Name

On April 27, 2006, Nintendo changed the Revolution section of their official website, revolution.nintendo.com, to announce the official name of the system. Nintendo explained that: "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."

Nintendo spells "Wii" with two "i"s to create an image of players gathering together. The spelling also is intended to invoke the controllers the Wii uses.

Design

When the console was unveiled at E3 2005 the console was colored black. However, at the Tokyo Game Show 2005 when the controller was revealed, promotional material depicted a white console. Nintendo has since revealed three additional colors (platinum, lime green, and red).

Controller

The Wii controller sets aside the traditional controller seen in other mainstream consoles in an attempt to appeal to a larger audience. The controller is shaped like a television remote control and is held with one hand. Due to its symmetrical nature, the Wii's controller is able to be used by either hand, unlike other controllers. The controller can also be rotated 90 degrees counter-clockwise and used like the NES controller.

The controller also features an expansion port at the bottom which will allow various attachments to be added to the controller. Nintendo has revealed one of these attachments to be a unit which features an analog stick and 2 trigger buttons. It will connect to the main Wii controller via a short cord, and its appearance while connected to the main controller has led it to become dubbed "The Nunchaku". Nintendo has stated the aforementioned "Nunchaku" add-on may be bundled with the Wii console.

Nintendo has also announced a controller "shell" which will resemble a traditional game controller called the "Classic-Style Expansion Controller". The Wii "remote" will fit inside this shell which will allow gamers to play games using a traditional controller while retaining the "remote"'s motion sensitivity. According to Satoru Iwata, it is meant for playing "the existing games, virtual console games, and multi-platform games".

Despite the controller's similarity to lightguns which are only compatible with standard-definition cathode ray tube televisions, Nintendo has stated the Wii and its controller will be compatible with all televisions including digital projectors.

Nintendo developer Shigeru Miyamoto, before exiting the stage of Japan's 2005 Digital Interactive Entertainment Conference, stated that "there are still secrets to this controller, and these will be revealed next year."

Connectivity

The Wii will have built-in Wi-Fi, allowing certain games to be played online via a wireless link. It has a flip lid which can be opened to reveal 4 ports for GameCube controllers and 2 memory card slots. Additionally two USB ports and two SD card slots are provided.

Additionally at E3 2005, Nintendo revealed that a small internal attachment (most likely a dongle) to be sold separately from the console will allow the Wii to playback DVD movies.

Backward compatibility

Nintendo has stated that Wii will be backward compatible with all GameCube software and most peripherals. The top of the console (or on the side if laid horizontally) is the GameCube docking station, featuring four controller ports and two memory card slots compatible with GameCube Memory Cards and the Nintendo GameCube Microphone. The Wii's slot-loading media drive accepts 8 cm GameCube discs as well as the standard 12 cm discs such as Wii games, DVDs, and CDs. This is uncommon in slot-loading media drives, which typically only accept discs of a single size.

Virtual Console

One of the most anticipated features of Wii is its game download service, dubbed the "Virtual Console." Despite other rumors, Nintendo of America expects "Virtual Console" to be the final name of the service. Using this Virtual Console service, users will have the ability to download and play many or all Nintendo-produced NES/Famicom, SNES/Super Famicom, and N64 games for a small fee. More notably, some games may offer free retro downloads as a bonus for the purchase. Nintendo has also announced that games developed for the Sega Genesis and TurboGrafx 16 consoles will be offered via the Virtual Console download service. While not all of the Sega Genesis and TurboGrafx games will be offered, the "best of them" will be. This gives the companies a pool of over 1000 Sega Genesis games to choose from.

While the gameplay will be the same for all of the retro titles offered via the Virtual Console, Nintendo has stated that some of the games may be improved with sharper graphics or better framerates. In addition, gamers may be able to download games that were not originally released in their region, and some multiplayer games may be playable online, if it is technically possible. The Virtual Console service will not be used exclusively for retro games, however. Nintendo has stated that they are interested in using the service to distribute new, original content.

According to a Japanese press release, "all downloaded games will be stored on the 512 [MB] flash memory built into the system". To prevent illegal copying, downloaded games will feature a proprietary DRM system.

Parental controls

The Wii will feature parental controls, prohibiting young viewers from viewing inappropriate content. This allows parents to set the age level of the system, and 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 age level setting, the game will not load unless the user correctly enters a password to override the setting. For instance, a game carrying an ESRB rating of M for Mature, which is intended for those age 17 and older, will not play on a system that is set to only allow games rated E for Everyone (ages six and older) and EC for Early Childhood (ages three and under).

This will be found in all systems released around the world; it is confirmed that the European units will use the PEGI rating system, North American units will use the ESRB rating system, units for the Japanese market will presumably use the CERO rating system, German units will use the USK system, and Australian units will use the OFLC system.

Price

While the price of the system is not yet announced, rumors abound. Each of the past four generations of Nintendo consoles have launched at $199 (USD). This has led to speculation of a $199 launch price for the Wii as well. Nintendo has stated that the Wii will be cheaper than the PS3 and Xbox 360, therefore $299 is the limit for the price of the console. Also, in a interview with CNNMoney, Satoru Iwata said that no first party game would cost more than $50.

Absence of "true" high-definition support

Online arguments commenced when Nintendo of America's Vice President of Corporate Affairs, Perrin Kaplan, announced there would be no HD support for their upcoming system. Kaplan stated beautiful graphics and innovative game play could be achieved without HD and that abstaining from the technology would help keep the cost of games down. It has been confirmed that the Wii will support 480p (a.k.a. EDTV), as did the GameCube (only on units made in or before May 2004), and will not support 720p,1080i or 1080p. Regardless, the support of 480p will still mean an improvement in graphics quality when properly hooked up to and viewed on an HDTV set (or any enhanced-definition-capable set), when compared to viewing on standard 480i-only television sets.