Home video game console by Nintendo
This article is about the video game console. For other uses, see Wii (disambiguation)
The Wii[g] ♣ ( ; WEE) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, ♣ 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ♣ home game console, following the GameCube and is a seventh-generation console alongside Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3.
In developing ♣ the Wii, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata directed the company to avoid competing with Microsoft and Sony on computational graphics and ♣ power and instead to target a broader demographic of players through novel gameplay. Game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Genyo Takeda ♣ led the console's development under the codename Revolution. The primary controller for the Wii is the Wii Remote, a wireless ♣ controller with both motion sensing and traditional controls which can be used as a pointing device towards the television screen ♣ or for gesture recognition. The Wii was Nintendo's first home console to directly support Internet connectivity, supporting both online games ♣ and for digital distribution of games and media applications through the Wii Shop Channel. The Wii also supports wireless connectivity ♣ with the Nintendo DS handheld console for selected games. Initial Wii models included full backward compatibility support for GameCube games ♣ and most accessories. Later in its lifecycle, two lower-cost Wii models were produced: a revised model with the same design ♣ as the original Wii but removed the GameCube compatibility features and the Wii Mini, a compact, budget redesign of the ♣ Wii which further removed features including online connectivity and SD card storage.
Because of Nintendo's reduced focus on computational power, the ♣ Wii and its games were less expensive to produce than its competitors. The Wii was extremely popular at launch, causing ♣ the system to be in short supply in some markets. A bundled game, Wii Sports, was considered the killer app ♣ for the console; other flagship games included entries in the Super Mario, Legend of Zelda, Pokémon, and Metroid series. Within ♣ a year of launch, the Wii became the best-selling seventh-generation console, and by 2013, had surpassed over 100 million units ♣ sold. Total lifetime sales of the Wii had reached over 101 million units, making it Nintendo's best-selling home console until ♣ it was surpassed by the Nintendo Switch in 2024.[h] As of 2024, the Wii is the fifth-best-selling home console of ♣ all time.
The Wii repositioned Nintendo as a key player in the video game console marketplace. The introduction of motion-controlled games ♣ via the Wii Remote led both Microsoft and Sony to develop their own competing products—the Kinect and PlayStation Move, respectively. ♣ Nintendo found that, while the Wii had broadened the demographics that they wanted, the core gamer audience had shunned the ♣ Wii. The Wii's successor, the Wii U, sought to recapture the core gamer market with additional features atop the Wii. ♣ The Wii U was released in 2012, and Nintendo continued to sell both units through the following year. The Wii ♣ was formally discontinued in October 2013, though Nintendo continued to produce and market the Wii Mini through 2024, and offered ♣ a subset of the Wii's online services through 2024.
History
2001–2003: Development
Satoru Iwata as Nintendo's president directed the company to design the ♣ Wii out-of-the-box to appeal to a broader range of players.
Shortly after the release of the GameCube, Nintendo began conceptualizing their ♣ next console. The company's game designer Shigeru Miyamoto said that, in the early stages, they decided they would not aim ♣ to compete on hardware power, and would instead prioritize new gameplay concepts.[23] Miyamoto cited Dance Dance Revolution's unique game controllers ♣ as inspiration for developing new input devices.[24] Later in September 24, 2001, Nintendo began working with Gyration Inc., a firm ♣ that had developed several patents related to motion detection, to prototype future controllers using their licensed patents.[25]
Over the next two ♣ years, sales of the GameCube languished behind its competitors—Sony's PlayStation 2 and Microsoft's Xbox. Satoru Iwata, who had been promoted ♣ to Nintendo's president in May 2002 following Hiroshi Yamauchi's retirement,[26] recognized that Nintendo had not been keeping up with trends ♣ in the video game industry, such as adapting to online gaming. He also thought that video gaming had become too ♣ exclusive and wanted Nintendo to pursue gaming hardware and software that would appeal to all demographics.[27] Nintendo's market analysis found ♣ that their focus on novel hardware had created consoles that made it difficult for third-party developers to create games for, ♣ hampering their position. One of the first major steps Iwata had made based on the company's research was directing the ♣ development of the Nintendo DS, a handheld incorporating dual screens including a touchscreen, to revitalize their handheld console line.[29]
In 2003, ♣ Iwata met with Miyamoto and Genyo Takeda to discuss their market research. Iwata instructed Takeda "to go off the tech ♣ roadmap" for this console, but said it had to be appealing to mothers. Iwata wanted their next console to be ♣ capable of playing past Nintendo games, eliminating clutter in houses.[24] Takeda led the team building the console's hardware components, and ♣ Miyamoto spearheaded the development of a new type of controller, based on Gyration's motion-sensing technology.[25] Iwata had proposed that this ♣ new console use motion sensing to simplify the gaming interface, increasing appeal to all audiences.[31] An initial prototype was completed ♣ within six months.
The Nintendo DS was said to have influenced the Wii's design, as the company found that the DS's ♣ novel two-screen interface had drawn in non-traditional players and wanted to replicate that on the new console.[24] Designer Ken'ichiro Ashida ♣ noted, "We had the DS on our minds as we worked on the Wii. We thought about copying the DS's ♣ touch-panel interface and even came up with a prototype." The idea was eventually rejected because of the notion that the ♣ two gaming systems would be identical. Miyamoto also stated, "if the DS had flopped, we might have taken the Wii ♣ back to the drawing board."[23]
2004–2005: Announcements
Prior to E3 2004, Iwata had referred to Nintendo's upcoming console offering as the GameCube ♣ Next (GCNext or GCN).[33] Iwata first unveiled some details of Nintendo's new home console at E3 2004 under the codename ♣ "Revolution", as Iwata believed the console would revolutionize the gaming industry.[27] BBC News' technology editor Alfred Hermida wrote that Nintendo's ♣ struggle to match Sony and Microsoft in the home console market made success crucial.[34]
The console, still named "Revolution", was formally ♣ presented to the public at E3 2005. The motion controller interface had not yet been completed and was omitted from ♣ the unveiling.[23] Iwata held the console above him with one hand to emphasize its size relative to its rivals. A ♣ smaller device meant it would draw on less power as to not overheat, and thus appealed to parents who were ♣ willing to have an attractive, small, power-efficient device in the living room. Iwata reportedly used a stack of three DVD ♣ cases as a size guide. The prototype held by Iwata was black, but at release the following year, the console ♣ was only available in white. In their book on the console, two Loyola University Chicago professors suggested that Nintendo was ♣ inviting comparisons with Apple's first iPod line.
