A Look Into Wii

How opinions can change over the course of a year... As 2006 began, there was very little of a positive note being said about Nintendo's plans to enter the next-generation console market, with the Revolution (as it was known at the time) looking under-powered and decidedly unspectacular when its specification was put up against the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 that the console would be cometing against.

Then came the announcement of the Revolution's official name - The Wii.  Oh, how we howled with laughter and cracked endless jokes at the expense of this hapless choice of name.  The predictions of Nintendo's demise only grew in strength, with many expecting Nintendo to follow Sega's path, dropping out of the console market to focus simply on the creation of games for other platforms.

So, what has changed between then and now?  The announcement of the Wii's innovative control system, coupled with users actually being able to try out the new console at this year's E3, managed to turn the tide in an unprecedented fashion in the latter of half of 2006 - All of a sudden, everyone was talking about the Wii, but in a good way.  Add in Sony's PlayStation 3 woes, and fast forward to the present day, and it seems that Nintendo are on to a winner.

Of course, there are still naysayers about the long-term success of the Wii - Just how will it hold up beyond the initial excitement provided by the Wiimote's control system?  We attempt to go some way towards answering this question here at Elite Bastards today, with what is almost two articles rolled into one.  Our two Wii-equipped staff members, Baz and Jollemi, share their opinions of Nintendo's new device on two fronts, starting with their first impressions of the Wii, followed by some more in-depth thoughts after a couple of weeks with the console.  Read on to find out if their experiences made them Wii-joice or Wii-ally peed off.