November 17, 2006

Missed Out on PS3? - Still a Chance to Get the Nintendo Wii!

Bummed out because you spent 48 hours in a tent only to passed over when they started selling PS3s last night at midnight? Well, you still have a chance to score a gaming system this week when the Nintendo Wii goes on sale Nov. 19th. According to Wikipedia:

The Wii console is Nintendo's smallest home unit yet; measuring 44 mm wide, 157 mm tall, and 215.4 mm deep in the vertical orientation without the included stand (which itself measures 55.4 mm wide, 44 mm tall, and 225.6 mm deep). It is approximately the size of three standard DVD cases stacked together (approx. 4.5 cm x 15 cm x 20 cm). The console can be stood either horizontally or vertically.
The front of the console features a slot-loading media drive illuminated by a blue light and accepts both 12cm optical discs for Wii software and 8cm discs from Nintendo's prior console, the GameCube. When a disc is inserted, the light illuminating the disc port turns off. When there is no disc the light turns on, allowing the player to load discs in the dark. The ability to load differently sized discs is uncommon in slot-loading media drives, which typically only accept discs of a single size. Two USB ports (at the rear) and one SD card slot (behind a flap cover at the front of the console) are provided.

On of the coolest features has to be the controller:

The Wii Remote is a one-handed controller that uses a combination of accelerometers and infrared detection (in conjunction with the sensor bar) to sense its position in 3D space. This allows users to control the game using physical gestures as well as traditional button presses. The controller connects to the Wii console using Bluetooth, and features force feedback, 4KB non-volatile memory and an internal speaker.
The controller can connect to other devices through a proprietary port at the base of the controller. Perhaps the most important of these is the Nunchuk unit, which features an accelerometer and a traditional analog stick with two trigger buttons.

Did we mention that the Wii retails for $249.99? Add that to the fact that the lines won't be near as long as the PS3 lines were and the Wii looks like a steal this time of the year.

At Wii.Nintendo.com