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Wii (pronounced as the word "we", IPA: ) is Nintendo's seventh-generation video game console. Its project code name was Revolution.

The key feature of the Wii console is its wireless controller, the Wii Remote, which may be used as a handheld pointing device and can detect motion and rotation in three dimensions. The console also notably features a stand-by mode that will allow the console to use the feature WiiConnect24, enabling it to receive messages and updates over the Internet while consuming very little electrical power.

Nintendo first mentioned the console in the 2004 E3 press conference, and at the 2005 E3, unveiled the system under the code name Revolution. Satoru Iwata, Nintendo's President, revealed a prototype of the system's game controller at the 2005 Tokyo Game Show during his keynote speech in September 2005. At E3 2006, Wii won the Game Critics Awards for Best of Show and Best Hardware. Wii is set to be released on November 19 2006 in North America, December 2 2006 in Japan, December 7 2006 in Australia, New Zealand and Italy, December 8 2006 in Europe and December 9 2006 in Spain.

Release date and price
On September 14 2006 and September 15 2006, Nintendo announced release information for Japan, North and Latin America, Australia and Europe, including dates and prices. The information can be seen in the table below.

At a June 7 2006 policy briefing, Nintendo revealed that it intends to release 6 million console units and 17 million software units during the fiscal year ending March 31 2007 and 4 million or more console units by the end of the 2006 calendar year. On September 14 2006, it was announced that the majority of the 2006 shipments will be allotted to the Americas.

The Spanish launch of the Wii console has been moved to December 9 2006, because December 8 2006 is the celebration of the Immaculate Conception, and all shops will be closed. Due to the same celebration, in Italy the launch has been anticipated to December 7.

Nintendo of Canada vice president and general manager Ron Bertram stated that the company expects a million consoles for North America at launch, information picked up by IGN on September 25, 2006. The next day, Nintendo branded the information as a "misstatement about the number of Wii consoles that will be available in the Americas during the launch rollout," and reiterated earlier statements of expected sales of 4 million consoles worldwide by the end of 2006 with the largest allotment available in the Americas. The company affirmed that they "are working to ensure a plentiful supply and a consistent flow."

Despite the price point of US$60 quoted for many seventh generation games, Satoru Iwata said that it is unlikely that first-party games would cost more than US$50 (GBP£34 - £39).

The launch Wii package is reported to include the console itself, a plastic stand for the console, one Wii Remote, one Nunchuk attachment, one Sensor Bar, one AC adapter (with power block similar to that of the GameCube), AV cables (component video and other type of cables will be available separately), a startup disk, and/or Wii Sports (it may be included in the startup disk) (in all regions excluding Japan).

The launch was also foreshadowed by an amazing pre-order response. Stores such as GameStop, EB Games, and Toys R Us had lines outside their store before they opened, and most stores filled all their pre-orders within minutes.

* ''Wii Sports comes packaged with the console in all regions excluding Japan.

† USD equivalent with local VAT, GST or sales tax removed for ease of comparison with territories that do not include taxes in consumer prices

‡ Retail price as estimated by, rather than suggested by, Nintendo

Confirmed launch titles
As of October 2006, it has been confirmed that around 26 titles will be available on launch day in North America. A number of those titles will be available, in other versions, for Nintendo's other game platforms: Nintendo GameCube, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS. Wii Sports will be included with the console bundle at launch in all regions excluding Japan.

Name
The console was known by the codename of "Revolution" until immediately prior to E3 2006. Nintendo spells "Wii" with two "i"s to imply an image of players gathering together, as well as to represent the console's controllers. Nintendo has given many reasons for its choice of name since its announcement; however, the most well known is:

Wii sounds like 'we', which emphasizes that the console is for everyone. Wii can easily be remembered by people around the world, no matter what language they speak. No confusion. No need to abbreviate. Just Wii.

According to the Nintendo Style Guide: A Guide to the Proper Usage of Some of Nintendo's Products: It is simply Wii, not Nintendo Wii. It is pronounced "we", indicating its all-inclusive nature. The name works best at the beginning of declarative statements. For clarity, it is best to avoid passive verbs and prepositions.

Despite Nintendo's justification for the name, many members of the press, online communities, and game developers initially reacted negatively to the name change. Some have expressed "fear that the name would convey a continued sense of 'kidiness' [sic] to the console," "wish Nintendo had stuck with 'Revolution'," or ridiculed the name for its phonetic similarities to words in English and French. Nintendo defends its choice of "Wii" over "Revolution" and suggests to that those who dislike the name "live with it, sleep with it, eat with it, move along with it."

