A Closer Look at the Nintendo Wii

For games, the Wii Remote has a plus pad (D-pad), a large A button, an underside B trigger, and buttons labeled 1 and 2. The main surface has other buttons as well: power up, minus and plus (for escaping game menus, and the like) and a home button (for switching back to the Wii Menu and checking controller battery life).

The Wii Remote also contains a control for adjusting force feedback, a built-in speaker, a wrist strap (in case the remote flies out of your hand), and four blue LED lights that indicate which player/controller number you've been assigned. An expansion port on the remote lets you connect the Nunchuk and other optional controllers. The supplied Nunchuk controller is used in conjunction with the Wii Remote and provides an analog thumb stick, and two front trigger buttons labeled C and Z. A second Wii Remote costs $40, and a second Nunchuk costs $20.

Another option is a classic-style controller (which Nintendo has priced at $20) for non-motion-sensing titles such as fast-paced fighting games. At E3 last spring, I took photos of the classic controller and Nintendo's concept "Zapper," a gunlike shell for the Wii Remote.

As time goes by, you can expect independent vendors to offer a multitude of plastic shells to slide your Wii Remote into--all of them promising to improve your gaming experience. One product already on sale is UbiSoft's $20 Wii Steering Wheel. Web rumors suggest that Electronic Arts may be working on a way to let you strap the Wii Remote to your foot in order to play its FIFA soccer game. Another rumor has it that the Nintendo DS handheld's touch screen will be able to act as a controller for Wii games.

Nintendo has experimented with different controllers in the past. Anyone remember the Power Glove or Virtual Boy? This time however, the company's efforts seem to have produced a winner.

Get Into the Game

Nintendo reports that at least 62 titles will be available for the Wii by year's end. Launch titles include the following:

And these titles should be available within five weeks of launch:

Hotly anticipated games such as Super Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, are due to arrive during the first half of 2007. The Wii will support single- or double-layer standard (12cm) Wii discs and mini (8cm) GameCube game discs.

Here are my thoughts on the titles that I've tried out so far:

Wii Sports: Included free with the console, this simple but fun collection of micro sports games (tennis, golf, baseball, bowling, and boxing) will have you using the Wii controllers in various intuitive ways. The graphics, which are based on Mii characters, aren't crash hot--but like PlayStation Eye Toy games, they'll have you jumping about and generally having a blast miming the arm movements that each sport involves in real life. People watching me play a colleague had almost as much fun spectating as we had playing and were eager to try it themselves. Boxing--the only mini game that used both the Wii Remote and Nunchuk controllers, for both left- and right-handed punches--was my favorite and provided a decent workout! (For more detail and screenshots, check out GamePro's review.) A sequel, of sorts, to the Wii Sports collection, called Wii Play, should be available by year's end. It most likely will include table tennis, laser hockey (like air hockey), fishing, shooting, and pool/snooker, among other challenges.

Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess: This is clearly the most intently awaited Wii title--and from what I've seen so far, the wait was worth it. As in the GameCube version, the characters here speak in text only (which may or may not be a positive feature). It offers multiple environments, various styles of game play, and excellent graphics. You'll either love or hate the Wii controller enhancements; I found them easy to pick up and quite immersive. Swinging the sword was envigorating; and when I shot an arrow, I could first hear its sound in the Wii Remote's speaker, and then on the TV's speakers, enhancing the impression that the arrow was moving away from me. Again, for more detail and screenshots, read GamePro's review.