1. The name isn’t as bad as you think. Really. Well, it’ll grow on you.
2. Innovative controls. The Wii-mote and Nunchuk that you use to play Wii games with make for a completely different kind of gaming. You wave, point, swipe and swing to play. It’s only as good as the games that make use of it though.
3. No graphical willy-waving. It’s a fair cop: Wii isn’t as powerful as PS3 or Xbox 360. But that means developers could and should be focusing on gameplay. And as a bonus, it means we don’t have to read endless game reviews dribbling on about textures.
4. Wii Sports. It comes bundled with your Wii, and is a collection of five sporty mini-games: tennis, baseball, golf, bowling and boxing. All show off the sheer fun of using the Wii-mote, and are the ideal introduction to what Nintendo’s console is capable of.
5. Full internet access. Yep, you’ll be able to surf the Web through Wii, using the Opera browser, which you’ll be able to download via the Wii Shop channel for free - at least until next Summer.
6. The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess. The latest installment of Nintendo’s classic adventure franchise is a launch title, and looks ace.
7. It’s cheap. In the UK, a Will will cost you £180 at launch. That’s practically a pocket-money price! (if you’re Paris Hilton)
8. Play classic N64 games. The Wii’s Virtual Console lets you purchase ‘points’ which can then be exchanged for a host of retro games, which you download to the console. N64 titles announced so far include Super Mario 64, Starfox 64, The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time, and Mario Kart 64.
9. Your mum can play it. The joy of Wii is that the Wii-mote makes gaming fun even for people who don’t like traditional gaming. Like your mum. Hell, even your gran. Although you might need to stock up on some Jointace before inviting her round…
10. A proper global launch. Like Microsoft before them, Nintendo have more or less managed to get Wii out in Asia, North America and Europe at the same time. Even if us Europeans are a few weeks behind. Grr.
11. Nintendo are making LOADS of them. Six million by the end of March next year, in fact. This probably still won’t be enough to meet demand, mind.
12. Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz. Monkeys, bananas, evil multi-coloured octopii and the Wii-mote in perfect harmony.
13. Wi-Fi (or should that be Wii-Fi?). Either way, Wii has it, so you’re not tied to your broadband socket, and if you’ve already got a wireless home network, you can connect to the internetweb straight away.
14. Wii is the ultimate party console. Invite friends round, ideally with their own Wii-motes, and play a bunch of mini-games. With booze, obviously. I’m writing the Super Monkey Ball drinking game as we speak.
15. Create your own Mii. Miis are cartoon avatars, which represent you in some games, and will hopefully be used online too. Make it look like you, or make it look like Brian Blessed. The choice is yours.
16. In fact, create your own Mii right now. Go here.
17. Wii Play. Assuming you’re not a Zelda nut, Wii Play should be your first purchase. It’s more mini-games to show off your Wii-mote, but more importantly comes with an extra controller bundled in.
18. C64 games on the Virtual Console. Oh yes. Publisher System 3 is bringing some classic Commodore 64 games to the VC. Confirmed are Impossible Mission, California Games and The Last Ninja. Still a rumour (in my own, fevered, imagination) is Emlyn Hughes International Soccer.
19. Cartman loves it.
20. Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2. Crazy anime fighting game. Whaddya mean you haven’t played the first one? Tsk.
21. The old-skool classic controller. Buy it to play Virtual Console games! Realise how much controllers have moved on! Still think it looks cool!
22. Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles. All-new Res Evil for Wii, although sadly the name doesn’t mean you’ll only be allowed to off zombies by stabbing them with a butterfly-patterned parasol.
23. It’s quiet. i.e. it doesn’t wheeze like a copulating rhino.
24. It can talk to your DS via Wi-Fi. What will this mean? Details are still a bit vague.
25. Cooking Mama: Cook Off. Make like Jamie Oliver and chop, dice, slice and flip food using the Wii-mote. Secret mode where you slap fat children with Turkey Twizzlers still unconfirmed.
26. Swordfighting. Wii will rule at this, thanks to the Wii-mote. En garde!
27. SNES games on the Virtual Console. There’ll be loads. So far announced: F-Zero, Sim City, Super Metroid, Mario RPG, Kirby’s Super Star, and Pilotwings.
