Nintendo Wii
The Nintendo Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo in 2006 that introduced innovative features, such as a motion-sensing controller. This unique controller allowed players to engage in physical activities, making gaming more interactive and accessible to a broader audience, including non-gamers. The Wii's launch was strategically priced at $250, significantly lower than its competitors, which contributed to its rapid popularity and demand, often resulting in sold-out situations in stores.
By the end of its lifecycle, the Wii became the third-best-selling home video game console in history, with over 101 million units sold. A notable aspect of the Wii was the inclusion of the game Wii Sports, which showcased the console's capabilities and helped boost its appeal. While targeting younger gamers with more traditional titles, the Wii also attracted a diverse demographic through games like Wii Fit and Wii Play, promoting social and physical interaction. Although production ceased in 2013, the Wii's influence on the gaming industry remains significant, showcasing the potential of motion-sensing technology and appealing to a wider range of players.
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Nintendo Wii
The Nintendo Wii is a home video game system released by Nintendo Co., Ltd. in 2006. The Wii featured several innovations unique to home consoles at the time, including a motion-sensing controller and games that focused on physical activity. Nintendo's business strategy kept the Wii's price relatively low and also targeted non-gamers, increasing customer demand upon its launch. The system was so popular that it sold out quickly and remained difficult for consumers to find in stores for a few years. By the time Nintendo's next-generation system arrived, the Wii had become the third-best-selling home video game console in history.
Background
Nintendo was founded by a Japanese businessperson in 1889 as a company that produced hand-painted playing cards. In the mid-twentieth century, the company branched off into the game and toy business, and by the 1970s, it had moved into the video game industry. In 1985, Nintendo introduced the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and revolutionized the home video game industry. The NES and its successor, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), were the dominant gaming consoles of the 1980s and early 1990s, selling a combined 111 million units over the course of the systems' lifetimes.
In the late 1990s and early twenty-first century, Nintendo was overtaken by rivals Sony and Microsoft, whose PlayStation and Xbox consoles outsold Nintendo by a wide margin. By 2006, Nintendo had lost almost half its US market share from twenty years earlier.
As the company's business began heading downward, Nintendo executives noticed several trends in the gaming industry. The young gamers who grew up playing iconic Nintendo titles such as Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda were becoming adults with careers and families and less time to devote to games. Technological advances were also transforming video games into more realistic-looking titles that were more expensive to produce. Nintendo decided that to attract a wider audience, they would have to change the gaming experience, redesigning the standard button controller and producing more innovative games.
They tested this strategy out with the release of the handheld gaming system Nintendo DS in 2004. The DS featured a voice-recognition system, a pen-like device users tapped on the screen to control the game, and titles geared toward a wider audience. After a slow start, the DS exploded in popularity, eventually becoming the second-best-selling gaming system in history with 154.88 million units sold as of 2016.
Overview
With lessons from the DS in hand, Nintendo began designing its next console, code-named the Revolution. The controller for the new system was designed to be a wireless, motion-sensing "wand" that the user could move to control the action on the screen. For example, rather than pressing a series of buttons to throw a virtual football or bowling ball, the gamer swung the controller in an arc to imitate the motion used in the real sport. The system also utilized a lower-powered computer chip, which limited the graphic quality of games but held the cost down and allowed users to leave the console on longer. The system was designed to be smaller and lighter than other consoles, measuring about 1.75 inches wide and 6 inches tall. The designers felt that because the wireless remote required the system to be placed alongside the television, it would need to be smaller so as not to stand out. In April 2006, company officials announced the name of the new system would be the Wii—with the two lowercase i's representing both the shape of the controller and two people standing side by side playing games together.
The system was launched on November 19, 2006, and sold at a retail price of $250, far less than its competitors' next-generation consoles, the $399 Xbox 360 and $499–$599 PlayStation 3. The system came with a Wii wireless remote, a Nunchuk controller featuring a more conventional analog stick, and the ability to access Nintendo's library of classic games through online downloads. The Wii was also designed to act as a portal to the Internet, with a home page linking to weather forecasts, news, and the ability to message and email friends.
One of the biggest selling points of the system upon launch was the inclusion of the game Wii Sports with every console. Wii Sports was a collection of games such as baseball, bowling, golf, and tennis that made full use of the motion-sensing controller. The title proved extremely popular, becoming the third-highest-selling video game in history with 82.78 million sold as of 2016. While the Wii catered to younger gamers with action and first-person shooter games such as Far Cry: Vengeance and Call of Duty 3, it broke from conventional thinking and also targeted people who normally did not play video games. Titles such as Wii Fit—a game featuring a series of exercises and activities—and Wii Play—an activity game designed to be played at parties—became some of the platform's bestsellers.
The Wii was such a success at its launch that retailers struggled to keep up with demand as the busy Christmas season approached. Customers often waited in long lines when new shipments came in, only to be disappointed when the system sold out before they could get one. The supply-and-demand issues continued through the holidays of 2008, as customers continued to snap up Wii consoles almost as soon as the company produced them. While Nintendo said it was doing its best to accommodate consumers, some critics argued that the company had intentionally kept supplies of the system low to create more demand. By early 2009, the shortage had subsided, and retailers were finally able to keep Wii consoles on store shelves.
The Wii continued to outpace both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in sales and became the company's best-selling console system in 2010 when it surpassed the 61.91 million sold by the NES. Nintendo unveiled its next-generation system, the Wii U, in 2012, however, the Wii U was met with apathy by customers and considered a commercial failure. Nintendo ceased production of new Wii consoles in 2013. By the mid-2020s, the system had sold more than 101.63 million units, making it the seventh best-selling video game console of all time. In 2023, Nintendo's newer gaming device, the Nintendo Switch surpassed the Wii's lifetime sales.
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