Wii Will Offer Unprecedented Video Game Experiences for Everyone

Wii Will Offer Unprecedented Video Game Experiences for Everyone

For more than 20 years, video game players have used body language to “help” them play. With Nintendo’s upcoming Wii console, those movements become a real part of the play. After grabbing the Wii Remote for the first time, hesitation gives way to concentration. Confidence builds. Excitement morphs into pure delight. And everyone watching says the same thing: “Hey – let me try!”

What drives this phenomenon? A remarkable controller and games that enhance the experience … realizing that the swing of your arm – not the movement of your thumb – causes a baseball to leave the park or a sword to find its mark. The Wii console introduces the next leap in gaming, one where players not only control their characters on the screen, but they also become them. “The Wii console gives every game developer a tool to create new experiences, not just linear advancement,” said Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of sales & marketing. “It will attract all kinds of new players, and thoroughly satisfy the hard-core gamers.”

One of Wii’s launch titles will be Wii Sports, a new type of product designed to expand the video game experience to everyone, regardless of age, gender or gaming experience. These games will form the bridge that connects current gamers to newcomers. Wii Sports will include a tennis game that lets up to four players swing at, hear and feel the ball. Anyone can pick up the Wii Remote and start hitting straight shots and lobs, with top spin or a slice, using their forehand or backhand, simply by simulating the arm and wrist movements of a real tennis game. In the baseball game, players can hit or pitch a baseball using the Wii Remote as the characters on the screen mimic their movements. And in the golf game, players can drive the fairways or putt for the cup simply by swinging the Wii Remote as if they were swinging a real golf club. Games can be played with small, precise hand movements, but it’s likely people will want to immerse themselves physically in the reality of the experience.

Read the complete Press Release