komodo
Site Admin
Joined: 16 May 2006
Posts: 105
Sat May 20, 2006 7:40 am |
 Post subject: Nintendo Wii Launches Over 1GHz |
 |
|
We did hear more about its tech specs though. While the 1.1Ghz PowerPC CPU doesn’t compare to the PS3’s Cell processor in terms of power, it is much faster than we initially expected.
Well E3 has now come and gone. And I don’t remember an E3 that I was so excited for, and which had so many surprises. Now I may have not been able to actually go to E3 (unlike someone…) but this E3 sent my video game world spinning!
First and foremost, I would like to congratulate JKR again for wrangling his way to E3 via IGN, even if he did promise to be their slave for a few days. It sounds like it has been well worth it for him.
Well onto what for me has been the biggest part of this year’s E3; the Nintendo Wii. As a longtime Nintendo fan, I couldn’t wait to see what Nintendo had to offer this year. And they certainly did not disappoint. Not only was more revealed about the revolutionary Wiimote and the Wii itself, but there were 27 playable games/demos at E3, with many more games announced and appearing in video form. On top of that we learned more about the Wii Wi-fi and the way the Wii connects to the interent. It seems that more and more pieces of the Wii puzzle are falling into place.
So let me start with the slightly revised Wiimote. When I first saw it, I said to myself, “Whaa, that’s a remote.” I soon realized what this remote meant to me and the rest of the world. I personally can’t wait to get my hands on the thing and try it out for myself. As many people have said, it surely takes some getting used to, which makes a lot of sense. You are after all, playing games in a totally new, unique way. I’m sure it will take quite a bit of practice to become as proficient with it as we all are now with the GCN/PS/XB control schemes. But I suspect that when we do, it will be a lot harder to go back to the dual analog setup. I think using the Wiimote for the first time will be like a breath of fresh air. As far as its cosmetic changes go, I don’t mind them, but I don’t love them either. I think the controller looked better before, with the slightly less rounded edges. Also I’m not that crazy about the new button designations, but there’s nothing I can do about it. The speaker “surprise” was certainly a surprise to me, but I haven’t made up my mind to whether or not I like that. I think Nintendo will make good use out of it, but it also seems gimmicky. And as far as a lot of my video game get togethers go, everyone’s pretty loud and I doubt I’d really hear what the Wiimote was saying to me. But for a single player game, that might be a different story.
Well onto what’s known as the Shell controller. At first I didn’t know what to make of it. I thought it looked decidedly uncomfortable to use for your typical game. Upon further inspection, it does seem like it will work out pretty well. I’ve heard a lot of comments that it just isn’t the same for N64 games. Maybe those mysterious clips on the back of it are for some N64 controller part that snaps on to give it a middle prong with a Z-trigger, who knows? The only downside to this is that there are going to be a lot of controllers to buy. Up to four Wiimotes and up to four Shell controllers is a lot. Nintendo has found a way to make you buy up to eight controllers for a single system. Still though, I give them a lot of credit. They didn’t try to invent the need for extra controllers; they have a very good reason behind it. Plus I was quite pleased to hear that you could use your GCN controllers on certain Wii games. It seems to me that most other video game companies wouldn’t be so kind in that respect, since this could potentially cut into controller sales.
I also think the light gun attachment for the Wiimote is a welcome addition to the family. It has been too long since there has been any sort of light gun for a Nintendo system. Now perhaps the Wii can get its share of decent light gun games that are made. Also with the light gun attachment a reality, hopefully that will pave the way for other attachments to actually see the light of day.
As far as the Wii itself is concerned, there hasn’t been much to report. We did hear more about its tech specs though. While the 1.1Ghz PowerPC* CPU doesn’t compare to the PS3’s Cell processor in terms of power, it is much faster than I was initially expecting. I was thinking somewhere in the 750 MHz range. I agree with Nintendo in that it is true that tech specs don’t really matter to the people who play the games. But I still want to know what they are. There’s nothing wrong with that, is there Nintendo? One thing we didn’t hear more about was the device that can enable the Wii to play DVD movies. Hopefully we will find out more about that soon.
*Editors note: The 1.1Ghz PowerPC was not confirmed by Nintendo. The CPU speed is based on a rumor that I came across. So while I can not say what the confirmed CPU speed will be, I can say that I am hopeful it will be 1.1 GHz. I apologize for any confusion this may have caused.
http://www.cubetoons.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=99&Itemid=42 |
|
