Wii

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Wii
Wii.png
Wii would like to play.
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: Original
NA: November 19, 2006
JP: December 2, 2006
AU: December 7, 2006
EU: December 8, 2006
HK: September 20, 2007
SAF: September 28, 2007
KOR: April 26, 2008
CHN: 2008
IND: September 30, 2008
Wii Family Edition
NA: October 23, 2011
EU: November 4, 2011
AU: November 11, 2011
Wii Mini
CAN: December 7, 2012
EU: March 15, 2013
UK: March 22, 2013
NA: November 17, 2013
Predecessor: Nintendo GameCube
Successor: Wii U
Competitors: Xbox 360
PlayStation 3
HyperScan
Generation: Seventh generation


Wii (codenamed Nintendo Revolution), is a home gaming console manufactured by Nintendo and initially released in November 2006. It was the successor to the Nintendo GameCube and its successor was the Wii U. It competed with the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 during its lifetime. It was the home console that sold the most systems in the seventh generation of video game consoles unlike its successor. The original Wii and Wii Family Edition were discontinued on October 21, 2013, while the Wii Mini was discontinued on November 13, 2017. It is the best selling home console of the seventh generation and the best selling non-portable Nintendo console. It is also the third home console to sell over 100 million units, after the original PlayStation and PlayStation 2.

Hardware specifications

  • CPU: IBM PowerPC Broadway @ 729 MHz
  • Memory: 24 MB 1T-SRAM @ 324 MHz (2.7 GB/s) + 64 MB GDDR3 SDRAM
  • Storage: 512 MB NAND flash memory
  • Display: 480i, 576i (PAL, RCA), 480i, 576i (PAL), 480p (component)
  • Graphics: ATI Hollywood @ 243 MHz
  • Media: Wii disc, GameCube disc (RVL-001 models only), DVD (Wii must be modded to play them, RVL-001 only)

Why Wii Would Like to Play It

  1. It popularized motion controls with the Wiimote, which didn't even have as many issues as the previous motion controllers. When given to developers who know what they're doing, motion controls greatly enhance gameplay without substituting standard controls.
  2. The Wiimote is also a very unique controller that's still simple to use. It can either be held vertically to point to the sensor bar to make the cursor appear on the screen or horizontally to hold it like a standard Nintendo Entertainment System controller, making it usable on 2D platform games like New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
  3. The Nunchuk accessory that you plug right into the bottom of the Wiimote grants additionnal buttons on another hand and an analog stick that enhances the controls for 3D games.
  4. Despite its weaker hardware compared to its competitors, it was capable of running great looking games like Super Mario Galaxy, Sonic Colors, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and De Blob.
  5. Huge game library of over 1500 games which includes masterpieces such as:
  6. The library also includes some great third-party games such as:
  7. The original models are completely backwards compatible with Nintendo GameCube games and its controllers since they use a similar hardware. In addition, many Wii games are compatible with the GameCube controllers. However, the Wii Family Edition and Wii Mini are missing GameCube controller ports.
  8. Some games can connect with the Nintendo DS to unlock additional features.
  9. The system supports both wireless internet connection for multiplayer online video games and Bluetooth for wireless controllers. However, the Wii does not have an Ethernet port, but working LAN adapters got made for the Wii.
  10. It was also designed to be able to play games originally released on Nintendo's older systems, with the introduction of Virtual Console which allowed people to buy older games digitally on the Wii Store without buying physical copies for them and their platforms, meaning it can run games from every Nintendo console up to that point. This concept is also carried over to the 3DS, Wii U, and Switch (though limited, as only NES and SNES games are playable through a paid subscription to the Nintendo Switch Online service).
  11. The Classic Controller accessory allows you to play the Wii without motion controls and improves compatibility with Virtual Console games.
  12. Most Wiis came bundled with Wii Sports, which outsold Super Mario Bros. as the most sold single-platform game.
    • It later got bundled with the games sequel, Wii Sports Resort. Eventually, they got bundled on one disc.
  13. It is easy to hack and install The Homebrew Channel, which allows you to play classic games and back-up games. To see how to do so, click here.
  14. Some games would make use of the forecast channel so that the weather in the game would be the same as the weather where the player is located.
  15. The first Nintendo console with Miis, chibi-like custom avatars that can be used in the Wii series of games.
  16. The Wii is the cheapest Nintendo console you can buy used, with many sites listing it for around US $25.00.
  17. If you have homebrew, you can download WiiWare and Virtual Console WAD files onto your Wii and play them as if you bought them on the Wii Shop Channel.

