I am sure everyone here has heard of the Nintendo Wii by now. Personally I am extremely excited for it’s arrival here in America in November this year. The Wii boasts a brand new controller that is supposed to revolutionize the game industry. It is supposed to attract gamers and non-gamers alike. My question is how? How will Nintendo manage to get my parents into videogames? They have given ideas as how it may get new people in playing the Wii. Such as the Mii channel which is a digital avatar representation of your self that can be played in games. As of now there are only two games that support the use of Miis, which are Wii sports and Wii Play. (Wii sports is a pack in with the Wii console, which is a nice touch.) So how about the future of the Wii? Will Mii enable games still be made? The Miis cutesy simple look probably won’t fit into many games. I really don’t see Miis being used in a Madden game or rpgs. So what type of games would the Miis be used in if many games go for more of a realistic or original style of graphics. The Miis just seem to very limited in their versatility in games. The idea is great at heart but it is a big question whether it will be continued in the future.

How about the controller. Will it really change game play forever? The motion sensing seems great right. How can it ever get it old swinging the controller all about like a tennis racquet. At launch I imagine myself enjoying the controller a lot, but I’m not quite sure how long it will hold my interest. The DS was great at first, with innovative titles such as Nintendogs and Trauma Center. The new original game play was fresh at first with new titles coming out at a steady flow. Then all the sudden after the last holiday season the DS has seemed to stop holding my interest, as if all the original ideas for the system had already been exhausted. Now when I look the DS’s new line up of games, and there are fewer games that catch my eye. Suppose this same scenario happens to the Wii, that the new titles will feel new and refreshing at first, but in a few years will all those creative and original games of the Wii just be rehashes of other ones?

The Wii’s future seems to be very unclear. Will the controller fly high or will it just crash? Will the Wii reach its ambitious goals of attracting new and old gamers or will it be rejected? I say the Wii will be an instant success at launch, and having sell outs at most retail stores across the country this holiday season. The $250 price point has to be appealing to parents wanting to buy their 9-year old kid the perfect gift for Christmas. You can bet to see me with a Wii on launch day. However these are legitimate concerns for the Wii that should not be taken lightly.