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Our look at the Nintendo Wii

For show 10 of our podcast, the FrequencyCast team had a good play with this new games console from Nintendo... Here's what we think...

What is the Nintendo Wii?

Following on from the Nintendo Game Cube, this is the next generation games machine from Nintendo. Launched in the UK on the 8th of December 2006, it makes use of some clever infrared and wireless technology to bring a new dimension to gaming... you have a magic wireless wand as the controller. The Wii can also do clever things when connected to the Internet.

Getting the Wii

Availability

When the Wii was launched in December 2006, they were in very short supply, but now the supply situation has eased.
Here are some suppliers listing the Wii:

Exploring the Wii

Listen Now

We featured the Nintendo Wii in Show 10 of our podcast, where the team spent an afternoon having fun with Wii Sport and Wii Play.

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Listen Now

When we reviewed the Wii for Podcast #10, Carl described the look of the Wii as like a car CD player on its end. The Wii is indeed a small, sleek beast, as the picture below shows...

The Nintendo Wii
The Nintendo Wii, plus Controller

Our Wii box came packed with leads, power supply, controller, and the Wii Sports game... Here's the picture of our unpacked Wii box, just before we plugged into our telly...

Contents of the Nintendo Wii box
What's in the box

What's new about this games console is the way the remote works. Using a combination of infrared (a small bar you stick to your telly), and wireless technology in the handset, the controller is used to mimic natural movements, such as a golf swing or a bowling action. Impressive stuff, although check out wiihaveaproblem.com to see some of the damage that the controllers have caused...

Wii Remote Controller
The Wii Controller

Once it's all connected, it's time to switch on... When you start up the Wii, you're presented with the main menu:

The Nintendo Wii main menu
The Nintendo Wii Main Menu

 

Enjoying the games

On our day with the Wii, the FrequencyCast team, Carl, Pete, Kate, Sarah and Harry, played each and every game on Nintendo Wii Sports and Nintendo Wii Play

Nintendo Wii Sports Bowling
Carl, bowling with Wii Sports

Nintendo Wii Sports Golf
FrequencyCast, teeing off with Wii Sports Golf

The Nintendo Wii can also browse the 'Net, when connected using the built-in Wi-fi. Below is a screenshot of the Wii's Opera web browser, looking at our site...

Surfing the Net with a Wii

Our verdict? A thumbs up from the whole team - fun gameplay, and a novel way to interact with a game... we love it. Shame about the silly name though...

Hear us having fun with the Wii in Show 10 - as you'll hear, we'll all now fans of this top console. If you can find one, get one!

 

Top Games for the Wii

In April 2008, we got our hands on the game we've been waiting for - Mario Kart Wii - supplied with a special steering wheel. Knockout! Available from Play.com , GAME and HMV

Mario Kart Wii Box kit

 

Other links:

 

Got a question on the Wii that we can answer in our next podcast?
Call 0208 133 4567 or send us a message


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