Bad Qualities

  1. Its focus on motion control and lower hardware specs compared to its competitors made it an easy target for shovelware developers like Data Design Interactive and Destination Software. Unsurprisingly, this ended up being a factor in it's demise since it’s library was completely oversaturated with shovelware, and it became infamous for such.
    • Some people also didn't like the use of motion controls (probably because some games like Mario Party 8 and many launch titles like the Sonic Storybook series seemingly relied too much on motion controls).
  2. Due to its weaker hardware, the Wii often got inferior ports of third-party games. More often than not, games would be ported directly from the PlayStation 2 rather than the Xbox 360 or PS3. Third-party developers often had a hard time making motion controls work as well. An example of this would be Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, where the flight controls are very weird, and make flying harder than it should be.
    • With that being said, Wii versions of certain games like Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, were completely different from the Xbox 360 and the PS3 versions, due to it's hardware not being powerful enough to handle certain games.
    • The Wii cannot support high definition graphics, meaning games can only be played in 480i or 576i (PAL) instead of 720p or 1080p. Even the official component cables only change the output to 480p.
    • For some reason, Nintendo limited the size of Wiiware games to be not above 40 MB, which led to many developers not release their games on the Wii due to the large size such as Super Meat Boy.
  3. The Wii does not support software patches or updates, meaning that developers cannot fix bugs or add/remove/modify features to a game post-release. Especially with games with a lot of game-breaking glitches like Mario Kart Wii, patching these glitches was absolutely out of question as a result.
  4. Despite its discontinuation in 2013, several games continued to be released on the console until 2019.
  5. The Wii doesn't play DVDs by default due to support being cut during development, music CDs or Blu-ray discs (even though Blu-ray was introduced in 2006). The RVL-001 models modded with The Homebrew Channel can play DVDs with MPlayer CE or WiiMC. The RVL-101 and RVL-201 models cannot read DVDs at all due to disc drive changes.
  6. Just like on the Wii U and Switch, N64 Virtual Console titles are unable to emulate a controller pak, meaning that some features in some games are unavailable, such as ghost data in Mario Kart 64.
  7. GameCube games still require a memory card to save as they can't save to the Wii's internal storage
  8. The later revisions are unnecessarily downgraded from the original model:
    • The Wii Family Edition lacks GameCube compatibility for cost reasons, but you can screw on the GameCube ports and memory card slots tightly to revert this downgrade. However, it might do damage to the console. The internet features, Wii Shop Channel, and SD card slot remain intact.
    • The Wii Mini also lacks GameCube compatibility. In addition, it also lacks internet connectivity (not that it matters too much now due to the Wii Shop closure in 2019), an SD card slot, and only has Composite video outputs, meaning that the resolution will be a lot lower. It was overall considered to be a pointless revision like the Game Boy Micro because it was not exactly cheap, since used Wiis were and still are often sold for half the Wii Mini's retailing price and have even more features anyway. To view all the reasons that the revision failed, see here.
  9. For some reason, even the Korean version of the Wii lacks GameCube compatibility, despite the GameCube also being released in that country.
  10. The Get Connected Video that comes with Wiis manufactured since October 2008 when you first set it up (Update 4.0) takes up 1180 blocks of storage, which is over half the Wii's internal storage space! However, it is not bloatware, so it's possible to delete the channel upon starting it.
  11. There is a bug in the Nunchuck's analog stick that causes its neutral position to be messed up if tilted while booting up the Wii, connecting it to the Wiimote, starting a channel or returning back to the Wii menu. This causes the control of the stick to go to that direction and make unintended controls. This can be fixed by holding down the A, B, + and - buttons on the Wiimote to reset the neutral position.
  12. Downloadable games are bought for the console, rather than for an account, meaning that if the console broke, you would need to buy all the games again. Luckily, emulators for the Wii exist for homebrews. Examples are FCE Ultra GX, Frodo, Snes9x GX, Wii64, Hugo-Wii, Genesis Plus GX, SDL MAME Wii, GxGeo, blueMSX-Wii, and WADs are downloadable too using homebrew. The Wii U fixed this issue.
  13. Unlike its competitors, the Wii does not have a built-in Ethernet port and a separate LAN adapter has to be bought to get access to faster network speeds. Even the Xbox and slim PlayStation 2 from a generation before came with built-in Ethernet ports.
  14. Many of its services have been discontinued due to the console being discontinued a long time ago. As a result, about half of the starting channels don't function anymore.
    • Nintendo discontinued the Wii Shop Channel on January 31, 2019 so you can no longer buy WiiWare and Virtual Console games. However, the Wii U Transfer Tool channel and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Save Data Update Channel are still available if the user wants to transport data to the Wii U or if you think of playing Zelda: Skyward Sword again.
    • The Wii versions of streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu all went offline with the Wii Shop Channel so shows and movies are no longer viewable through them.
    • The YouTube app was discontinued on June 27, 2017.
    • The Wii's Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, along with the Nintendo DS's, was discontinued on May 20, 2014 due to the shutdown of multiplayer services from GameSpy, so online play on Wii and DS games no longer work without homebrew.
    • While discontinued on June 27, 2013, The Forecast Channel, News Channel, Everybody Votes Channel, Wii Speak Channel, and more can be restored with RiiConnect24 or Wiimmfi. Japanese Exclusive Channels like Wii No Ma and Damae, on the other hand, are more complex to restore with WiiLink24 and following the instructions wrong can crash your Wii.

