Wii-ControlerThe Wii was released November 19, 2006 and has been solidly selling ever since.  I must admit I tried to get one when the lines formed ahead of time, but I had to wait a few months before I got my Wii console.  As silly as the name is I find that the system is ‘revolutionizing’ the gaming industry.  Not everyone thinks it’s a good thing to bring new people to the gaming community but Nintendo is not hurting for it, in fact they are profiting from the new gamers being brought into the ‘fold’, from parents playing Wii Sports with their kids to the older generations discovering video games for the first time.

The Wii isn’t quite as graphically powerful as the 360 or the PS3 in these console wars, but it does make up for those failings in creative design.  The controller is called the Wii Remote or the Wiimote and is motion sensitive making games more interactive.  Even a year later the Wii is still hard to find in stores and with good reason, I know the hardcore gamers have Halo and Heavenly Sword exclusive to their systems and those are awesome games, but the Wii has got Metroid Prime 3 Corruption and Legend of Zelda:  Twilight Princess.  They are strong titles and well constructed games and with games like Super Smash Brothers Brawl to come, bringing with it new online multiplayer abilities that Wii has neglected up until now, the Wii should not be passed over.

Yeah, a lot of the games are campy and cartoonic but no less fun, I am currently having a blash with Super Mario Galaxy, which is an even newer way to play a Mario game.  It also has cross platform games that take advantage of it’s unique controller design.  Call of Duty 3 has the rifle wrestling feature that has you swinging the wiimote back and forth.  You’re trying to pull your rifle out of a Nazi soldiers hands, before hitting him in the face with a realistic swing of the controller and that’s a fairly cool feature.

I know the swinging of the controller is weird which is why the Wii allows game designers to make games that take advantage of the ‘classic’ controller, or just your old Gamecube controllers.  Mortal Kombat:  Armageddon has the ability to use either the wiimote-nunchuck combination or the classic controller, and that game is currently a big hit in my household right now.  The Wiimote even allows the new Guitar Hero 3 to have a wireless guitar whereas the other systems are releaseing wired guitars with the wireless purchasable separately. 

Overall, as David has reported the Wii is at the top of the market because it is reinventing gaming for everyone.  It has lacked in it’s cross platform games, because most developers are unsure of the new ground, but that is slowly changing with some newer non family oriented games hitting the shelves now with more coming.  Now if only more third party designers would let go of their fear of these changes and start creating more games for the system, specifically for the hardcore gamer, Wii can get some serious gaming done.