news via businessweek

The graphics leave something to be desired, but the motion-sensitive remote makes this next-gen game system a tough competitor

For a sense of how the underdog Nintendo Wii fares against Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3, this scene from my home one recent night says it all.

On a rainy Monday, three friends stopped over for drinks before we were supposed to head out for dinner. Nearly five hours later, at 12:30 in the morning, they were finally shoved out the door, exhausted from the workout they gave the Wii and wondering where they could go to grab one of their own. The whole time they were there, the PS3 and Xbox 360 sat forlorn and ignored.

The Wii has the stuff to replicate that scenario in homes far and wide. Despite graphics that are far inferior to those of competitors and a design that looks more like an external hard drive than a next-gen game system, the Wii is just plain fun to play.
Virtual Reality in Your Living Room

What makes it so outstanding? It boils down to Nintendo's (NTDOY) decision to focus on how games are played, rather than the glitz and glitter of the games themselves. The company's innovative motion-sensitive Wii Remote controller truly creates the closest thing you'll get on a home system to virtual reality. Always thought you could be the next Andy Roddick? Playing even the simplest game of tennis with the Wii controller and rudimentary Wii Sports game package might show you how wrong you were.

Nintendo set about making the gaming experience itself something even a grandmother might look forward to, and it does a great job right out of the box.

Setup was fairly simple and intuitive. From the start, you put the Wii on its stand, connect the sensor pickup to the unit, and figure out where to place it near your TV for best pickup of your movements with the remote. I was concerned the sensor, placed below a giant-screen Sharp Aquos HDTV set would not pick up the signal, but it worked just fine.
It's All About Mii

After adjusting the clock and other settings, I set up a wireless connection to my home network in just a few minutes, without incident. Once you're Web-connected, as with the PlayStation 3, the system immediately downloads a software update. The next step is gaining access to the too-cutely-named Mii Channel, where you create your own Mii-simplistic but fun digital avatars that represent you in the Wii Sports games that are included with the console. Other online menu features like news and weather were not yet active.

But as I hinted before, the Wii Remote is the true hero of the system, and makes all the console's other features, or lack thereof, seem almost inconsequential. Nintendo wisely continues to license the force feedback technology that produces satisfying tactile cues through the controller. The same goes for Microsoft's (MSFT) Xbox 360. Sony leaves that feature out of the PlayStation 3, a decision that may come back to haunt the manufacturer as game developers make the most of the feature in the other consoles. The remote also provides great audio, such as the whooshing sound when you swing it like a tennis racket.

The true value of the Wii is its ability to reconvey that sense of child-like wonder that has been lost over the years as games like Electronic Arts' (ERTS) Madden NFL and Activision's (ATVI) Tony Hawk become familiar even as they get more technically complex. Anyone familiar with Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz will recognize the challenge of rolling monkeys through maze-like levels, or fans of Zelda know well they have to solve a raft of challenges and puzzles to win the game. But when you're using this controller to stab and slash, bob and weave, you'll experience even the most familiar games in a whole new way.

The Good: Wii controller creates an entirely novel playing experience

The Bad: Online features not fully enabled; graphics don't match rival consoles ...

news via redherring

Buyers prefer less expensive, more readily available game console.
November 21, 2006

Sony’s PlayStation 3 may have had a two-day head start on eBay, but rival Nintendo’s Wii has quickly emerged as the game console of choice among shoppers on the popular Internet auction site.

eBay officials on Tuesday afternoon said shoppers had already bought more than 14,400 Wiis since the console was first put up for sale on Sunday. Wiis, which went on sale Sunday at U.S. retail stores for $249, have sold on eBay for an average price of nearly $430—a 72 percent markup.

Online demand for Sony’s PS3 appeared heavy in the early going. eBay shoppers snapped up more than 500 PlayStation 3 by Friday morning, only hours after they went on sale at U.S. retail stores, the company said. The auction site said average selling prices tipped the scales at a hefty $2,700—not a bad markup from the system’s $499 or $599 retail price. “This is pretty much par for the course,” eBay spokesman Hani Durzy said of demand (see Ready to Big Big at eBay for a Console?).

