Hi everyone:

The Wii has been out in North America for a day now. It is so hard to believe that it is finally here. Now that the system is out here and so many are still on the fence as they patiently wait for their turn in December, I thought it was appropriate to write a Review of the actual hardware. What I like and don't like as well as everything in between. I hope you enjoy.

THE GOOD: Excellent controller, sleek design, disc load is painless, very quiet, easy internet setup, games are easy to get into, interface is very charming.

THE BAD: Wii Remote pointer can lose position easily, component cables not included, requires batteries for Wii Remote, not everything promised out as of Nov 19th.

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NOTE THS IS FOR THE CONSOLE ONLY! I WANT TO USE THE SYSTEM LONGER BEFORE REVIEWING IT ENTIRELY.

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The Wii is a small white box with a slot loader. It was designed to fit into small places and it can thanks to the engineering at Nintendo. The console can be either vertical (pictured in most Wii console pics on a stand) or horizontally. It won't affect gameplay or disc reaing, so it is really up to you.

The slot loader disc drive on the Wii is quiet and pulls the disc in from your hands. You don't have to force it in. Discs come out just as easily as they come in.

The front features a Power Button, Reset Button, and Eject Button. There is a light on the power button. It is my understanding the light will be red if its not in Wiiconnect 24 mode and the system is off, yellow if Wiiconnect 24 mode is enabled and the system is off and green if the system is in use.

There is a blue light around the disc loader that blinks on very quickly if you turn on the system. The online support claims the light also comes on when you put a disc in but I have yet to see it happen. There is no way to have the light on all the time as of now. If someone sends you messages through Wiiconnect 24, expect to see the light on either dim, bright or off depending on how you set it up. I have it on bright as it is the easiest way to know I have received new content.

The stand the system comes with is nicely designed and doesn't feel cheap. It also comes with a clear plastic stablizer so you don't have to worry about pulling your Wii off the stand when playing VC or gamecube games using a gamecube controller.

Over all the console is rock solid and a testimate to what exactly Nintendo can create. Ironically it doesn't look anything like the other Nintendo consoles did which used to resemble a toy. I am definately impressed by the small size, simplified connections and how diverse it is with space tight entertainment centers.

I give the console hardware a solid 10 based on its design, quietness and small form factor. This hardware box was very well thought out and definately utilizes all the space available on it.

Joespimpin Score:

10 EXTREMELY IMPRESSED