Nintendo Wii Review

The Wii Console and Setup

The Wii itself is a white plastic box that measures 15" x 10" x 4 1/2" (38 x 25 x 11 cm) and weighs in at 7.5 pounds (3.4 kg).  It comes with a gray plastic stand and when viewed in the stand from the side, it has an unusual angled design, as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4: The Wii console side view.

The front of the Wii console, shown in Figure 5, has a slot-loading mechanism that accepts Wii full-sized discs as well as the older GameCube mini-discs.

Figure 5: The Wii console front.

On the left side of the front of the Wii you will find the power button and a reset button near the top. Close to the bottom is the eject button. Between these buttons is a door that opens to reveal a sync button. This is used to synchronize the console and the remotes, which is usually only needed to be done once. Under the sync button is an SD card slot. WiiWare and Virtual Console games can be played directly off of the SD card, providing easily accessible extra storage and addition game play capabilities. Figure 6 shows the Wii with the door open.

Figure 6: Behind the Wii door.

All the remaining ports needed to set up the Wii are in the back, as shown in Figure 7. At the top are two USB ports. Below that are the air vents, which should remain unblocked. Under that are the 3 necessary connectors, the sensor bar connector, the AV out connector, and the DC input connector. Hook the DC input to the console and the electric outlet. Hook the AV out connector to the console and the TV. Hook the sensor bar to the console and place it on top of the television. (It comes with a nice long cable.)

Once you insert two AA batteries into the Wii remote, and press the sync button on the console and on the remote to sync the two, you are ready to play with your Wii.

Figure 7: The back of the Wii.

You can play the Wii as is, or you can set it up to access the Internet for added functionality. The Wii’s WiFi connection works with secure WEP and WPA encrypted networks. Network setup was seamless. If you don’t have WiFi, you can purchase an optional adapter that lets you use the USB port to connect to your wired network.

Nintendo calls their online access the WiiConnect24 service. It allows your Wii to be online constantly, even when the device is turned off. With WiiConnect24 you can download system updates, purchase additional game content and access news and weather channels.