But as of Tuesday afternoon, eBay had count some 11,300 PS3 units sold, well behind rival Wii’s sales on the auction site. The PS3’s average price fell sharply from the early going to $1,460, although that remained a healthy 143 percent premium over its retail price.

Teardown

But Sony isn’t seeing a whole lot of holiday cheer. Despite the PS3’s high retail price, analysts believe Sony is losing hundreds of dollars on each console it sells. In a detailed analysis released on November 16, research firm iSuppli estimated the Japanese gaming giant loses has under-priced its PS3 by as much as $307 a unit. Dubbing the amount remarkable even for the video game business, iSuppli nonetheless described the console as a “great bargain” well worth its hefty retail price tag (see PS3 Loyalty, Guts Examined).

Wiis, on the other hand, are less sophisticated and more readily available than the PS3 or Xbox 360, making the system less expensive to manufacture. In fact, Nintendo appears to be making money on each system it sells. Without giving specifics, Nintendo of Canada exec Pierre-Paul Trepanier told gaming news web site GamesIndustry.biz that the company is “making money from day one on the Wii.”

Both the PS3 and the Wii, which are challenging Microsoft’s long-released Xbox 360 to become the dominant next-generation game console, were rushed out to the U.S. market to be available for the holiday season. But the two consoles are in short supply and retailers are selling out of the units as quickly as they receive them. Many of those lucky enough to snag a new PS3 or Wii are turning eBay, where the not-so-lucky are more than willing to pay steep markups. With both consoles trickling through U.S. retail channels, eBay’s secondary economy is likely to continue humming. ...

news via redherring

Buyers prefer less expensive, more readily available game console.
November 21, 2006

Sony’s PlayStation 3 may have had a two-day head start on eBay, but rival Nintendo’s Wii has quickly emerged as the game console of choice among shoppers on the popular Internet auction site.

eBay officials on Tuesday afternoon said shoppers had already bought more than 14,400 Wiis since the console was first put up for sale on Sunday. Wiis, which went on sale Sunday at U.S. retail stores for $249, have sold on eBay for an average price of nearly $430—a 72 percent markup.

Online demand for Sony’s PS3 appeared heavy in the early going. eBay shoppers snapped up more than 500 PlayStation 3 by Friday morning, only hours after they went on sale at U.S. retail stores, the company said. The auction site said average selling prices tipped the scales at a hefty $2,700—not a bad markup from the system’s $499 or $599 retail price. “This is pretty much par for the course,” eBay spokesman Hani Durzy said of demand (see Ready to Big Big at eBay for a Console?).

But as of Tuesday afternoon, eBay had count some 11,300 PS3 units sold, well behind rival Wii’s sales on the auction site. The PS3’s average price fell sharply from the early going to $1,460, although that remained a healthy 143 percent premium over its retail price.

Teardown

But Sony isn’t seeing a whole lot of holiday cheer. Despite the PS3’s high retail price, analysts believe Sony is losing hundreds of dollars on each console it sells. In a detailed analysis released on November 16, research firm iSuppli estimated the Japanese gaming giant loses has under-priced its PS3 by as much as $307 a unit. Dubbing the amount remarkable even for the video game business, iSuppli nonetheless described the console as a “great bargain” well worth its hefty retail price tag (see PS3 Loyalty, Guts Examined).

Wiis, on the other hand, are less sophisticated and more readily available than the PS3 or Xbox 360, making the system less expensive to manufacture. In fact, Nintendo appears to be making money on each system it sells. Without giving specifics, Nintendo of Canada exec Pierre-Paul Trepanier told gaming news web site GamesIndustry.biz that the company is “making money from day one on the Wii.”

Both the PS3 and the Wii, which are challenging Microsoft’s long-released Xbox 360 to become the dominant next-generation game console, were rushed out to the U.S. market to be available for the holiday season. But the two consoles are in short supply and retailers are selling out of the units as quickly as they receive them. Many of those lucky enough to snag a new PS3 or Wii are turning eBay, where the not-so-lucky are more than willing to pay steep markups. With both consoles trickling through U.S. retail channels, eBay’s secondary economy is likely to continue humming. ...

news via redherring

Buyers prefer less expensive, more readily available game console.
November 21, 2006

Sony’s PlayStation 3 may have had a two-day head start on eBay, but rival Nintendo’s Wii has quickly emerged as the game console of choice among shoppers on the popular Internet auction site.

eBay officials on Tuesday afternoon said shoppers had already bought more than 14,400 Wiis since the console was first put up for sale on Sunday. Wiis, which went on sale Sunday at U.S. retail stores for $249, have sold on eBay for an average price of nearly $430—a 72 percent markup.