Maintenance

  1. Make sure that you play at a proper distance and well lined up with the Wii's sensor bar to improve the motion control features. The results will still vary depending on the game, however.
  2. Treat your Nunchuk and Wiimote carefully so their connectors won't get damaged.
    • If you're not careful, or if you're not wearing the wrist strap, your Wii Remote could accidentally fly off your hand and break something as well as damage itself. Hold the Wiimote and Nunchuk tightly.
  3. The hardware is very sensitive, an example is when SWEGTA'S RVT-H Wii got bricked because he pressed the home menu as the game crashed during the intro cutscene of Bait on a beta build of Bully: Scholarship Edition, and trying to go to the Home Menu during the cutscene as the game crashed actually BROKE the bluetooth module. As the module is required to boot the system, the console refuses to boot until it is repaired. It is recommended that you do not switch to the Home Menu or power off the console while in a channel or game unless it has frozen or crashed.
  4. The Wii Remote and Nunchuk buttons can stick over time. To fix this problem, follow the steps below.

To clean sticking buttons:

  1. You need an unused toothbrush (one that has been opened from its package, but not used) and hot tap water. (60-70 degrees F) Do not use boiling water, soap, or detergent, as they can damage the Wiimote and Nunchuk even more.
  2. Dip the toothbrush into the water and shake off any excess amounts. Carefully scrub the bristles into the cracks of all the buttons, moving the brush in a back and forth motion, getting every nook and cranny.
  3. After all of the buttons have been scrubbed, let air dry for at least 2 hours.
  4. Test the buttons and repeat the procedure if it is necessary.
  5. If they still do not work after trying, contact Nintendo for assistance.

Reception

Despite getting strong criticism over its weaker hardware compared to competitors and focus on motion controls, the Wii was very well-received as it appealed to more than just hardcore gamers, and because of that, it actually outsold both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 with 101.63 million units sold, thus making it the best-selling Nintendo home console until the Switch surpassed it in 2022.

Many clone consoles were made to rip off the motion controls, most notably the Wireless60. Sony and Microsoft themselves even made the PlayStation Move and Xbox Kinect respectively to compete with the Wii.

Unlike its competitors, the PS3 and 360 which were being sold at a loss during its early days, the Wii was a huge success since day one.

Trivia

  • The Nunchuk bears a striking resemblance to the Nintendo 64 controller's analog stick handle.
  • The original Classic Controller is almost identical to the SNES controller.
  • While the Family Edition lacks GameCube ports, the console mold still has cutouts for the GameCube controller ports and memory card slots, but the lid is sealed shut. The same cannot be said for the Wii Mini.

External links

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