Review of the Nintendo Wii

The Nintendo Wii was recently released, and is up against the heavyweights from Sony (the PS3) and Microsoft (Xbox 360). However, Nintendo Wii is going for something completely different from both the PS3 and the Xbox360. Instead of trying to beat the others at their own game - technology, extra features (though the Nintendo Wii has its own fair share of features) and graphics, the Nintendo Wii has moved on to what the games were supposed to be.

The Nintendo Wii is easily the most affordable of the next-generation of gaming consoles, and also the tiniest at 1.75 inches high by 6.25 inches wide by 8.5 inches deep. It also has a bevy of features to consider - a controller that offers motion-sensitive gameplay, built in Wi-fi that allows for free online services, and eventually will be used for online play, compatibility with all Gamecube games and controllers, SD slots for extra storage and to view pictures, the nostalgic appeal, and includes a free sports game. However, it does have some downsides to it, just like all the others - most notably it lacks the advanced graphics and surround sound offered by Xbox 360 and the PS3, requires a wired extra receiver to be used for one to be able to use the wireless controllers, the controllers are hard to get used to and use a lot of batteries,and it can't play Cds and DVDs.

However, Nintendo Wii successfully does what it intended to do in the first place - make gaming fun.

The Nintendo Wii ships with a bunch of cable which do not support the top resolution that the Nintendo Wii offers - 480p. As such, if you own a HDTV, you will need to buy the cable separately. The current model of Nintendo Wii is only available in white, even though there are plans to release it in many other colors. It has only 512 MB of storage space, which should be enough for most things, but is much lower than the Xbox 360 or PS3. However, if that's not enough space, there is an on-board SD card slot to help you expand.