Online demand for Sony’s PS3 appeared heavy in the early going. eBay shoppers snapped up more than 500 PlayStation 3 by Friday morning, only hours after they went on sale at U.S. retail stores, the company said. The auction site said average selling prices tipped the scales at a hefty $2,700—not a bad markup from the system’s $499 or $599 retail price. “This is pretty much par for the course,” eBay spokesman Hani Durzy said of demand (see Ready to Big Big at eBay for a Console?).

But as of Tuesday afternoon, eBay had count some 11,300 PS3 units sold, well behind rival Wii’s sales on the auction site. The PS3’s average price fell sharply from the early going to $1,460, although that remained a healthy 143 percent premium over its retail price.

Teardown

But Sony isn’t seeing a whole lot of holiday cheer. Despite the PS3’s high retail price, analysts believe Sony is losing hundreds of dollars on each console it sells. In a detailed analysis released on November 16, research firm iSuppli estimated the Japanese gaming giant loses has under-priced its PS3 by as much as $307 a unit. Dubbing the amount remarkable even for the video game business, iSuppli nonetheless described the console as a “great bargain” well worth its hefty retail price tag (see PS3 Loyalty, Guts Examined).

Wiis, on the other hand, are less sophisticated and more readily available than the PS3 or Xbox 360, making the system less expensive to manufacture. In fact, Nintendo appears to be making money on each system it sells. Without giving specifics, Nintendo of Canada exec Pierre-Paul Trepanier told gaming news web site GamesIndustry.biz that the company is “making money from day one on the Wii.”

Both the PS3 and the Wii, which are challenging Microsoft’s long-released Xbox 360 to become the dominant next-generation game console, were rushed out to the U.S. market to be available for the holiday season. But the two consoles are in short supply and retailers are selling out of the units as quickly as they receive them. Many of those lucky enough to snag a new PS3 or Wii are turning eBay, where the not-so-lucky are more than willing to pay steep markups. With both consoles trickling through U.S. retail channels, eBay’s secondary economy is likely to continue humming. ...

news via engadget

We're sure most of you Wii users are too busy Googling Zelda walkthroughs or chucking your Wiimote at the TV right now to give this hack much notice, but if you're the type that just has to know how something works and then destroy it utterly (you know who you are), then you might want to have a looksee at this one. Apparently some enterprising hax0rs tore apart their Wii sensor bar, only to find a couple of standard IR emitters. It turns out the "sensor" bar doesn't actually sense at all, it just sends out a pair of IR beams which can then be triangulated by the Wiimote. This of course opens up the possibility of DIY sensor bars and other related (performance enhancing?) hacks, but it still won't do much to help you through that extended "intro" phase in Twilight Princess, so sorry. Click on to view the vid of a custom-rigged sensor bar in action.

View clip via engadget ...

news via engadget

We're sure most of you Wii users are too busy Googling Zelda walkthroughs or chucking your Wiimote at the TV right now to give this hack much notice, but if you're the type that just has to know how something works and then destroy it utterly (you know who you are), then you might want to have a looksee at this one. Apparently some enterprising hax0rs tore apart their Wii sensor bar, only to find a couple of standard IR emitters. It turns out the "sensor" bar doesn't actually sense at all, it just sends out a pair of IR beams which can then be triangulated by the Wiimote. This of course opens up the possibility of DIY sensor bars and other related (performance enhancing?) hacks, but it still won't do much to help you through that extended "intro" phase in Twilight Princess, so sorry. Click on to view the vid of a custom-rigged sensor bar in action.