Iwata later unveiled and demonstrated their current prototype of the Revolution controller at the ♣ Tokyo Game Show in September 2005. At this stage, the controller unit resembled the final Wii Remote device along with ♣ the separate Nunchuk attachment. Iwata demonstrated its motion sensing gameplay capabilities, and incorporated commentary from developers, such as Hideo Kojima ♣ and Yuji Horii, who had tested the controller and believed people would be drawn in by it.[38][39]
The Wii and several ♣ of its peripherals on display at E3 2006
The console's name was formally announced as the Wii in April 2006, a ♣ month prior to E3 2006. Nintendo's spelling of "Wii" (with two lower-case "i" characters) was intended to represent both two ♣ people standing side by side, and the Wii Remote and its Nunchuk.[40] In the company's announcement, they stated: "Wii sounds ♣ like 'we', which emphasizes that the console is for everyone. Wii can easily be remembered by people around the world, ♣ no matter what language they speak. No confusion."[40]
The name resulted in criticism and mockery. Forbes expressed a fear that the ♣ console would be seen as juvenile.[41] BBC News reported the day after the name was announced that "a long list ♣ of puerile jokes, based on the name," had appeared on the Internet.[42] Some video game developers and members of the ♣ press stated that they preferred "Revolution" over "Wii".[43] Nintendo of America's Vice President of Corporate Affairs Perrin Kaplan defended the ♣ choice.[44] President of Nintendo of America Reggie Fils-Aimé justified the new name over Revolution by saying that they wanted something ♣ short, distinctive, and easily pronounceable for all cultures.[45]
The Wii was made available for a press demonstration at E3 2006. Planned ♣ launch titles were announced at a press conference alongside the unveiling. At the same conference, Nintendo confirmed its plans to ♣ release the console by the end of 2006.[46]
2006–2010: Launch
Busy inside of a shop during the Wii launch in Hamburg
Nintendo announced ♣ the launch plans and prices for the Wii in September 2006. The console was first launched in the United States ♣ on November 19, 2006, for US$249.99.[7] Other regional release dates and prices included Japan on December 2 for ¥25,000,[8] followed ♣ by Australasia on December 7 for A$399.95,[10] and was later launched on December 8 in the United Kingdom for £179.99 ♣ and for the majority of Europe for €249.99.[9] Nintendo planned to have around 30 Wii games available by the end ♣ of 2006, and anticipated shipping over 4 million consoles before the end of the year.
As part of its launch campaign, ♣ Nintendo promoted the Wii in North America through a series of television advertisements (directed by Academy Award winner Stephen Gaghan); ♣ its Internet ads used the slogans "Wii would like to play" and "Experience a new way to play". The ads ♣ began in November 2006 and had a budget of overR$200 million for the year.[48] The ads targeted a wider demographic ♣ compared to ads for other consoles, inviting parents and grandparents to play on the Wii.[49] Nintendo hoped that its console ♣ would appeal to a wider demographic than that of others in the seventh generation.[50] In December 2006, Satoru Iwata said ♣ that Nintendo did not think of themselves as "fighting Sony", but were focused on how they could expand the gaming ♣ demographic.[51]
It took several years for the Wii to launch in other regions. It was released in South Korea on April ♣ 26, 2008,[52] Taiwan on July 12, 2008,[53] and Hong Kong on December 12, 2009.[54] Nintendo had planned work with its ♣ localization partner iQue to release the Wii in China in 2008, but failed to meet the requirements to circumvent the ♣ ban on foreign-made consoles the Chinese government had put in place.[55][56]
2011–2024: Successor and discontinuation
The Wii U, with its GamePad in ♣ front
Nintendo announced the successor to the Wii, the Wii U, at E3 2011.[57][58] Nintendo had recognized that the Wii had ♣ generally been shunned by the core gaming audience as it was perceived more as a casual gaming experience. The Wii ♣ U was aimed to draw the core audience back in with more advanced features atop the basic Wii technology.[59][60] The ♣ Wii U features the Wii U GamePad, a controller with an embedded touchscreen and output 1080p high-definition graphics that serves ♣ as a secondary screen alongside the television. The Wii U is fully backward-compatible with Wii games and peripherals for the ♣ Wii, including the Wii Remote, Nunchuk controller and Wii Balance Board, and select Wii U games including support for these ♣ devices.[61] The Wii U was first released on November 18, 2012 in North America; November 30, 2012 in Europe and ♣ Australia, and December 8, 2012 in Japan.[62]
Nintendo continued to sell the revised Wii model and the Wii Mini alongside the ♣ Wii U during the Wii U's first release year. During 2013, Nintendo began to sunset certain Wii online functions as ♣ they pushed consumers towards the Wii U as a replacement system or towards the offline Wii Mini, though the Wii ♣ Shop Channel remained available.[63] Nintendo discontinued production of the Wii in October 2013 after selling over 100 million units worldwide,[64] ♣ though the company continued to produce the Wii Mini unit primarily for the North American market.[65] The WiiConnect24 service and ♣ several channels based on that service were shuttered in June 2013.[19] Support for online multiplayer games via the Nintendo Wi-Fi ♣ Connection were discontinued in May 2014,[18] while the Wii Shop was closed in January 2024, effectively ending all online services ♣ for the console.[20][66] The Wii Mini continued to be manufactured and sold until 2024.[67]
Despite the Wii's discontinuation, some developers continued ♣ to produce Wii games well beyond 2013. Ubisoft released Just Dance games for the Wii up to Just Dance 2024 ♣ (2024).[68] Vblank Entertainment's Shakedown: Hawaii along with Retro City Rampage DX are the most recent Wii games, which were released ♣ on July 9, 2024 (more than 13 years after the Wii's launch).[69][70] On January 27, 2024, Nintendo announced that they ♣ will no longer repair any faulty Wii consoles in Japan starting on February 6 due to a scarcity of spare ♣ parts.[i]
Hardware
Console
The Wii (top) compared in size to the GameCube, Nintendo 64, North American Super NES, and NES
In building the Wii, ♣ Nintendo did not aim to outpace the performance of their competitors. Unlike the company's previous consoles, they built the Wii ♣ from commercial off-the-shelf hardware rather than seek out customized components. This helped to reduce the cost of the Wii system ♣ to consumers.[72] Miyamoto said "Originally, I wanted a machine that would costR$100. My idea was to spend nothing on the ♣ console technology so all the money could be spent on improving the interface and software."[73]
The console's central processing unit is ♣ a 32-bit IBM PowerPC-based processor named Broadway, with a clock frequency of 729 MHz.[74][75] The reduced size of Broadway—based on ♣ a 90 nm process compared to the 180 nm process used in the GameCube's CPU—resulted in 20% lowered power consumption.[76] ♣ The Wii's GPU is a system on a chip produced by ATI and named Hollywood; the core processor runs at ♣ 243 MHz, 3 MB of texture memory, digital signal processors, and input/output functions.[74] Additionally, the GPU included an additional 24 ♣ MB of 1T-SRAM and an additional 64 MB of 1T-SRAM on the motherboard, totaling to 88 MB of memory for ♣ the console.[74] The Wii's computational power was roughly 1.5 to 2 times as powerful as the GameCube,[75][77] but was the ♣ least powerful of the major home consoles of its generation.[78]
