Nintendo Wii is Worlds First Bluetooth Console

***wraggster*** · May 17th, 2006, 16:30

A very interesting press release

Nintendo Becomes the World's First to Offer Standard Bluetooth Wireless Game Controllers and Integrated Wi-Fi in the Upcoming Wii Console

IRVINE, Calif., May 10, 2006 -- Broadcom Corporation , a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, today announced that the Wii™ game console from Nintendo will include Broadcom® Bluetooth® and Wi-Fi® technologies. Featuring the first Bluetooth wireless game controller system to ship "in the box" with a leading game console, along with the first integrated Wi-Fi solution for online gaming, Nintendo's Wii demonstrates the industry's highest level of commitment by a game console manufacturer to deliver a robust, state-of-the-art wireless gaming experience.

"The Wii game console will take advantage of the most popular wireless technologies to deliver an advanced user experience that no other competitive console can match," said Genyo Takeda, Senior Managing Director, General Manager, Integrated Research & Development Division for Nintendo. "Broadcom's ability to supply and support custom features for both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi has enabled us to provide our customers with a unique gaming experience powered by high-performance, field-proven wireless solutions."

Gaming devices are among the increasingly diverse array of consumer electronics that integrate some form of advanced connectivity, which enables users to engage in dynamic online gaming while interacting with their game consoles in new and exciting ways. The new Wii console from Nintendo is at the forefront of this trend, integrating cutting-edge wireless capabilities that transform the gaming experience. Broadcom's extensive communications portfolio and experience in enabling wireless connectivity in mainstream consumer devices has contributed to the notion amongst equipment manufacturers that wireless connectivity can enable new categories of products.

"Nintendo's visionary approach to wireless connectivity provides a compelling illustration of how Bluetooth and Wi-Fi complement each other to provide a unique and convenient user experience," said Robert A. Rango, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Broadcom's Wireless Connectivity Group. "Broadcom's leadership and ability to add custom features to our standards-based Bluetooth and Wi-Fi technologies provide advantages to product developers seeking dual mode solutions that avoid interference, while delivering advanced performance and features that no other supplier can match."

Advanced Wireless Capabilities

The Wii console is the first major gaming platform on the market to introduce Bluetooth technology as a standard feature, eliminating the cables between the console, hand-held game controllers and other accessories. Broadcom Bluetooth technology used in the controllers significantly increases the level of performance in the game controller, with special enhancements that provide low latency to accommodate the fast rate of interaction between the controller and the console.

Nintendo further leveraged the versatility of Broadcom's highly-integrated Bluetooth solution to realize its vision of enabling new and intriguing ways for gamers to interact with their games, and to allow game developers to boldly exercise their creativity to deliver captivating new gaming experiences. Enhancements were made to ensure that the Wireless Controller system delivers the same reliable, low-latency responsiveness that gamers are accustomed to in wired controllers. In addition, Broadcom's Bluetooth chip solution features exceptionally low power consumption, maximizing battery life to simplify upkeep and maintenance.

The Wii console also includes Broadcom's single-chip 54g® Wi-Fi solution, which provides a high-performance wireless link for playing online or multi-player games. The console takes advantage of key features including Broadcom BroadRange™ technology, which allows users to maintain higher data rates further from the access point. Broadcom's family of 54g® chipsets deliver maximum performance, coverage, security and ease-of-use, and are featured in the industry's leading brands of networking equipment, PCs, broadband modems and consumer electronics.

Both Bluetooth and 802.11g Wi-Fi products operate in the 2.4 GHz radio frequency band, introducing the possibility of radio interference between the two radio signals. To address this concern, Nintendo drew upon Broadcom's extensive co-existence experience to optimize the wireless performance for optimal simultaneous throughput of both technologies, minimizing the possibility of radio signal collisions, blocking and other phenomena that could degrade the performance of either device.