28. Wario Ware: Smooth Moves. Mini-game madness taking the legendary GBA/DS game to a new level. You won’t understand half of them. It doesn’t matter.
29. USB expandability. Wii has two USB ports on the back, which in theory means all manner of peripherals can be plugged in. Webcams, keyboards, MP3 players…
30. YouTube. Like PS3 and Xbox 360, Wii benefits from being launched in the YouTube era. There are thousands of Wii-related vids on the video-sharing site, from games to opinion to nudity. Well, probably nudity.
31. Proper online play. Admittedly, there’s not much of it slated for the early days. But developers are working on it.
32. Elebits. One of the more quirky Wii games to have been announced, this involves capturing electrical critters by, well, waving your Wii-mote around like a berk. Could be fun.
33. News of the world. Literally. One of Wii’s online channels offers up news stories from around the world, using a 3D globe to navigate them. It’s The Future!
34. Animal Crossing. Nintendo’s folksy animal game is coming to Wii, although there aren’t many details yet. But it’s guaranteed to use Wii’s online features to allow you to visit friends (and scribble bums on their village noticeboards)
35. Sega Megadrive games on the Virtual Console. Like Ecco The Dolphin, Golden Axe, original Sonic The Hedgehog, ToeJam & Earl and Altered Beast. Okay, that last one’s not a selling point.
36. There are loads of games on the way. We’ve listed 30 in this guide, but Wikipedia has over 170 named titles, and a bunch more unnamed ones.
37. Metroid Prime 3. Latest installment of the infamous space-epic. Aim guns with the Wii-mote. Hurrah!
38. Wii has a mysterious startup disc. Rumour has it that it’ll include all the boring driver stuff that Nintendo didn’t manage to preload before Wii started rolling off the production lines. But I rest in hope it’ll have something cool on it, like, I dunno, Mario performing a showtune duet with Pikachu. Or something.
39. The Wii-mote rumbles. Despite using motion-sensing technology, which Sony has cited as the reason for taking the rumble out of PS3’s Sixaxis controller. Want vibration? Get a Wii…
40. Sonic And The Secret Rings. Sega’s nippy blue hedgehog is coming to Wii with a super-fast 3D platformer, and a bunch of mini-games making use of the Wii-mote. Rawk.
41. You can check the weather. Yes, there’s a Weather Channel on Wii, so you can see if it’s raining outside (and so decide to spend the day in playing Wii Sports).
42. Heatseeker. Due out in Spring, this awesome-looking flight sim promises a ‘lock-on/shake-off experience’. It’s what my dog does when he gets a bit over-excited with the postman too.
43. EA is making games for Wii. As a veteran of Sega’s Dreamcast console, which never did get FIFA etc, this is an important point. EA has committed to making six games for Wii, including Madden, Need For Speed and SSX.
44. The SD card slot. Memory cards will be an important factor in Wii, including as a method to store your Virtual Console downloads. However, they’ll also be used for the photo editing channel (see point 67), and could let you take stuff off Wii and access it on other devices.
45. Super Mario Galaxy. Wii wouldn’t be a Nintendo console without another immersive adventure from the planet’s favourite plumber, and Super Mario Galaxy is shaping up nicely, with 3D worlds and Wii-mote-waving action.
46. It appeals to latent gamers. People who love games, who grew up playing them, and then lost touch when adulthood came along, with its pesky jobs and partners and loss of time. Wii has got the likes of us excited about gaming again, in a way that the ultra-realistic grey military texture-heavy games on other consoles haven’t.
47. Driving games. You can hold the Wii-mote at a right-angle and twist it like a driving wheel. Vroom!
48. Wii looks good. It’s desirable. You’d want it in your living room. Just don’t polish it too often…
49. NES games on the Virtual Console. Admittedly, you’ll need to be a pretty hardcore fanboy to choose Wario’s Woods over Twilight Princess, but still, there’ll be a bunch of NES titles available. Others include Donkey Kong, Dr Mario, Kid Icarus, The Legend Of Zelda and original Mario Bros.