The Wii's motherboard has a WiFi adapter which supports IEEE 802.11 ♣ b/g modes, and a Bluetooth antenna that communicates with its controllers. A USB-based LAN adapter can connect the Wii to ♣ a wired Ethernet network.[77]
The Wii reads games from an optical media drive located in the front of the device. The ♣ drive is capable of reading Nintendo's proprietary discs, the 12 cm Wii discs and 8 cm GameCube discs, but cannot ♣ read other common optical media—namely, DVD-Video, DVD-Audio or compact discs. Although Nintendo had planned on incorporating this feature into later ♣ revisions of the Wii, the demand for the console meant a delay in their schedule, until the feature lost interest.[79][80][81] ♣ The slot of the optical drive is backed by LED lights which show the system's status. For example, it will ♣ pulse blue when the system is communicating with the WiiConnect24 service or when reading a disc after being inserted.[82][83]
The Wii ♣ includes 512 MB of internal flash memory for storing saved games and downloaded content from the Wii channels. Users could ♣ expand their storage for downloaded games and saved games, as well as provide photos and music that could be used ♣ with some games and Wii channels, through SD cards (and later SDHC cards) inserted into an external slot on the ♣ console located under a front panel. A later system update added the ability to launch Wii channels and play Virtual ♣ Console and WiiWare games directly from SD cards.[84][85][86]
The rear of the console features the unit's video output and power connections ♣ along with two USB ports. The top of the console, when placed vertically, includes a panel that includes four ports ♣ for GameCube controllers and two GameCube memory cards.[75]
The Wii was Nintendo's smallest home console at the time (the current smallest ♣ is hybrid home-portable console Nintendo Switch, when in portable mode); it measures 44 mm (1.73 in) wide, 157 mm (6.18 ♣ in) tall and 215.4 mm (8.48 in) deep in its vertical orientation, slightly larger than three DVD cases stacked together. ♣ The included stand measures 55.4 mm (2.18 in) wide, 44 mm (1.73 in) tall and 225.6 mm (8.88 in) deep. ♣ The system weighs 1.2 kg (2.7 lb),[87] making it the lightest of the three major seventh-generation consoles. The Wii may ♣ stand horizontally or vertically.[87]
Wii Remote
A Nunchuk, Wii Remote and strap shown in hand
The Wii Remote being used to play Metroid ♣ Prime 3 at E3 2006. The Sensor Bar can be seen at the base of the television screen.
The Wii Remote[j] ♣ is the primary controller for the console. The remote contains a MEMS-based three-dimension accelerometer, along with infrared detection sensors located ♣ at the far end of the controller.[89][90] The accelerometers allow the Wii Remote to recognize its orientation after being moved ♣ from a resting position, translating that motion into gesture recognition for a game.[89] For example, the pack-in game Wii Sports ♣ includes a ten-pin bowling game that had the player hold the Wii Remote and perform a delivery of a ball; ♣ the Wii Remote could account for the player's position relative to the Sensor Bar, and their arm and wrist rotation ♣ to apply speed and spin to the virtual ball's delivery on screen.[91] The infrared detectors are used to track emissions ♣ from LEDs in the included Sensor Bar, which is placed just above or below the television display, as to track ♣ the relative orientation of the Wii Remote towards the screen. This gives the Wii Remote the ability to act as ♣ a pointing device like a computer mouse on the television screen, with an approximate 15 feet (4.6 m) range for ♣ accurate detection.[89][92] In addition, the Wii Remote features traditional controller inputs, including a directional pad (d-pad), three face action buttons ♣ and a shoulder trigger, and four system-related buttons include a power switch. The Wii Remote connects to the Wii through ♣ Bluetooth with an approximate 30 feet (9.1 m) range,[92] communicating the sensor and control information to the console unit. The ♣ Wii Remote includes an internal speaker and a rumble pack that can be triggered by a game to provide feedback ♣ directly to the player's hand.[89] Up to four Wii Remotes could connect wirelessly to a Wii, with LED lights on ♣ each remote indicating which controller number the Remote had connected as.[92] The remote is battery-operated, and when the Remote is ♣ not powered on, these LED lights can display the remaining battery power.[88]
A wrist-mounted strap is included with the Wii Remote, ♣ with one end affixed to the bottom of the unit. Nintendo strongly encouraged players to use the strap in case ♣ the Wii Remote accidentally slipped out of their hands. Nintendo recalled the original straps in December 2006 and provided a ♣ free, stronger strap as a replacement, as well as packaging the new strap in future bundles after the company faced ♣ legal challenges from users that reported damage to their homes from the Wii Remote slipping from their hands while playing.[93][94] ♣ In October 2007, Nintendo also added a silicon-based Wii Remote Jacket to shipments of the Wii and Wii Remote, as ♣ well as a free offering for existing users. The Jacket wraps around the bulk of the remote but leaves access ♣ to the various buttons and connectors, providing a stickier surface in the user's grip to further reduce the chance of ♣ the Remote falling out of the player's hand.[95]
Accessories can be connected to a Wii Remote through a proprietary port at ♣ the base of the controller.[92] The Wii shipped with the bundled Nunchuk—a handheld unit with an accelerometer, analog stick, and ♣ two trigger buttons—which connected to this port on the Wii Remote via a 4 feet (1.2 m) cable. Players hold ♣ both the Wii Remote and Nunchuk in separate hands to control supported games.[90][96]
The Wii MotionPlus accessory plugs into the port ♣ at the base of the Wii Remote and augments the existing sensors with gyroscopes to allow for finer motion detection.[88] ♣ The MotionPlus accessory was released in June 2009 with a number of new games directly supporting this new functionality, including ♣ Wii Sports Resort which included the accessory as part of a bundle.[97] The MotionPlus functionality was later incorporated into a ♣ revision of the controller called the Wii Remote Plus, first released in October 2010.[98][99][100]
A number of third-party controller manufacturers developed ♣ their own lower-cost versions of the Wii Remote, though these generally were less accurate or lacked the sensitivity that Nintendo's ♣ unit had.[101]
Other controllers and accessories
The Classic Controller, hooked up to the Wii Remote
The Classic Controller is an extension for the ♣ Wii Remote, released alongside the Wii in November 2006. Its form factor is similar to classic gamepads such as that ♣ for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, with a d-pad, four face buttons, Start and Select buttons alongside the Wii connection ♣ button, and two shoulder buttons. Players can use it with older games from the Virtual Console in addition to games ♣ designed for the Wii.[102] In 2009, Nintendo released the Wii Classic Controller Pro, which was modelled after the GameCube's form ♣ factor and included two analog sticks.[103]
