Ever since the Wii came out in November I've been trying my hardest to find one in a store, or order it online. I can walk into BestBuy, GameStop, and other stores and easily buy the PS3, or XBox 360, but the Wii is still nowhere to be found after all these months. The Wii is now the #1 gaming console. Who would've thought a gaming console not as powerful as the PS3 and XBox 360 would win the hearts of millions? Nintendo did. They're focus was not on adding everything buy the kitchen sink like Sony did with the PS3, they went after why people buy game consoles, they want to have fun playing games. Nintendo has hit a homerun with the Wii due to the way you actually use the console. You've got to try one to really understand what I'm talking about.

At first glance the Wii looks like it could be an Apple product, it's small, sleek, white and has a minimalist look. While the PS3 and XBox 360 are much, much bigger than the Wii. Maybe it's due to all of the non-gaming options, and computer processors Sony and Microsoft include in their gaming system that makes them look like PC's.

My friend Tom was kind enough to lend me his Wii for the weekend so I could finally get my Wii fix on. In typical Nintendo fashion you plug the console in and start playing right away, no long loading times like other consoles. I was playing Wii sports in less than 5 minutes.

The great thing about the Wii is that Nintendo has come up with a new way to interact with the games. Nintendo includes a game called Wii sports which is fun in itself, but also trains you on how to use the Wiimote and Nunchuck. You use a Wiimote which has a "rumble" feature so you actually feel when you hit a ball playing tennis, baseball, or hitting a golf ball. The Wii also comes with a Nunchuck controller that plugs into the Wiimote adding more functionality, so you have two hands while you're in a boxing match. These controllers also add features to the vast library of Wii games already available.

Nintendo also includes the Opera Web Browser, News Channels, and a store to buy games to download to your Wii from Nintendo's library of games over the past 20 years. You can download the NES Legend of Zelda, or basically any other game you can think of. Very cool!!!!!

I don't want to give the Wii back to Tom because I am loving it. I now understand why the Wii is the #1 console and why I still can't find it in stores. It all comes down to gaming. Nintendo focused on coming up with a new, and exciting way of getting gamers involved in gaming, rather than coming up with a console with flashy graphics and features gamers really don't need or want.

I'm hoping the Wii shortage begins to die down, but after having a Wii for the weekend it's clear why Nintendo went from #3 to #1. They've re-invented a whole new way of playing games, and did one helluva job in doing it.

Labels: gaming