We’ve succumbed and thrown in our lot with the plebs. Yes, we’ve purchased a Nintendo Wii; and yes, we purchased it primarily so that we could use the ubiquitous, yet paradoxically scarce Wii Fit.
Not exactly hidden, but, shall we say, slightly opaque costs before we got started were an extra remote-control, an extra Nunchuk, a set of component leads (for better quality video) and a LAN adapter (for on-line gaming without the high latency of a wireless hop).
With that little lot in place, we were ready to rumble.
The Wii, whose remote-control is fitted with motion and velocity sensors, really does present an altogether more physically consuming video game experience. In that regard, it represents a quantum leap forward in video game technology, placing it on a entirely new evolutionary track. In the world of video games, the Wii is a genetic mutation, a fish that has crawled onto land.
Of course, pioneering new technology has its pitfalls, and there are moments when the control is not precise or sensitive enough for the complex motion used in some simulations. The Wii, as revolutionary as it is, does have moments when it feels like the prototype of a new class of video gaming experience; and that’s essentially what it is. That it doesn’t feel like that more of time time is a testament to the great work of Nintendo’s engineers.
So, whilst the Wii has intensified the interaction between man and machine, its most important contribution is arguably to pave the way for the next generation of this type of console, which is likely to bring many refinements. In the interim, perhaps we’ll see a second generation of remote-control for the Wii.
Nintendo were so focused on delivering an entirely new kind of physical experience, that the actual graphics and sound have become secondary to the controls. Here, it’s all about how you play and not how it looks or sounds.
If one wants blazing HD graphics, the Wii is not the console to buy. By today’s standards, its output is low resolution and the standard kit contains only composite cables, so the picture quality isn’t the best, either. For the best results, you need a set of component leads.
The best native resolution you’ll get from the console in the PAL world is 480p from a progressive scan display. Plugged into our AV receiver, that’s upscaled to 1080p, which looks good, but certainly wouldn’t win any awards for realism.
If you want the pinnacle of old-style video gaming technology, you’re still going to want a PlayStation 3. It and the Wii are so different that justifying owning both is easy. Indeed, with a game like Guitar Hero, the PS3 is on even footing with the Wii, when it comes to an all-consuming tactile experience. On the other hand, Guitar Hero is available for the Wii, too.
I called the Wii a rod for my own back in the title of this entry, because of the aforementioned Wii Fit and Konami’s arcade favourite, Dancing Stage Hottest Party. I’ve played games before that left my heart racing and beads of sweat on my forehead, but no game has ever left muscles over my whole body feeling stretched.
In fact, it’s hard to call the Wii Fit a game in the traditional sense. What Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training is to mental agility training on the Nintendo DS, the Wii Fit is to the physical. The games even have a similar structure, calling upon the user to choose a few exercises each day, before undergoing a handful of randomly chosen tests to determine one’s virtual brain or bodily age.
For us and many like us, the Wii is a strange mix of relaxation and exertion. Sarah really likes it and has taken to the Wii Fit’s daily training regimen. Even Eloïse has started to play it.
There’s really only one area where the Wii falls flat on its face and that’s with regard to memory. It comes with only 512 Kb of internal storage, which is going to fill up quite fast. To alleviate that problem, it has an SD slot, but it’s incompatible with SDHC cards. That effectively limits one to memory cards of 2 Gb or less, which is lame beyond reproach.
You’re also going to consume a lot of AA batteries, which is what the remote-controls use. You can use NiMH rechargeables, of course, or custom battery packs and a charging station. We opted for the latter.