Nintendo`s Wii Gamble - So what do you get?
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Let's start with the console. As you saw from the picture in the previous section, it's slim, about eight by six by two inches (or, as Nintendo likes to describe it, "roughly the size of three DVD cases stacked on top of each other"). It includes four ports for controllers and two slots for memory cards. You're going to be using those slots a lot, too, because the Wii doesn't have a hard drive; any games that you download to it go onto the cards.
This brings us to the next point. The Wii connects wirelessly to the Internet via IEEE 802.11 or a USB 2.0 LAN adapter. It can also connect wirelessly with the Nintendo DS. The connections aren't just for downloading games, either - and with WiiConnect24, the console can connect to the Internet even when the power is turned off. (Am I the only one who sees this as a potential security risk?)
Interestingly, the fact that the Wii is Internet-ready is only part of the package, though you do have to pay a little for that. Wii users download the Opera browser with Wii Points (100 Wii Points equals $1, but I couldn't find any information on how one earns Wii Points). With that you can use the Wii controller to surf the Internet on your TV (even while watching TV), but the Internet is only one of 12 channels available with the Wii.
Apparently Nintendo is trying to make the Wii much more than a gaming console. Sure, the disc channel lets you play Wii game discs or "any of the entire library of Nintendo GameCube discs," but there are plenty of other channels. Aside from the Internet channel, users can check out dedicated channels for news and weather; the Wii Shop channel for buying and downloading games; the Wii Message Board, for leaving messages for other Wii users, and even trading photos and text messages with cell phone users; and a photo channel, for viewing and modifying photos stored on an SD memory card in the Wii console.
Of course, you want to know about the games. They will be priced between $40 and $57 per new title, and at least 25 of those will be available by the end of this year, including new Mario and Zelda titles. Older games will be available for download into the console for $4.50 to $9, competitive with Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade service.
The console also comes packaged with five sport games: Wii Bowling, Wii Baseball, Wii Tennis, Wii Golf, and Wii Boxing. All are designed to take advantage of Wii's unique controller, which really deserves to be discussed in its own section.
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