The Wii Balance Board was released alongside Wii Fit in December 2007. It is a ♣ wireless balance board accessory for the Wii, with multiple pressure sensors used to measure the user's center of balance.[104] Wii ♣ Fit offers a number of different exercise modes which monitored the player's position on the board, as well as exercise ♣ gamification, as to encourage players to exercise daily.[105] In addition to use in Nintendo's Wii Fit Plus that expanded the ♣ range of exercises using the Wii Balance Board, the accessory can be used in other third-party games that translated the ♣ player's balance on the unit into in-game controls such as Shaun White Snowboarding and Skate It.[106] Namco Bandai produced a ♣ mat controller (a simpler, less-sophisticated competitor to the Balance Board).[107]
One of Iwata's initiatives at Nintendo was focused on "quality of ♣ life" products, those that encouraged players to do other activities beyond simply sitting and playing video games as to promote ♣ physical wellbeing. The use of motion controls in the Wii served part of this, but Nintendo developed additional accessories to ♣ give awareness of one's health as a lead-in for the company to break into the health care field.[108] At E3 ♣ 2009, Nintendo had presented a "Vitality Sensor" accessory that would be used to measure a player's pulse as a lead-in ♣ to a larger quality of life initiative, but this product was never released. In a 2013 Q&A, Satoru Iwata revealed ♣ that the Vitality Sensor had been shelved, as internal testing found that the device did not work with all users, ♣ and its use cases were too narrow.[109] Despite this, Nintendo has continued Iwata's quality of life program with further products ♣ on later consoles and games.[110]
A number of first- and third-party accessories were developed that the Wii Remote could be slotted ♣ into and then used in a more physical manner that took advantage of the accelerometer and gyroscopic functions of the ♣ controller. Some copies of Mario Kart Wii shipped with the Wii Wheel, a plastic steering wheel frame with the Wii ♣ Remote could be inserted into, so that players could steer more effectively in game.[111] Rhythm games that used plastic instruments, ♣ such as Guitar Hero III, shipped with instruments that the Wii Remote could be slotted into; the remote powered the ♣ various buttons on the controller and relayed that to the Wii.[112]
Variants and bundles
The Wii launch bundle included the console; a ♣ stand to allow the console to be placed vertically; a plastic stabilizer for the main stand, one Wii Remote, a ♣ Nunchuk attachment for the Remote, a Sensor Bar and a removable stand for the bar to mount on a television ♣ set, an external power adapter, and two AA batteries for the Wii Remote. The bundle included a composite A/V cable ♣ with RCA connectors, and in appropriate regions such as in Europe, a SCART adapter was also included.[113] A copy of ♣ the game Wii Sports was included in most regional bundles.[114]
Although Nintendo showed the console and the Wii Remote in white, ♣ black, silver, lime-green and red before it was released,[115] it was only available in white for its first two-and-a-half years ♣ of sales. Black consoles were available in Japan in August 2009,[116] in Europe in November 2009[117] and in North America ♣ in May 2010.[118] A red Wii system bundle was available in Japan on November 11, 2010, commemorating the 25th anniversary ♣ of Super Mario Bros.[119] The European version of the limited-edition red Wii bundle was released on October 29, 2010, which ♣ includes the original Donkey Kong game pre-installed onto the console, New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Wii Sports.[120] The red ♣ Wii bundle was released in North America on November 7, 2010, with New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Wii Sports.[121][122] ♣ All of the red Wii system bundles feature the Wii Remote Plus, with integrated Wii MotionPlus technology.[119][120][121][122]
Revisions
The prefix for the ♣ numbering scheme of the Wii system and its parts and accessories is "RVL-" for its codename, "Revolution". The base Wii ♣ console had a model number of RVL-001, for example.[123]
Redesigned model
RVL-101 layout with its labels aligned horizontally, just as the console ♣ was designed to be placed, unlike the original version
A cost-reduced variant of the Wii (model RVL-101) was released late into ♣ the platform's lifespan that removed all GameCube functionality, including the GameCube controller ports and memory card slots found on the ♣ original model. This model is sometimes referred to as the "Wii Family Edition", the name given to the bundle in ♣ which it was first sold in Europe. Additionally, it does not include a stand, as it is intended to be ♣ positioned horizontally. Nintendo announced the new revision in August 2011 as a replacement for the original Wii model which it ♣ was discontinuing in certain regions including Europe and the United States.[14][124] The new unit in its bundles was priced atR$149.99,[125] ♣ a further reduction for the Wii's MSRP at the time ofR$199.99 established in September 2009.[126]
The console was first released in ♣ North America on October 23, 2011, in a black finish, bundled with a black Wii Remote Plus and Nunchuk, along ♣ with New Super Mario Bros. Wii and a limited-edition soundtrack for Super Mario Galaxy.[125] It was released in Europe on ♣ November 4, 2011, in a white finish, bundled with a white Wii Remote Plus and Nunchuk, along with Wii Party ♣ and Wii Sports.[127] A special bundle featuring a blue version of the revised Wii model and Wii Remote Plus and ♣ Nunchuk with the inclusion of Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games was released in Europe on November ♣ 18, 2011, in collaboration with Sega.[128] Nintendo later revised the North American bundle by replacing the prior pack-in game and ♣ soundtrack with the original Wii Sports duology; the new bundle was released on October 28, 2012.[129]
Wii Mini
A Wii Mini with ♣ Wii Remote
The Wii Mini (model RVL-201)[124] is a smaller, redesigned Wii with a top-loading disc drive. In addition to the ♣ lack of GameCube support, the Wii Mini removes Wi-Fi support and online connectivity, along with the removal of the SD ♣ card slot. It also removed support for 480p and component video output.[15] According to Nintendo of Canada's Matt Ryan, they ♣ stripped these features to bring down the price of the console further as to make it an option for those ♣ consumers that had not yet gotten a Wii or for those who wanted a second Wii in a different location. ♣ Ryan stated that while removing the online functionality would prevent some games from being played, most Wii games could still ♣ be played without it.[130] The Wii Mini is styled in matte black with a red border, and includes a red ♣ Wii Remote Plus and Nunchuk. According to Ryan, the red coloring was indicative of the planned exclusive release in Canada.[130] ♣ A composite A/V cable, wired Sensor Bar and power adapter are also included.[131]
The Wii Mini was first released on December ♣ 7, 2012, exclusively in Canada with a MSRP of CA$99.99.[5] It was later released in Europe on March 22, 2013,[4] ♣ and in the United States on November 17, 2013.[6] The Canadian and European releases did not include a game,[131][132] while ♣ Mario Kart Wii had been included in all launch bundles in the United States.[6] Nintendo added several best-selling and critically ♣ acclaimed Wii games to its Nintendo Selects label and marketed those alongside the Wii Mini's release.[5]
Software
The console has many internal ♣ features made available from its hardware and firmware components. The hardware allows for extendability (via expansion ports), while the firmware ♣ (and some software) could receive periodic updates via the WiiConnect24 service.