Hardware
The Wii console is Nintendo's smallest home unit yet; measuring 44 mm wide, 157 mm tall, and 215.4 mm deep in the vertical orientation without the included stand (which itself measures 55.4 mm wide, 44 mm tall, and 225.6 mm deep). It is approximately the size of three standard DVD cases stacked together (approx. 4.5 cm x 15 cm x 20 cm). The console can be stood either horizontally or vertically.

The front of the console features a slot-loading media drive illuminated by a blue light and accepts both 12cm optical discs for Wii software and 8cm discs from Nintendo's prior console, the GameCube. When a disc is inserted, the light illuminating the disc port turns off. When there is no disc the light turns on, allowing the player to load discs in the dark. The ability to load differently sized discs is uncommon in slot-loading media drives, which typically only accept discs of a single size. Two USB ports (at the rear) and one SD card slot (behind a flap cover at the front of the console) are provided.

Nintendo has shown Wii and the Wii Remote in various colors, including silver, lime green, white, black, and red. The console will initially be available only in white. Numerous minor changes were made to the design between its original unveiling and launch, mostly in the Nintendo branding used and button placements.

A Nintendo spokesperson has confirmed plans to release a version of the console with DVD-Video playback capabilities in Japan. Releases in other territories are not currently planned.

Wii Remote
The Wii Remote is a one-handed controller that uses a combination of accelerometers and infra-red detection (in conjunction with the sensor bar) to sense its position in 3D space. This allows users to control the game using physical gestures as well as traditional button presses. The controller connects to the Wii console using Bluetooth, and features force feedback, 4KB non-volatile memory and an internal speaker. The controller can connect to other devices through a proprietary port at the base of the controller. The most important of these is the Nunchuk, which features both accelerometers and a traditional analog stick and two extra trigger buttons.

Sensor bar
The sensor bar can be placed anywhere near the display screen and parallel to the screen's horizontal edge. The use of the sensor bar allows the Wii Remote to be used as an accurate pointing device up to 5 meters. Concerns about the sensor bar being adversely affected by halogen lights and sunlight were raised after demo units failed to function optimally. Nintendo confirmed that the sensitivity of Wii's sensor bar can be influenced by extreme lighting.

Technical specifications
Nintendo itself has released very few technical specifics regarding the Wii console. The known details include:

Processors:
 * CPU: PowerPC based processor codenamed "Broadway", made with a 90 nm SOI CMOS process


 * GPU: ATI "Hollywood" GPU made with a 90 nm CMOS process

Memory: Ports and peripheral capabilities: Storage: Built-in content ratings systems: Video: Note: Component cables must be purchased seperately. GameCube component cables are not compatible with the console.
 * 1T-SRAM
 * Up to four Wii Remote controllers (connected wirelessly via Bluetooth).
 * One SD memory card slot.
 * Two USB 2.0 ports.
 * One Sensor Bar port.
 * Four Nintendo GameCube controller ports.
 * Two Nintendo GameCube memory card ports.
 * Compatible with optional USB 2.0 to Ethernet LAN adaptor.
 * 512 MB built-in flash memory.
 * Expansion available via SD card memory.
 * Slot-loading disc drive compatible with:
 * 8 cm GameCube optical disc.
 * 12 cm Wii optical disc.
 * Mask ROM by Macronix.
 * CERO, PEGI, ESRB
 * Up to 480p (NTSC) or 576p (PAL/SECAM), will work with any TV or projector
 * Component (including Progressive scan), S-Video, or composite output.*
 * 16:9 anamorphic widescreen support.

Audio:
 * Main: Stereo - Dolby Pro Logic II-capable.
 * Controller: Built-in speaker.

Wii Channels
The operating system interface for the console is designed around the concept of television channels, with a Wii Menu used to access them. Separate channels are graphically displayed in a grid, and are navigated using the pointer capability of the Wii Remote. There are eight primary channels: Disc Channel, Mii Channel, News Channel, Forecast Channel, Photo Channel, Wii Shop Channel, Internet Channel and Virtual Console Channel(s).

