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Thanksgiving Filler 3: Angry Organs

Bit Player

on Nov. 25, 2006

Huge announcements (that's plural) tomorrow!

And now, musings on video games:

Never before tonight have I been more willing to spend $250 on a piece of plastic. The Nintendo Wii, in which I originally had very little hope, has succeeded in renewing my faith in both Nintendo and the video game industry. Play a few hours of two-player Wii Sports to undergo a similar revelation.

The Wii is in many ways the definitive Nintendo console. Its graphics are decent enough that a hardware update would seem impractical. Its controller is innovative, intuitive, and ergonomic. It has the ability to play any GameCube game. Its Virtual Console succeeds in preserving video gaming's past in the most efficient way since ROMs and emulators caught on. And most importantly: Twilight Princess.

(Not to mention the impending Brawl.)

Nintendo seems to be doing what Apple did around the dawn of the iMac: keeping their product simple, affordable, aesthetically pleasing, and user-friendly. How much depth the Wii has to offer remains to be seen - but as long as there are creative minds willing to take advantage of this immensely creative hardware, I can see myself playing the Wii well into the next decade.

Also Twilight Princess.