Wii Menu
Wii Menu
The development of the Wii Menu, the main ♣ user interface for the Wii, was led by Takashi Aoyama of Nintendo's Integrated Research & Development Division. The project, named ♣ the "Console Feature Realization Project", was to figure out what the Wii interface could show running in a low-power mode ♣ on an around-the-clock schedule that would be of interest for people to look at if they were not playing games.[133] ♣ The idea of having continually updated weather and news reports made logical sense from testing, and this led to the ♣ idea of presenting these similar to a row of televisions each set to a different television channel as if in ♣ an electronics shop, creating the "channels" concept. A user can navigate to any channel window to bring that to the ♣ forefront, whether to launch the game or application or to get more information that was being displayed.[133] For example, the ♣ Forecast Channel would display a brief summary of the local area's temperature and short-term weather forecast, while clicking on the ♣ channel brought up an interactive globe that the user could manipulate with the Wii Remote to explore real-time weather conditions ♣ across the Earth.[134]
The Wii launched with six channels: the Disc Channel which was used to launch Wii and GameCube titles ♣ from an optical disc; the Mii Channel to create Mii avatars; the Photo Channel which could be used to view ♣ and edit photos stored on an SD card; the Wii Shop Channel to purchase new games and applications; the Forecast ♣ Channel and the News Channel.[87] In addition to default channels that came with the Wii, new channels could be added ♣ through system updates, downloaded applications from the Wii Shop Channel, or added by games themselves.[133] Shortly after launch, other free ♣ channels created by Nintendo were made available to users, including the Internet Channel, a modified version of the Opera web ♣ browser for the Wii which supports USB keyboard input and Adobe Flash Player.[87][135][136][137]
The Wii Menu channels feature music composed by ♣ video game composer Kazumi Totaka.[138][139][140]
Mii
Default Miis
The Mii Channel, the first application used to create and view Mii characters on the ♣ Wii
The Wii introduced the use of player-customized avatars called Miis, which have been continued to be used by Nintendo in ♣ the Wii U, the Nintendo 3DS family, and, to a lesser extent, the Nintendo Switch. Each player on a Wii ♣ console was encouraged to create their own Mii via the Mii Channel to be used in games like Wii Sports ♣ and some of the system software like the Mii Channel. For example, players would select their Mii in Wii Sports, ♣ creating their in-game avatar for the game. Miis could be shared with other players through the Mii Channel.[87][141]
Nintendo DS connectivity
The ♣ Wii system supports wireless connectivity with the Nintendo DS without any additional accessories. This connectivity allows the player to use ♣ the Nintendo DS microphone and touchscreen as inputs for Wii games. The first game utilizing Nintendo DS-Wii connectivity is Pokémon ♣ Battle Revolution. Players with either the Pokémon Diamond or Pearl Nintendo DS games are able to play battles using the ♣ Nintendo DS as a controller.[142] Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time, released on both Nintendo DS and Wii, features ♣ connectivity in which both games can advance simultaneously. Nintendo later released the Nintendo Channel, which allows Wii owners to download ♣ game demos of popular games such as Mario Kart DS, or additional data to their Nintendo DS in a process ♣ similar to that of a DS Download Station.[133][143] The console is also able to expand Nintendo DS games.[142]
Online connectivity
The Wii ♣ console connects to the Internet through its built-in 802.11b/g Wi-Fi or through a USB-to-Ethernet adapter; either method allows players to ♣ access the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service.[75] The service has several features for the console, including Virtual Console, WiiConnect24, the Internet ♣ Channel, the Forecast Channel, the Everybody Votes Channel, the News Channel and the Check Mii Out Channel. The Wii can ♣ also communicate (and connect) with other Wii systems through a self-generated wireless LAN, enabling local wireless multi-playing on different television ♣ sets. Battalion Wars 2 first demonstrated this feature for non-split screen multi-playing between two (or more) televisions.[144]
Third-party applications
Third-party media apps ♣ were added to the Wii's online channels, typically offered as free downloads but requiring subscriber logins for paid services. Among ♣ some of these included the BBC iPlayer in November 2009,[145][146] Netflix in November 2010,[147] Hulu in February 2012,[148] YouTube in ♣ December 2012,[149] Amazon Prime Video in January 2013,[150] and Crunchyroll in October 2024.[151] In June 2024, YouTube ended support for ♣ its Wii channel.[152] In January 2024, Nintendo ended support for all streaming services on the Wii.[67]
Parental controls
The console features parental ♣ controls, which can be used to prohibit younger users from playing games with content unsuitable for their age level. When ♣ one attempts to play a Wii or Virtual Console game, it reads the content rating encoded in the game data; ♣ if this rating is greater than the system's set age level, the game will not load without a password. Parental ♣ controls may also restrict Internet access, which blocks the Internet Channel and system-update features. Since the console is restricted to ♣ GameCube functionality when playing GameCube Game Discs, GameCube software is unaffected by Wii parental-control settings.[153]
The Wii also includes a system ♣ that records the playtime based on any game or app on the system. While Nintendo decided against a profile system ♣ that would require each user to identify themselves, they kept the cumulative playtime tracking system, which cannot be erased or ♣ altered, to give parents the means to review their children's use of the Wii.[133]
Games
Wii optical disc in case
Retail copies of ♣ games are supplied on proprietary, DVD-type Wii optical discs, which are packaged in keep cases with instructions. In Europe, the ♣ boxes have a triangle at the bottom corner of the paper sleeve-insert side. The triangle is color-coded to identify the ♣ region for which the title is intended and which manual languages are included. The console supports regional lockout: software available ♣ in a region can be only played on that region's hardware.[154]
Twenty-one games were announced for launch day in North and ♣ South America, with another twelve announced for release later in 2006.[155] Among the system's launch titles in all regions included ♣ Wii Sports, which was bundled in all Wii packages except in Japan and South Korea,[156] The Legend of Zelda: Twilight ♣ Princess,[157] Sega's Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz, and Ubisoft's Red Steel.[155] Metroid Prime 3: Corruption had been slated as a ♣ Wii launch title,[158] but was pushed into 2007 a few months before the Wii's launch.[159] Nintendo had also planned to ♣ release Super Smash Bros. Brawl as a launch title, but its director Masahiro Sakurai stated there were difficulties in adapting ♣ the format to the Wii's motion controls to require more time for the game's development.[160]
New Wii games included those from ♣ Nintendo's flagship franchises such as The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario, Pokémon, and Metroid. Nintendo has received third-party support from ♣ companies such as Ubisoft, Sega, Square Enix, Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, and Capcom, with more games being developed for Wii ♣ than for the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360.[161] Nintendo also launched the New Play Control! line, a selection of enhanced ♣ ports of first-party GameCube games that have been updated to capitalize on the Wii's motion controls.[162]
Backward compatibility
The first model of ♣ the Wii has GameCube Memory Card and controller slots to provide backward compatibility.