View clip via engadget ...

news via engadget

We're sure most of you Wii users are too busy Googling Zelda walkthroughs or chucking your Wiimote at the TV right now to give this hack much notice, but if you're the type that just has to know how something works and then destroy it utterly (you know who you are), then you might want to have a looksee at this one. Apparently some enterprising hax0rs tore apart their Wii sensor bar, only to find a couple of standard IR emitters. It turns out the "sensor" bar doesn't actually sense at all, it just sends out a pair of IR beams which can then be triangulated by the Wiimote. This of course opens up the possibility of DIY sensor bars and other related (performance enhancing?) hacks, but it still won't do much to help you through that extended "intro" phase in Twilight Princess, so sorry. Click on to view the vid of a custom-rigged sensor bar in action.

View clip via engadget ...

The French homebrew group known as Team 280 released the latest version of Mastermind, now called Mastermind v1.0

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Download and give feedback via comments ...

news via globeandmail



Long the also-ran platform in the video-game wars, Nintendo's new Wii console is creating a whole new category of headache for the company: this time out they are too popular.

Nintendo Canada doesn't want to tell us how many Wii units are in the Canadian marketplace, and they can only tell us how many we can expect in the future in the most general terms, but they can say that they didn't anticipate the demand during Sunday's launch that saw a 100% sell out at the country's biggest retailers.

"We're struggling to try and find a solution to a situation in which demand has far outstripped supply," says Nintendo Canada marketing director Pierre-Paul Trepanier. "The expectation was that within a few days (after launch) Nintendo would still be stock everywhere."

What Nintendo can say is that beginning this Thursday and Friday (in most regions, but perhaps not the Maritimes and Eastern Quebec) the next shipment of Wii's should begin hitting stores. Its project the retailers will get up to 50% of the launch-day shipment, which if launch-day patterns repeat, could see most major retail locations with 25-40 in stores.

What happens next week, and the week after is in more doubt: Trepanier says that every region in North America has been clamouring for more equipment, and in the Atlanta region company officials were hit with an urgent plea for more nunchuk controllers. Trepanier claims the Canadian market is doing well keeping its accessories in stock.

But Trepanier says that while there have been no production issues in churning out enough Wii consoles for the target of 4 million units produced and sold globally by the end of 2006 (with perhaps a little more than one million of that available in the American market) the consumer interest seems to have reached far wider and deeper beyond hard-core gamers than Nintendo could have dreamed.

"We wanted that to happen eventually, but we haven't even kicked in our TV advertising yet," says Trepanier. "We purposely held back on TV advertising so that we wouldn't be advertising a product that you couldn't find in stores. We didn't expect groups like families and people who haven't played video games in a while to be suddenly be interested. The demand has been overwhelmingly positive, and it's been hard to deal with."

But with the crunch on to find your console some strange stories have begun circulating on the Internet and in conversation with retail workers at major electronics chains. One story involved a store putting more units on the floor Monday after selling out Sunday, then pulling those units from the shelves for some bewildering reason. Conspiracy theorists have suggested that Nintendo and retailers are creating an artificial shortage.

"I wasn't aware that there were any stocks being held back in retail," Trepanier says. "It's surprising though, I would expect them to want them to make sure all their consumers are happy ... I can assure you that at our warehouse in Vancouver, we have zero units."

Now the company has imposed austerity measures to make sure consumers get first crack at the systems.

Nintendo Canada has had to let its workers and marketing partners know that there will be no employee-plan or promotional units available to them until at least 2007, one memo suggested they go line up at the store like everyone else if they really needed it for Christmas.

As well, both Nintendo and third-party software for the new console has been doing well, with some Canadian retailers reporting that for every Wii sold a copy of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess went with it. Ubisoft's innovative first-person shooter Red Steel came in second place, and Call of Duty 3, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz and Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 round out the top five.

And Trepanier says there has been some strong evidence that, unlike the PlayStation 3 experience, most of the Wii's bought go from the store to being played in living rooms, instead of flipped on eBay. Though no official numbers have been collected yet, Nintendo's Virtual Console (where players can download classic Nintendo and Sega games) has experienced far higher than expected traffic.

But as Trepanier says, this game is a marathon, not a sprint, and while encouraging so far, the first week isn't even over yet. The real test will be The NPD Group market data for December, which will be released in the second week of January 2007. Then Trepanier will know just how far down the track this opening week burst has taken Nintendo. ...