The Wii's Interface

Photo courtesy Nintendo of America, Inc. Nintendo GameCube controller

If you look at the controllers for the Xbox, the Playstation 2 and the GameCube, you'll notice that they are nearly identical. You hold them in two hands and use your thumbs to control the in-game action with buttons, D-pads and joysticks. Your index fingers pull triggers that shoot guns and perform other functions. The controllers for the upcoming Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 consoles appear to offer more of the same.

There are two ways to look at the similarity between these controllers. Are they are identical because the design has been honed to perfection and there is no room for improvement? That is what happened, for example, with the car steering wheel. All cars have steering wheels, and they have all had steering wheels for nearly a century.

The other approach is think about controllers in a completely different way -- a way that can revolutionize gameplay.

Nintendo took the latter approach: Its designers got outside of the box and innovated. When you first see the new Wii controller, it appears a little ridiculous. It looks like the remote control for a TV and it has no joystick. But the initial reviews have been good, and it actually makes sense once you understand the design principles.

Gyroscopes to the Rescue
The key to Nintendo's new game interface lies inside the controller. Instead of using a joystick to control the game, the primary control is the controller itself. The controller contains solid-state accelerometers and gyroscopes that let it sense:

• Tilting and rotation up and down
• Tilting and rotation left and right
• Rotation along the main axis (as with a screwdriver)
• Acceleration up and down
• Acceleration left and right
• Acceleration toward the screen and away

The surprising thing is that you can create an accurate and natural user interface this way.

Photo courtesy Nintendo of America, Inc. The controller from all angles

Prior to its release, Nintendo had several demos that let people experience the new controller. In one demo players shot at an object on the screen. You simply pointed the controller at the target and fired. It is completely natural. In another demo you flew an airplane. You simply moved the controller in the way you wanted the plane to move, and the plane on the screen moved. It is easy to do sharp turns, barrel rolls and loops.

In other demos the controller acted like a stick. The controller manipulated an on-screen fishing pole, an on-screen drum stick or an on-screen fly swatter.

Photo courtesy Nintendo of America, Inc. The Wii controller in action

There are several advantages to this approach:

1. Controller use seems to be completely intuitive, meaning that anyone can use it almost immediately -- there's no learning curve or fumbling as with joysticks.
2. The controller is very fast. You can move from one side of the screen to the other with a quick flick of the wrist.
3. The controller is very accurate: Things respond exactly as you expect.
4. The controller lends itself naturally to new game-playing paradigms. Playing a sword-fighting or fishing game with a joystick is clunky. Playing it with a controller that can be swung like a sword or a fishing pole is completely natural.
5. Playing an active game like tennis, boxing or baseball with the Wii can even give you a cardio workout -- a bonus for those who'd rather play video games than hit the gym [ref].

In the next section we'll discuss some variations on this controller and see how the console is powered.

Official Wii Specs ­The Wii released in the United States on Nov. 19, 2006, with a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price of $249. Here are a few highlights: The Wii is about 8.5 inches long, 6 inches wide and less than 2 inches thick. The Wii's Optical Disc Drive (ODD) supports single- and dual-layer Wii discs as well as GameCube discs. The maximum read speed is the equivalent of six times that of a DVD drive. The Wii console communicates with the Internet even when the power is turned off. Users connect wirelessly using IEEE 802.11 or a USB 2.0 LAN adaptor. Users can also connect wirelessly using the Nintendo DS. The controller is battery-powered and functions as a remote for the Wii. It includes the Direct Pointing Device with a three-axis accelerometer, indicator LEDs and rumble (which can be adjusted for intensity and turned off). The controller can be used by itself, with a Nunchuk extension and with a classic controller. Nintendo plans to release more extensions, and you can use the GameCube's bongos for "Donkey Kong" in either Wii or GameCube mode. For more information about the Wii, visit the official site.