Backward compatibility
Nintendo has stated that Wii will be backward compatible with all GameCube software and most peripherals. This backwards compatibility is achieved with the help of the slot-loading drive being able to accept GameCube discs, and a set of four GameCube controller ports and two Memory Card slots, concealed by flip-open panels. Nintendo has stated that the Wii console will not be compatible with the GameCube modem adapter, broadband adapter, Game Boy Player, AV cable, or AC adaptor.

Nintendo DS connectivity
Wii will support wireless connectivity with the Nintendo DS. Shigeru Miyamoto said Nintendo was still working out when features using this connectivity would be available, but that it would be soon after the launch of the system, due to the popularity of the Nintendo DS. At Nintendo's corporate policy meeting in June 2006, Satoru Iwata explained that the DS uses its wireless connectivity to communicate with Wii and that no further accessories will be needed.

The connectivity will allow the player to use functions like the Nintendo DS's microphone and touchscreen as inputs for Wii games. The first example Nintendo has given of a game using Nintendo DS-Wii connectivity is that of Pokémon Battle Revolution. Players with either Pokémon Diamond or Pearl will be able to play battles using their Diamond or Pearl Pokémon on Wii with the Nintendo DS as a controller.

It has also been confirmed that the Nintendo DS will be able to play game demos downloaded from Wii which they would receive from Nintendo, similar to a DS Download Station. Wii will also be able to update and expand Nintendo DS games.

Parental controls
Wii will feature parental controls, prohibiting younger users from playing games with content considered unsuitable for their age level. When a disc is inserted, it will read the content rating encoded on the game discs; if this rating is greater than the system's set age level, the game will not load without a correct override password.

It is confirmed that the European units will use the PEGI rating system, whereas North American units will use the ESRB rating system. While Nintendo has stated that parental control will be included in all Wii consoles worldwide, it has not yet clarified whether that means Wii will support the native rating systems of other territories, such as that of CERO in Japan, the USK in Germany, the BBFC in the United Kingdom (games in the UK carry a PEGI rating, but may be submitted for BBFC rating if they include certain content or at the publisher's discretion), or the OFLC in Australia.

Online connectivity
Wii will be able to connect to the Internet through its built-in 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and through a USB-to-Ethernet adaptor, with both methods allowing players to access the established Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service. Nintendo has stated that Wii will implement standard Wi-Fi protocols. Just as for the Nintendo DS, Nintendo originally stated that they will not charge fees for playing via the service and the Friend Code system will control how players connect to one another. This system will also be implemented for console-based software such as the Wii Message Board, for which a feature is being considered for alerting registered friends for the Wii Message Board about new games that have been purchased.

The service will have several features for the console, such as the Virtual Console, WiiConnect24 and the Wii Browser. Wii also can communicate and connect with other Wii systems by wireless LAN, enabling local wireless multiplayer on different television sets. Battalion Wars 2 first demonstrated this feature, for non-split screen multiplayer between two or more televisions. Nintendo has announced two Wi-Fi enabled games at LGC 2006 in Leipzig: Mario Strikers Charged, and Battalion Wars 2. Although Wii features an online mode, Nintendo has not provided the programming tools for 3rd party developers yet, meaning that only first party Wii games will be online, at least in 2006.

Nintendo has also stated that it will release an Ethernet Kit for the Wii console, which allows users to connect the console to a standard internet router without wireless support.

At E3 2006, Nintendo announced WiiConnect24, a feature that will allow Wii to remain connected to the Internet in standby mode. The console only uses the amount of electricity equivalent to that of a miniature lightbulb. Some possible uses of WiiConnect24 that were mentioned include allowing friends to visit a player's village in Animal Crossing and downloading updates for games without having to be actively using the system. It has also been said that it would be possible to download Nintendo DS promotional demos using WiiConnect24 and later transfer them to one's Nintendo DS, similar to a DS Download Station.

Software library
Games representing all of Nintendo's flagship franchises, such as the Zelda series, Metroid series, Mario series, Animal Crossing series, and Fire Emblem series have been announced for the Wii console. Likewise, there are many announced titles that are original for it as well as many expected third party games. Ubisoft has upped their number of titles in development for the console to 14 (eight of which are to be launch games and only three of which were previously known about), while Midway Games has announced they have six titles in development, and EA, the world's biggest software manufacturer, has recently increased their development efforts for the console, declaring they are going to support it '100%'.

Following a statement from Perrin Kaplan that the system would be region-free, Nintendo of America and Nintendo of Europe have come to an agreement that the console will be region-locked. However, the way this information was conveyed (an interview followed corrections from spokespersons) has left some uncertainty.