50. Super Smash Bros Brawl. All Nintendo’s most famous characters (and a few special guests) in one big festival of fighty-ness. And it’ll have full proper online play too.
51. Wi-Fi local multiplayer. Get a friend to bring their Wii round with a TV, and you can link the two up for some local multiplayer. Look, we know you won’t actually do this, but the theory is nice.
52. Fat guys love it.
53. So do women. Apparently. Nintendo is pulling out all the stops to ensure Wii isn’t seen as just another console for the lads, both in terms of the games coming out for it, and the way it’s being marketed.
54. Red Steel. Ubisoft’s gangster romp is a launch title, and sees you wielding the Wii-mote as both gun and katana blade in frenetic first-person-shooty action.
55. 480p output. Yes, it’s true that Wii won’t be capable of the 720p output resolution that was rumoured, leaving it some way behind PS3 and Xbox 360. Still, a Wii outputting at 480p via component cables will still look pretty damn lovely. I know I’m trying to convince myself here…
56. Trauma Center: Second Opinion. Another launch game, this time putting you in the squeaky flat shoes of a top surgeon.
57. Silly peripherals. Our faves so far are BigBen’s upcoming tennis racket and golf club attachments, which plug onto your Wii-mote to leave you feeling a bit less silly when swinging. A bit.
58. Wii Message Board. Another of the console’s online channels, it’s part email-inbox, part online-forum, part bragging paradise. This is where much of your interaction with fellow Wii owners will happen.
59. Nintendogs. Oh, alright, they haven’t announced it yet for Wii. But it’s sure to happen. Pack your actual dog off to Battersea in readiness!
60. Wii will get you fit. An hour a day on Wii Sports (combined with a balanced diet, of course) will have you losing pounds AND having fun. Then you can spend a month stuffing cake just so you can do it all over again.
61. Backward GameCube compatibility. You can play all your old GameCube games in Wii, and plug your controllers in to boot.
62. DK Bongo Blast. Upgraded from GameCube, this cartoon racer should be entertaining, although no news on how it uses the Wii-mote, if at all.
63. It’s not trying to be a DVD player… Wii is focusing on games and communication, pure and simple. Want to watch films? You can get a standalone player for your TV (or better still, a recorder)…
64. …Although this time next year, it will be! Nintendo just announced plans for a DVD-enabled Wii in late 2007. Can both these points be reasons to buy Wii? Damn right. We’re nothing if not contrary.
65. Rayman Raving Rabbids. Possibly the most bonkers launch title, being a collection of crazy mini-games starring killer rabbits. As you do.
66. Cool Japanese TV ads.
67. Edit your digital photos. Who needs Photoshop when you’ve got a Wii (well, apart from graphic designers, obviously). The Wii’s Photo Channel lets you import your photos and do all manner of tweaking to them.
68. The Sims. EA is creating a completely new Sims game just for Wii. Heaven knows what you’ll have to do with the Wii-mote to urinate…
69. Good review sites. Want a fast opinion on Wii games? Check out IGN, GameSpot and Eurogamer for starters.
70. Wii boots up quickly. Much more quickly than PS3, for example.
71. The Wii-mote can speak to you. It’s got a built-in speaker anyway, which can output sound effects or speech. Few developers have yet announced plans of how they’re making use of this, though.
72. Wii’s going on tour. You’ll be able to get your hands on Nintendo’s console at events around the UK in November and December. See where and when here. Admittedly, this isn’t a reason to buy it, but it might help you decide…
73. Big Brain Academy. The hugely popular DS brain-trainer is coming to Wii next year. Your gran will definitely love this one.
74. Painting sims. I read about this game that’s coming to Wii called Bob Ross Painting. I have no idea who Bob Ross is, but if someone can adapt this idea for Rolf Harris, it’ll be huge. Really.
75. You can get a free Wii with some mobile phones. Look here.
76. Cool magazines. I spent the weekend happily immersed in the UK’s Official Nintendo Magazine and the unofficial NGamer. And they’re both sparky and authorative. AND you get free M&Ms with ONM. This month, at least.
