Just like the popularity of the Nintendo DS, Wii's interest grows with each coming bit of news and rumor.  Sure it seems like a gimmicky toy.  Sure it's kind of plain looking.  Sure it's not HD and sure it doesn't play movies.

Neither did the NES and that saved the gaming industry.

Neither did the Gameboy and that has made the portable gaming genre what it is today.

Neither did the N64 and with Mario established the de-facto standard for 3-D platforming.

I played a few games on the Nintendo Wii at E3 and I can't lie, I wasn't excited about it at all.  But I have to give them the benefit of the doubt.  Nintendo has disappointed me only once.  (*cough VirtualBoy *cough)

According to a CNNMoney report, industry analyst's expect a late October and possibly September release date for the Wii.

After going public with a statement something along the lines of, "..people don't want online gaming" in response to queries about what Nintendo intends to do to about the threat XBox Live poses, many fans are glad to hear that Nintendo's DS Wi-Fi Connection wasn't the only online plan for the company.

During the E3 press conference they said there would be an online option, if not feature available for gamers.  Download service for all Nintendo games ever made and an always-on "feature."  They used Animal Crossing as the example.  Your system goes on standby and an online visitor comes through your town and leaves notes or possibly gifts.  Perhaps a destructive warpath as well?

Only time will tell if this flip-flopping strategy will work on their behalf.  Even the funny name doesn't seem to be doing them much damage.  On the contrary it has become the most widely spoken console name coming out of the mouths of non-gamers.  Which is exactly who this system is aimed at.  Classic and non-gamers.

The dramatically cheaper price is also a selling point to the individuals who don't consider gaming as a hobby but a fad or toy.  This system will come out at the same price as Nintendo's previous consoles but with the competition starting at the three century mark it will appear to be a steal.

The games I played were standard fare, nothing revolutionary.  This weekend I played Mario Party 7 with some friends and I remembered why I liked Nintendo games to begin with.  It isn't the graphics.  It isn't the cinematic flair.  It definitely isn't the gore.

It's the main reason XBox Live is so popular.  Socialization.

I'm excited to see what they do with the Wiimote in Mario Party.

I'm excited to see how developers take advantage of online multiplayer Mario Kart.

I'm excited to reserve my system and play with a much nicer crowd than the morons I deal with in Halo 2.

Wii the People of the Entire World.