The original launch Wii consoles are backward-compatible with ♣ all GameCube software, memory cards, and controllers, although Korean Wii consoles are not backwards compatible at all.[163] Software compatibility is ♣ achieved by the slot-loading drive's ability to accept GameCube discs. A Wii console running a GameCube disc is restricted to ♣ GameCube functionality, and a GameCube controller is required to play GameCube titles. A GameCube memory card is also necessary to ♣ save game progress and content, since the Wii internal flash memory will not save GameCube games.[164] Also, backward compatibility is ♣ limited in some areas. For example, online and LAN-enabled features for GameCube titles are unavailable on the Wii, since the ♣ console lacks serial ports for the GameCube Broadband Adapter and Modem Adapter.[165] The revised Wii model and the Wii Mini ♣ lack the GameCube backward compatibility features.[125][15]
Virtual Console
The Virtual Console service allowed Wii owners to play games originally released for Nintendo's ♣ older consoles, including the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and the Nintendo 64.[166] Later updates included games from ♣ third-party consoles and computers, including the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive and Sega Mark III/Master System, NEC TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine, SNK Neo Geo, ♣ the Commodore 64 computer, the MSX computer (only in Japan), and various arcade games through Virtual Console Arcade.[166][167][168][169] Virtual Console ♣ games were distributed over broadband Internet via the Wii Shop Channel and were saved to the Wii internal flash memory ♣ or to a removable SD card. Once downloaded, Virtual Console games can be accessed from the Wii Menu as individual ♣ channels or from an SD card via the SD Card Menu.[170]
WiiWare
WiiWare was Nintendo's foray into digital distribution on the Wii, ♣ comparable to the existing Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network. The service allowed players to purchase games digitally through the ♣ Wii Shop, downloading the games to their local memory cards to be run from them. Besides facilitating this form of ♣ distribution, WiiWare was also envisioned to help support smaller and independent game developers, offering these teams a less expensive route ♣ to produce Wii games without having to go through retail production and distribution channels.[172][173] The WiiWare channel launched on March ♣ 25, 2008, and remained active including through the Wii U's lifetime until the Wii Shop Channel was discontinued in 2024.[20][174]
Reception
Critical ♣ reviews
The system was well received after its exhibition at E3 2006, winning the Game Critics Awards for Best of Show ♣ and Best Hardware.[175] Later in December, Popular Science named the console a Grand Award Winner in home entertainment.[176] The game ♣ proceeded to win multiple awards; the console was awarded Spike TV's Video Games Award,[177] a Golden Joystick from the Golden ♣ Joystick Awards,[178] and an Emmy Award for game controller innovation from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.[179] IGN ♣ and The Guardian named the Wii the 10th greatest video game console of all time out of 25,[180][181] and GameSpot ♣ chose the console as having the best hardware in its "Best and Worst 2006" awards.[182]
The Wii was praised for its ♣ simple yet responsive controls, as well as its simplicity that appeals to broader audiences. Although Dan Grabham of Tech Radar ♣ enjoyed its simple mechanics, stating how "even grandparents can pick things up pretty quickly", he also enjoyed the depth of ♣ content carried over from the GameCube.[183] CNET likened the "no-brainer" setup and the easy to navigate home screen.[184] Will Wright, ♣ the creator of The Sims, called the Wii "the only next gen system I've seen", and rather considered the PS3 ♣ and the Xbox 360 as simply successors with "incremental improvement". He believed that the Wii did not only improve on ♣ graphics, but also complimented how it "hits a completely different demographic".[185] Reviewers were fond of the compact design,[184] with Ars ♣ Technica comparing it to an Apple product.[186]
By 2008, two years after the Wii's release,[187] Nintendo acknowledged several limitations and challenges ♣ with the system (such as the perception that the system catered primarily to a "casual" audience[188] and was unpopular among ♣ hardcore gamers).[189] Miyamoto admitted that the lack of support for high-definition video output on the Wii and its limited network ♣ infrastructure also contributed to the system being regarded separately from its competitors' systems, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.[190] Miyamoto ♣ originally defended Nintendo's decision to not include HD graphics in the Wii, stating that the number of HDTV's in people's ♣ homes at the time was "really not that high, yet. Of course I think five years down the road it ♣ would be pretty much a given that Nintendo would create an HD system, but right now the predominant television set ♣ in the world is a non-HD set."[191] In 2013, Miyamoto said in an interview with Japanese video game website 4Gamer ♣ that "Even for the Wii, no matter how much it made the system cost, it would have been great if ♣ it were HD in the first place."[192]
At the same time, criticism of the Wii Remote and Wii hardware specifications had ♣ surfaced. Former GameSpot editor and Giantbomb founder Jeff Gerstmann stated that the controller's speaker produces low-quality sound,[193] while Factor 5 ♣ co-founder Julian Eggebrecht stated that the console has inferior audio capabilities and graphics.[194] UK-based developer Free Radical Design stated that ♣ the Wii hardware lacks the power necessary to run the software it scheduled for release on other seventh-generation consoles.[195] Online ♣ connectivity of the Wii was also criticized; Matt Casamassina of IGN compared it to the "entirely unintuitive" service provided for ♣ the Nintendo DS.[196]
Although the Wii Mini was met with praise for being cheap, considering it was bundled with a Wii ♣ Remote, Nunchuk and a copy of Mario Kart Wii,[197][198] it was considered inferior compared to the original console. Critics were ♣ disappointed in the lack of online play and backwards compatibility with GameCube games,[197][199][200] and also believed the hardware was still ♣ rather quite large, being about half the size of the Wii;[197] Eurogamer's Richard Leadbetter thought the Wii Mini was not ♣ any more "living room friendly", as he believed the "bright red plastics make it stand out much more than the ♣ more neutral blacks and whites of existing model's casing." He stated that the overall design was rough in texture, and ♣ seemed to have been built with emphasis on durability.[198] Nintendo Life reviewer Damien McFerran said that the lightweight design of ♣ the Wii Mini makes it feel "a little cheaper and less dependable" with empty space inside the shell.[199] CNET criticized ♣ the pop-open lid for inserting disks to be "cheap-feeling".[197]
