Nintendo's Wii

A lot of time has passed since I posted the comments that hinted at Nintendo's direction. They've taken a unique approach, concentrating on the unique controller and only modestly upgrading the graphics. They claim that this is enabling them to concentrate on the games. In reality, I wonder if it just wasn't practical to compete. How would a 3rd console compare if it were also $500 or so and had graphics and CPU power about as good as the other console? It would probably be lost in the shuffle, and still not quite as good, since Nintendo is lacking some of the technology of Microsoft and Sony. They pretty much had to take the low end; even so, they made a pretty nice machine. They could have made an even cheaper, more basic, design, if they chose.

What is amazing about the Wii is the controller. It really does work. It will take a long time for other companies to deliver similar functionality, and it'll be obvious if they're copying Nintendo.

I think their strategy might just work. This is a great machine for the more casual player, and is pretty fun, even if just to watch others swing their arms around like crazy. We'll have to see if it's still fun months down the road, but for now, it looks like a winner!

On the other hand, I can see where hard-core gamers are going to be disappointed. It's not HD, the graphics aren't as detailed as the other systems, etc. But, the graphics are still really good, and better than the last generation (if not by a whole lot). And if you don't have an HDTV yet, it's probably a non-issue.