.

Size
About 8.5 inches long, 6 inches wide and less than 2 inches thick (roughly the size of 3 DVD cases stacked on top of each other).

Network
The Wii console communicates wirelessly with the Internet via IEEE 802.11 or a USB 2.0 LAN adaptor. Wii also can connect wirelessly with Nintendo DS.

GameCube Compadibility
The Wii is backward-compatible to all Nintendo GameCube games and includes four ports for controllers and two slots for memory cards.

CPU/GPU
PowerPC CPU (code-named “Broadwayâ€), made with a 90nm SOI CMOS process, jointly developed with and manufactured by IBM; GPU developed with ATI.

Media
A single self-loading media bay plays single- or double-layered 12-cm optical discs for the Wii console, as well as 8-cm Nintendo GameCube discs.

Input/Output
Input: four Wii Remote controllers can communicate with Wii, which features a bay for an SD memory card.

Output: an AV Multi-output port for component, composite or S-video.

WiiConnect24
The Wii console can communicate with the Internet even when the power is turned off. The WiiConnect24 service delivers a new surprise or game update, even if the system is idle. Users can connect wirelessly using IEEE 802.11 or a USB 2.0 LAN adaptor.

 

[bamthedoc]

Source

Games published by Nintendo:
Wii Sports (bundled with hardware)
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Excite Truck
WarioWare: Smooth Moves
Battalion Wars II
Big Brain Academy (temporary name)
Mario Strikers Charged
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Super Mario Galaxy (temporary name)

Third-party Wii titles available from launch to March 31, 2007:
Game Name - Publisher
The Ant Bully - Midway
Avatar: The Last Airbender - THQ
The Barnyard - THQ
Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII - Ubisoft
Bust a Move Revolution - Majesco
Call of Duty 3 - Activision
Disney's/Pixar's Cars - THQ
Dance Factory - Codemasters
Disney's Chicken Little: Ace in Action - Buena Vista Games
Disney's Meet the Robinsons - Buena Vista Games
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 - Atari
Elebits - Konami
Far Cry: Vengeance - Ubisoft
The Godfather Electronic Arts
The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy - Midway
GT Pro Series - Ubisoft
Happy Feet - Midway
Ice Age 2 - Vivendi
Madden NFL 07 - Electronic Arts
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance - Activision
Metal Slug Anthology - SNK
Monster 4x4: World Circuit - Ubisoft
Mortal Kombat: Armageddon - Midway
Need for Speed: Carbon - Electronic Arts
Open Season - Ubisoft
Prince of Persia - Ubisoft
Rampage: Total Destruction - Activision
Rapala Tournament Fishing - Activision
Rayman Raving Rabbids - Ubisoft
Red Steel - Ubisoft
Sidewinder - Codemasters
Sonic and the Secret Rings - Sega
SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab - THQ
SSX - Electronic Arts
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz - Sega
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Ubisoft
Tiger Woods PGA Tour - Electronic Arts
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent - Ubisoft
Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam - Activision
Trauma Center: Second Opinion - Atlus
World Series of Poker - Activision

 

[bamthedoc]

Source

Controller

To make gaming as accessible to people of all ages and all abilities, Nintendo wanted to create a controller that was as inviting as it was sophisticated. The outcome is the Wii Remote controller. Nintendo fused the familiarity of a remote control with the sophistication of motion-sensing technology to come up with an input device for the ages!

Sporting the size of a traditional remote control, the wireless Wii Remote controller is a multifunctional device that is limited only by the game designer's imagination. In a tennis game, it serves as your racket you swing with your arm. In a driving game, it serves as your steering wheel. For first-person shooters, the remote acts as your weapon that you point at an enemy. The list of potential uses goes on and on.


Using Bluetooth technology, the wireless Wii Remote controller sends your actions to the Wii console from as far as 30 feet away. As a pointing device, the controller can send a signal from as far as 15 feet away. Up to four Wii Remote Controllers can be connected at once, making for some great multiplayer fun!


In addition to its pointing and motion-sensing abilities, the Wii Remote controller also includes a speaker, rumble feature and expansion port for additional input devices, such as the Nunchuk controller.




Nunchuk

Contoured to perfectly fit a player's hand, the Nunchuk controller builds on the simplicity of the Wii Remote controller and goes an extra step to meet the needs of gamers. The Nunchuk controller connects to the Wii Remote controller at its expansion port and is used in conjunction with the Wii Remote controller. The Nunchuk controller contains the same motion-sensing technology enabled in the Wii Remote controller but also includes an analog stick to assist in character movement. In several games, players will use the analog stick of the Nunchuk controller to move their characters and the Wii Remote controller to perform a specific action, whether that's throwing a pass in football or aiming a ranged weapon in an action game.
Along with the analog stick, the motion-sensing Nunchuk controller also contains two buttons positioned for quick access. Because the Wii Remote and Nunchuk controllers are only relatively dependent on each other, players are free to hold them in whichever hand is most comfortable. The ambidextrous nature of the Wii controllers grants accessibility seldom seen in game controllers.

 

[_JaKE]

good work, ecspecially for me cus i didnt have access tro a computer untill oct 3, so now i know all that i missed.