Third-party development
The Wii's success caught third-party developers by surprise due to constraints ♣ of the hardware's distinct limitations; this led to apologies for the quality of their early games. In an interview with ♣ Der Spiegel, Ubisoft's Yves Guillemot and Alain Corre admitted that they made a mistake in rushing out their launch titles, ♣ promising to take future projects more seriously.[201] An executive for Frontline Studios stated that major publishers were wary of releasing ♣ exclusive titles for the Wii, due to the perception that third-party companies were not strongly supported by consumers.[202] 1UP editor ♣ Jeremy Parish stated that Nintendo was the biggest disappointment for him in 2007. Commenting on the lack of quality third-party ♣ support, he stated that the content was worse than its predecessors, resulting in "bargain-bin trash".[203]
Additionally, the lack of third-party support ♣ also came from the fact that first-party games released by Nintendo were too successful, and developers were having issues with ♣ competing. Game developers, such as Rod Cousens, CEO of Codemasters were having issues with the slow sales on the Wii. ♣ The Nikkei Business Daily, a Japanese newspaper, claimed that companies were too nervous to start or continue making games for ♣ the console, some of which considering the Wii to be a fad that will eventually die down in popularity.[204] Nintendo ♣ considered why this was the case was due to the fact that they "know the Wii's special characteristics better than ♣ anyone", and began developing the games for the console long before its release, giving them a head start.[205]
Due to struggling ♣ sales during 2010, developers began creating alternative options. Capcom took note of the difficulty of making money on the Wii, ♣ and shifted their content to making less games, but with higher quality.[206] According to Sony, many third-party developers originally making ♣ games for the Wii started focusing attention more of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.[207]
Sales
Global Wii sales (cumulative). See or ♣ edit source data.
Initial consumer reaction to the Wii appears to have been positive, with commentators judging the launch to have ♣ been successful.[208] The launch of the Wii in November 2006 was considered the largest console launch by Nintendo in the ♣ Americas,[209][210] Japan,[211] Europe and Australia.[212][213] The console outsold combined sales of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in several regions ♣ in its launch period.[214][215][216] The Wii remained in short supply through the first year. The company had already shipped nearly ♣ 3.2 million units worldwide by the end of 2006,[217] and worked to raise production amounts to 17.5 million through 2007, ♣ but warned consumers that there would be shortages of the Wii through that year.[218][219][220] Wii sales surpassed Xbox 360 sales ♣ by September 2007.[221] To meet further demand, Nintendo increased production rates of the Wii from 1.6 million to around 2.4 ♣ million units per month in 2008, planning to meet the continued demand for the console.[222][223]
At the March 2009 Game Developers ♣ Conference, Iwata reported that the Wii had reached 50 million sales.[224] Nintendo announced its first price reductions for the console ♣ in September 2009, dropping the MSRP fromR$249.99 toR$199.99. The price cut had come days after both Sony and Microsoft announced ♣ similar price cuts on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles. Nintendo stated that the price reduction was in anticipation ♣ of drawing in more consumers who still cautious about buying a video game console.[126] The Wii became the best-selling home ♣ video game console produced by Nintendo during 2009, with sales exceeding 67 million units.[225][226]
In 2010, sales of the Wii began ♣ to decline, falling by 21 percent from the previous year.[227] The drop in sales was considered to be due to ♣ a combination of the introduction of the PlayStation Move and Kinect motion control systems on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox ♣ 360 systems, and the waning fad of the Wii system.[228] Wii sales also weakened into 2011 as third-party support for ♣ the console waned; major publishers were passing over the Wii which was underpowered and used non-standard development tools, and instead ♣ focused on games for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and personal computers. Publishers were also drawn away from the Wii ♣ with the promise of the more powerful Wii U in the near future.[229][230] Wii sales continued to decline into 2012, ♣ falling by half from the previous year.[231] After its release in Canada on December 7, 2012, the Wii Mini had ♣ sold 35,700 units by January 31, 2013.[5][232]
The Wii surpassed 100 million units sold worldwide during the second quarter of 2013.[233] ♣ The Wii had total lifetime sales of 101.63 million consoles worldwide as of March 31, 2024, the last reported data ♣ for the console by Nintendo.[k] At least 48 million consoles were sold in North America, 12 million in Japan, and ♣ 40 million in all other regions.[234] As of 2024 , the Wii is the fifth-best-selling home console of all time, ♣ surpassed by the original PlayStation (102.4 million units), the PlayStation 4 (117.2 million units), the Nintendo Switch (125.62 million units), ♣ and the PlayStation 2 (159 million units).[235] As of 2024 , the Wii is Nintendo's second-best-selling home console, having been ♣ outsold by the Nintendo Switch at 125.62 million units.[h][235][236]
As of September 30, 2024 , nine Wii games had sold over ♣ ten million units globally, which included Wii Sports (82.90 million, including pack-in copies), Mario Kart Wii (37.38 million), Wii Sports ♣ Resort (33.14 million), New Super Mario Bros. Wii (30.32 million), Wii Play (28.02 million), Wii Fit (22.67 million), Wii Fit ♣ Plus (21.13 million), Super Smash Bros. Brawl (13.32 million), and Super Mario Galaxy (12.80 million).[237] A total of 921.85 million ♣ titles had been sold for the Wii by June 30, 2024.[238] The popularity of Wii Sports was considered part of ♣ the console's success, making it a killer app for the Wii as it drew those that typically did not play ♣ video games to the system.[239]
Legal issues
There were a number of legal challenges stemming from the Wii and Wii Remote. Several ♣ of these were patent-related challenges from companies claiming the Wii Remote infringed on their patents. Most of these were either ♣ dismissed or settled out of court. One challenge was from iLife Technologies Inc., who sued Nintendo over their Wii Remote's ♣ motion detection technology for patent infringement in 2013. iLife initially won a US$10.1 million judgement against Nintendo in 2024. The ♣ case was overturned in 2024, with the appellate court ruling that iLife's patents were too broad to cover the specific ♣ motion detection technologies developed by Nintendo.[240]
