Wiik One

So last weekend we didn't only go camping, but I also received my Wii that a friend of mine was able to organize through a special offer at her work. After one week with the Wii, I have to say that I am really glad that I was able to get one. The motion based game controllers enable a much more intuitive (and fun) way to play most games. I've focused on getting the hang ofSSX Blur, which is a great snowboarding game that was already fun on the PS2. The new controls encourage you to really "lean" into the game and mimic the motion of snowboarding.

Another really great feature of the Wii is the Virtual Console, which provides games from old game consoles such as NES, SNES, N64, Mega Drive/Genesis, and TurboGrafx-16 for download to play on the Wii! Classic games galore ;)

Overall, I believe that Nintendo made a very smart gamble with creating new ways to interact with games, instead of trying to compete with the PlayStation 3 or the XBox 360. Granted - the Wii is not even close to producing the stunning graphics that one can expect from the other two consoles, but ever since the old C64, we know that you don't need great graphics to have a lot of fun. Nintendo is said to actually make money with the Wii, instead of Sony losing hundreds of dollars on each PS3 being sold. Pretty smart.

There are some advantages for Wii users as well. The console is small, quiet and significantly cheaper than the other two. Graphics aside, it provides a pretty good set of features right out of the box: wireless controller, wireless internet (something even the XBox Elite still doesn't come with...), and even a simple collection of Sports Games so that you can start and enjoy your new console right away.