First impressions of the Wii

On November 19, 2006, the Nintendo Wii console was officially made available to the public. I had my console preordered at my local GameStop, so I didn’t make a fuss about rushing out to pick mine up when the store opened. At around 2 PM that day, I made my way up to the store and finally picked up my Wii console. Excitement rushed through me as the clerk went into the back room and brought out the small white box containing the object at the root of much excitement and anticipation over the past few months.



The Wii remote itself is everything I remember from my experiences with it before. In hand, it’s one of the most comfortable controllers I’ve ever used. It’s got a good feel to it in terms of balance and weight, and it fits naturally in your hand. The nunchuck attachment is incredibly light (almost to the point of feeling a bit cheap) but is well designed, and is comfortable for long playing sessions. I also noticed the analog stick is a bit smaller than the one found on the Gamecube’s controller, but that’s neither here nor there. The only gripe I have regarding the Wii remote is the speaker. The sound quality just isn’t that good. The sounds are tinny and lack the clarity you’d find from most good quality headphones or speakers you’d find today.

The Wii console’s interface is well designed and is easy to work around. Flipping through the Wii “channels” is oddly reminiscent (in a good way) of flipping through channels on a television. Due to the similarities (at least in a physical sense) between the Wii remote and a traditional television remote, the channel interface was probably intentional. It’s simple, it’s easy, and very intuitive.

After playing my share of Wii Sports (the only game I have at the moment), I have to say that I am very pleased with how this game turned out. It’s pretty much every thing I expected and more. If you recall, I had a chance to play it last September at the Nintendo Fusion Tour event. After that small taste of Wii Sports, I was itching to play more. Wii boxing and Wii bowling are easily my two favorite modes, and boxing is great fun with a friend (but then again, all these games are great with a friend).

So far, the Wii has lived up to my expectations. I’ve had a ton of fun with it so far, and the only way I can go is up. I’ll be picking up some additional games soon and I’ll post my impressions on those as I get them. Has the novelty of actually swinging my arm (or flicking my wrist) to control my games worn off yet? No, not yet. In time, it probably will. It’s up to developers to come up with innovative and exciting ways to use the Wii remote’s motion sensing capabilities to keep the gameplay fresh and keep gamers and non gamers alike coming back for more. It’s certainly got me intrigued.

So a few days ago, I got to play the Wii...

The Nintendo Fusion Tour rolled into my neck of the woods yesterday, and a friend of mine and I decided to go. When we heard the Wii (a console we had already been very excited about) would be playable at the event, we knew we had to be there. Nintendo’s mantra as of late has been playing is believing, and after my first hand experience, I agree with them 100%.

In my few short hours at the event, I managed to get some play time on Wii Baseball, Wii Tennis and WarioWare Smooth Moves. I would’ve played Metroid Prime 3, but the line was incredibly long.



The Wiimote itself is definitely an amazing controller due to its motion sensing capabilities, but the first thing that became immediately apparent as the attendee handed me the controller, was the comfortable ergonomic design. The remote itself was smaller than it looked and felt natural in my hand. The B button sat perfectly above my index finger and the A button sat below my thumb. I instantly got a feel for it as soon as I began playing my first game, WarioWare.

WarioWare was the perfect first game to play, due to the many ways it uses the Wii controller features in quick succession. The many microgames I played all used the Wii controller in different ways. One game involved holding the Wii remote sideways like a handle bar and pumping up and down to pop a balloon, another had you putting the controller on your head and squatting, and the final challenge had you holding the controller like a steering wheel and guiding a car along a track to the goal. The game itself was fun and made great use of the Wii remote.

The next game I played, (after a rather long wait) was Wii Baseball, part of the Wii sports compilation that comes bundled with the Wii at launch. While waiting in line, we watched a few gamers ahead of my friend and I really got into it. We looked at each other, thinking we could never get that into it, especially in public. Well, once we got our hands on the controller and started swinging for the fences, we were just as immersed. Seriously, it’s just that fun. The two of us played simultaneously, one of us pitching while the other swung. It was incredibly fun, although it’s a lot harder than it looks. Your timing has to be excellent to score big.

The third game I played was Wii Tennis, which was just as multiplayer focused as Wii Baseball. It was awesome. I liked the fact that it splits the screen to give each player an optimal view of the action. It was a very nice touch, and one I would like to see implemented in future tennis games. The controls were spot on, and actually felt like we were in a real tennis match (okay it wasn’t that real, but it was close). While playing I remembered reading that you could actually spin the remote to add topspin or backspin to the ball, I decided to try it out for myself. It works. Another plus to the realism and immersion.

After playing these games, it’s clear that Nintendo is still the unchallenged king of the multiplayer game. Every Wii sports title I plated seemed like it was designed for multiple players, and they were all incredibly fun. I think my friend said it best when he said the Wii is the next generation of multiplayer gamplay. I agree with that on so many levels after my experiences. He and I developed a bit of a Wii Sports rivalry during our time at the controls. After he completely slaughtered me at Wii Baseball (9-0…) I took it to him in Wii Tennis, winning three straight games and the match, with a blowout round in there too. When the Wii launches, we’ll have our rematch at both. Stay tuned for updates on that.

In the end, the Wii turned out to be even better and more fun than I originally expected. I will definitely be picking one up on launch day. I don’t think I can wait any longer. The worries I had about the Wii controller (lag between movement and on screen action and the novelty of the motion sensing wearing off quickly) were put to rest now that I’ve experienced it for myself. The only thing that would’ve made the already great trip even better was if I brought my camera. Ah well. I know a few of you might remain skeptical, and I can’t blame you. It’s hard to put into words exactly how much gameplay has evolved on the Wii. All I can say is wait until you play it. Reading about it and actually playing it yourself is totally different. I truly believe the Wii is ushering in the next generation of gameplay, and I can’t wait to play it again. If the Fusion Tour is making a stop in your town in the near future, go there. You’ll be blown away.