There were lawsuits against Nintendo claiming physical damage done by ineffective wrist straps on the ♣ Wii Remote when they slipped out of players' hands and broke television screens or windows.[93] The first class action suit ♣ filed in December 2006 led Nintendo to issue a product recall for the existing wrist straps and send out new ♣ versions that had an improved securing mechanism for the wrist.[241] A second class action lawsuit was filed by a mother ♣ in Colorado in December 2008, claiming the updated wrist straps were still ineffective.[242] This suit was dismissed by September 2010, ♣ finding for Nintendo that the wrist straps were not knowingly faulty under Colorado consumer protection laws.[243]
Legacy
Impact on Nintendo
The Wii has ♣ been recognized as Nintendo's "blue ocean" strategy to differentiate itself from its competitors Sony and Microsoft for the next several ♣ years.[244] The Wii has since become seen as a prime example of an effective blue ocean approach. While Sony and ♣ Microsoft continued to innovate their consoles on hardware improvements to provide more computational and graphics power, Nintendo put more effort ♣ towards developing hardware that facilitated new ways to play games. This was considered a key part to the success of ♣ the console, measured by sales over its competitors during that console generation.[245][246] However, Nintendo did not maintain this same "blue ♣ ocean" approach when it took towards designing the Wii U, by which point both Sony and Microsoft had caught up ♣ with similar features from the Wii. These factors partially contributed towards weak sales of the Wii U.[246]
Part of the Wii's ♣ success was attributed to its lower cost compared to the other consoles. While Microsoft and Sony have experienced losses producing ♣ their consoles in the hopes of making a long-term profit on software sales, Nintendo reportedly had optimized production costs to ♣ obtain a significant profit margin with each Wii unit sold.[247] Soichiro Fukuda, a games analyst at Nikko Citigroup, estimated that ♣ in 2007, Nintendo's optimized production gave them a profit from each unit sold ranging fromR$13 in Japan toR$49 in the ♣ United States andR$74 in Europe.[248][249] The console's final price at launch ofR$249.99 made it comparatively cheaper than the Xbox 360 ♣ (which had been available in two models priced atR$299 andR$399) and the then-upcoming PlayStation 3 (also to be available in ♣ two models priced atR$499 andR$599). Further, Nintendo's first-party games for the Wii were set at an retail price ofR$50, aboutR$10 ♣ less expensive than average games for Nintendo's competitors. Iwata stated they were able to keep the game price lower since ♣ the Wii was not as focused on high-resolution graphics in comparison to the other consoles, thus keeping development costs lower, ♣ averaging aboutR$5 million per game compared toR$20 million required for developing on the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3.[250][72]
Health effects
The Wii ♣ was marketed to promote a healthy lifestyle via physical activity. It has been used in physical rehabilitation, and its health ♣ effects have been studied for several conditions.[251][252] The most studied uses of Wii for rehabilitation therapy are for stroke, cerebral ♣ palsy, Parkinson's disease,[251][253][254] and for balance training.[252][255][256][257] The potential for adverse effects from video game rehabilitation therapy (for example, from ♣ falls) has not been well studied as of 2024.[251]
A study published in the British Medical Journal stated that Wii players ♣ use more energy than they do playing sedentary computer games, but Wii playing was not an adequate replacement for regular ♣ exercise.[258][259] Some Wii players have experienced musculoskeletal injuries known as Wiiitis, Wii knee, Wii elbow (similar to tennis elbow) or ♣ nintendinitis from repetitive play; a small number of serious injuries have occurred, but injuries are infrequent and most are mild.[260][261]
In ♣ May 2010, Nintendo gave the American Heart Association (AHA) aR$1.5 million gift;[262] the AHA endorsed the Wii with its Healthy ♣ Check icon, covering the console and two of its more active games, Wii Fit Plus and Wii Sports Resort.[263][264]
Homebrew, hacking, ♣ and emulation
Demonstration of the Wii Remote used as the sensor for a light pen-type computer input device
The Wii has become ♣ a popular target for homebrewing new functionality and video games since its discontinuation. For example, homebrew projects have been able ♣ to add DVD playback to unmodified Wii consoles.[265] The Wii also can be hacked to enable an owner to use ♣ the console for activities unintended by the manufacturer.[266] Several brands of modchips are available for the Wii.[267]
The Wii Remote also ♣ became a popular unit to hack for other applications. As it connected through standard Bluetooth interfaces, programmers were able to ♣ reverse engineer the communications protocol and develop application programming interfaces for the Wii Remote for other operating systems, and subsequently ♣ games and applications that used the Wii Remote on alternate platforms. Further hacks at the hardware level, typically taking apart ♣ the Wii Remote and Sensor Bar and reconfiguring its components in other configurations, led to other applications such as remote ♣ hand and finger tracking, digital whiteboards, and head tracking for virtual reality headsets.[268][269]
The Wii has been a popular system for ♣ emulation; while the act of creating such emulators in a cleanroom-type approach have been determined to be legal, the actions ♣ of bringing the Wii system software and games to other systems has been of questionable legality and Nintendo has actively ♣ pursued legal action against those that distribute copies of their software. The open-source Dolphin project has been able to successfully ♣ emulate the Wii and GameCube through several years of cleanroom efforts.[270]
Music
Joe Skrebels of IGN has argued that the Wii's greatest ♣ and longest lasting legacy is that of the music composed by Totaka for the console, writing: "Motion controls, Miis, and ♣ balance boards have all been removed or diminished as Nintendo moved on, but take a quick look across YouTube, TikTok, ♣ or Twitter, and I guarantee it won't take all that long to hear a Wii track. Covers and memes featuring ♣ music from the Wii are everywhere. Music written for the Wii has taken on a new life as a cultural ♣ touchstone, and inspired people far beyond the confines of the little white wedge it was composed for."[138] The Washington Post's ♣ Michael Andor Brodeur described the Mii Channel music as "a cultural touchstone",[139] while Martin Robinson of Eurogamer called the theme ♣ of the Wii Shop Channel "a song so infectious it went on to become a meme";[140] both the Mii Channel ♣ theme and Wii Shop Channel theme have inspired jazz covers.[139][140]
Notes
See also
References
Works cited