77. Excite Truck. Race big trucks, using the Wii-mote as a steering wheel. Furry dice optional.
78. Fishing. The Wii-mote is made for fishing, as Twilight Princess and a few other upcoming titles (Animal Crossing, surely) are proving. Fishing was never this fun in the real world! Mainly because it involved getting wet, handling maggots and spending several hours in your dad’s company, admittedly…
79. Surround sound. Wii uses the Dolby Pro Logic II surround sound technology, ensuring that if you have the right speaker setup, you can be just as scared by orcs growling behind you as you would with a film.
80. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Crystal Bearers. Besides sporting the most unwieldy title of any Wii game, this title – which is out next year – promises all the painfully-lengthy plot exposition fun of previous FF games, with added Wii-mote wand-waving.
81. WiiConnect24. A nifty feature that lets your Wii stay on and connected to the network overnight, without using up too much power (apparently it’s less than a lightbulb). This’ll allow updates and patches to be automatically downloaded while you sleep, for example.
82. Final Furlong. Horse racing on your Wii, using the Wii-mote and Nunchuk to thrash your nag past the winning post. Oh, c’mon, you know this sounds genius.
83. Air drumming. One of the most marvellous Wii demos has been the drumming one - watch this video to see it. Drum battles! I’ve always fancied myself as Keith Moon. Except without the undignified alcohol death, obviously.
84. Pokemon Battle Revolution. Oh, alright, one for the kids here. But they’ll be able to use their DS pokemon in this Wii game, and even possibly battle each other online.
85. Pokemon Battle Revolution. Actually, for us adults, the chance to slap Pikachu upside the head in a physical stylee is a tempting prospect too. Please make it so, Nintendo.
86. Custom soundtracks. If you’ve got a bunch of MP3 songs stored on an SD memory card, in theory you can use them as the soundtrack, like Xbox did with its hard drive. Excite Truck is the first Wii game to make use of this.
87. TurboGrafx-16 games on the Virtual Console. Daddy, what’s a TurboGrafx-16? Well son, I don’t know, but someone must be excited its games are playable on Wii.
88. Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam. The Hawkster goes all SSX on us, with this high-speed downhill racing game that, yes, uses the Wii-mote to steer.
89. Shooty shooty. As Red Steel proves, using the Wii-mote as a makeshift firearm can work really well. Right-wing fundamentalists, even you too can love Wii! Although it’s still probably a Trojan Horse designed by the government to spy on you.
90. Bleach. The obligatory barmy manga beat ‘em up that all journalists will rave about without actually being any good at playing.
91. Parental controls. Okay, this is bad news if you’re a five-year-old with a penchant for violent games. But good news if you’re a concerned parent wanting to stop Little Johnny or Janet from growing up as a murderous Emo suicide ASBO teenage hoodlum.
92. Untapped potential for the Wii-mote. Everyone has their own wishlist of Wii-mote-enabled games. Mine is a version of Football Manager where you can ‘do a Wenger’ and slap rival bosses about on the touchline. It could happen!
93. The Wii respects (higher) authority. God, in other words. In Spain and Italy, the launch date has been shifted a day to avoid clashing with the celebration of the Immaculate Conception. Whether this date will also be commemorated in Animal Crossing next year with a ritual condom-burning festival is unconfirmed.
94. Some cool memorabilia on eBay.
95. Ready To Rumble 3. It’s still just a rumour, but this slap-happy cartoon boxing game would be perfect for the Wii-mote and Nunchuk. Fingers crossed.
96. Much potential for fanboy tattoos. Who can beat the ones we found here? First person to get a Wii-mote stenciled on their Little Soldier wins our undying respect. Honestly.
97. A bunch of sparky Wii blogs. Besides WiiWii, I mean. Check out Go Nintendo, Infendo, Nintendic and NintendoLife for starters, as well as more general blogs Kotaku and Destructoid.
98. Samurai Warriors Wave. Everybody wave back! But seriously, this sword-slashy epic promises to give you RSI, but in a good way. If that’s possible. Hundreds of enemies, multiple weapons, and it’s out next year.
99. Eight-player Bust-A-Move. Nuff said.
100. Supply your own reason here… Everyone has dozens we haven’t thought of.
