When it comes to games consoles, the Nintendo Wii is a bit of a dark horse. In comparison with either the Xbox or Sony’s PS3, it is a little underpowered. It also has graphics which are, again relatively speaking, less complex – there is a cartoon like element to many Wii games. Even so, it is immensely successful.
The sales price of the Wii is a good bit lower than either of the other two consoles, which is definitely a plus. The Wiimote – Nintendo’s motion sensitive controller, is another factor. It means that playing Wii games is a very different experience to game playing on the other consoles.
Playing on the Wii involves a fair bit of moving around – unlike the typical video game where, histrionics aside, the main movement will be performed by your thumbs. Apart from the fact that a bit of exercise is involved when playing Wii games, it’s probably true to say that the games are easier to learn and more intuitive to play. There’s no need to remember what button does what – just wave your arms around and you’ll soon get the hang of it.
A further result of the physical element to playing games on the Wii is that you require more space to play them (safely). This could explain why many families have the Wii in the living room as opposed to upstairs in teenage bedrooms – the typical site for the Xbox and the PlayStation.
As well as requiring more space to play, the Wii is better enjoyed when used with a nice big screen. This may seem like an odd notion considering that the Wii’s graphics are, at least in comparison with the other consoles, fairly rudimentary. The reason for this is that it is harder to keep up with the game action on a small screen when the player is jumping around.
Nintendo released a black version of the Wii console in Japan during the summer of 2009. It was very popular and was subsequently released in Europe prior to Christmas 2009, where it was also a popular choice with consumers. It may be that the reason for its popularity was the fact that the black colour is a better match for other electrical devices – the DVD player, the cable box, the TV – that are to be found in the typical family home.
Just one word of warning – if you do get yourself a Wake it easy to begin with. The exercise that the Wii provides is good – but, if you’re more accustomed to playing traditional video games, it can be easy to wind up with aching limbs after your initial exertions playing Wii Sports Resort.
Check out the black Wii for yourself and see how it compares with the new slim version of the PS3 game console from Sony.