Photos: Nintendo Wii swings into action

Nintendo says the price of the Wii game system will be under $250--putting the heat on Xbox 360 and PS3.

By Bill Detwiler, Editor in Chief, TechRepublic on July 20, 2006

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Nintendo Wii

Nintendo says its newly named Wii console is about the width of three stacked DVD cases and will play single- or double-layered 12-centimeter optical discs, as well as 8-centimeter Nintendo GameCube discs. The Wii system comes with 512 megabytes of internal flash memory, two USB 2.0 ports and built-in Wi-Fi capability. The console contains wireless Internet connections with IEEE 802.11b/g, or with a USB 2.0 LAN adaptor.

Wii will run on a PowerPC CPU, code-named "Broadway," that was developed with IBM, and will include an ATI graphic processor that will support up to 480p resolution. Nintendo says the Wii will launch in the fourth quarter of 2006 and will cost less than $250.

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Wii remote system

Most of the interest surrounding Nintendo's Wii system has been about its new wireless controllers. It's a two-handed motion-sensitive system that allows players to mimic actions on-screen with the movement of their hands. Gamers can throw balls or thrust their swords by using the motion of their arms instead of just pressing their thumbs.

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speaker included

The wireless Wii Remote can be waved, it rumbles and even contains a speaker.

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Nunchuck controller

The Nunchuck controller complements the Wii Remote and eliminates some of the odd movements needed in the current generation of joysticks. For example, if you are a quarterback in a football game, you can evade tacklers with the Nunchuck controller and throw a pass with the remote.

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