If any of your friends are hardcore into gaming then there is no doubt that you’ve heard them talking about the Wii.

With Nintendo’s fifth major console being released on Nov. 19, Nintendo is gearing up to finally give Sony and Microsoft a run for their money. The Wii is designed to be small, quiet and affordable.

Crazy names aside, the Wii is shaping up to be an amazing system. The thing most people are excited for is the wireless motion censor controller that Nintendo has dubbed the “Wii-mote”.

The term “controller” is a little off; it’s more like a mini-remote control for a TV. Three sets of gyros in the controller help determine where the remote is with help from the sensor bar. The Wii-mote runs off of a pair of standard AA batteries. This opens up a whole new level of gaming.

Imagine a “Star Wars” game where Jedi and Storm troopers are going at it. The player could swing the controller similar to the motion of a lightsaber or use it as a light-gun to mimic a blaster. The Wii-mote has an extension port on the bottom so that a nun-chuck attachment can be added that has an analogue stick on it two additional buttons and slight motion-sensing capabilities. The Wii-mote and nun-chuck attachment add a new way to play first-person shooters: by moving with the stick and pointing and shooting with the Wii-mote. Other add-ons include a classic controller that looks like a GameCube controller swallowed a SNES controller and a light-gun zapper-style adaptor.

The Wii bolsters the power of two GameCubes with the size of about three DVD cases. The launch color will be white but Nintendo intends to release other colors later on.

Keeping up with the current trend of gaming, the Wii will be backwards compatible with support for GameCube games and controllers. It will also have 802.11b/g Wi-Fi capabilities for those of you who like to take the bandwidth off your neighbor’s hands. It comes with Internet browser Opera, so now you can browse the Internet from the comfort of your own couch.

The system comes with: 1 system, 1 Wii-mote, 1 nun-chuck attachment, 1 stand, 1 AC adaptor, 1 composite audio/visual cable and a sensor bar. In the United States and Europe the Wii comes bundled with Wii-Sports free.

The lineup that Nintendo has planned for launch is very impressive with 29 games being released within a month of the launch. Of those that are being released, a Zelda game is being released on the day of launch, which is a first in the history of Zelda and Nintendo. Other notable games include: “Metal Slug Anthology,” “Red Steel,” “Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam,” “Call of Duty 3” and “Trauma Center: Second Option.” A first in console gaming is the ability to download games from previous systems; games can be bought using a prepaid game card containing points.

The Wii can play games from the NES, TurboGrafx-16, SNES, SEGA Genesis, N64 and the MSX. Games such as the original Super Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog will be available for play on the Wii. By turning the Wii-mote sideways it looks hauntingly familiar to the original NES controller which players will be able to use on classic games.

The next generation of the console wars is at the doorstep. Nintendo looks to change the way we think about how we as gamers play games. If you want to learn more about the Wii, IGN.com has a wonderful guide that can answer all of your questions.

With the holidays quickly approaching, the Wii is the perfect gift for that hardcore gamer in your life and with a price tag of only $250, it makes it a far better deal than getting a PS3 or Xbox 360.

Sources: wikipedia.org, ign.com

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