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Wii

Happy Birthday Wii!

by Brad Mosbacher - November 18, 2007, 11:01 pm EST
Total comments: 14 Source: Nintendo World Report

The little console that could is now one year old.

That's right, Nintendo released the Wii exactly one year ago as of today. As you can imagine, a lot has happened between then and now, and today the lucky thirteen million Wii owners around the world celebrate not only the first anniversary of their console's release, but also the nearly constant string of historic events during this timeframe. There is a wonderful thread crafted by veteran poster pap64 on the events that have happened so far in the Wii's first year on the market. Feel free to join the forums and join us in celebrating this historic year in gaming.

New Virtual Console Games

Major series spin-offs mark the Wii's birthday.

WII-KLY UPDATE: THREE NEW CLASSIC GAMES ADDED ON THE WII CONSOLE'S FIRST ANNIVERSARY

Nov. 19, 2007

Wii™ celebrates its first anniversary today, and big stars from past consoles are coming out to help Nintendo celebrate. Luminaries walking the Virtual Console™ red carpet this week include Mario™ and Luigi™, Sonic The Hedgehog and Zonk. So throw on your best tuxedo or finest gown, and get ready to party with these video game A-listers.

Three new classic games go live at 9 a.m. Pacific time. Nintendo adds new games to the Wii™ Shop Channel every Monday. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points™ to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week's new games are:

Wrecking Crew™ (NES®, 1-2 players, rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points): In the days before Mario and Luigi became sports stars in their downtime between plumbing and saving the Princess, they tried their hands as one-man wrecking crews. With a hammer as their only tool, players take control of the brothers and set out to destroy ladders, rip out pipes, knock down walls and detonate explosive devices. But make sure to plan your path of destruction carefully, as each building is designed as its own clever puzzle—if you're not careful, you can easily trap yourself in a dead end. Adding to the excitement and challenge are fireballs, enemies and an angry foreman roaming the buildings. They're all trying to stop you from moving on to the next stage. With 100 buildings to demolish and the ability to construct your own, it's a wonder Mario and Luigi ever got back to saving the Mushroom Kingdom.

Sonic 3D Blast™ (Sega Genesis, 1 player, rated E for Everyone, 800 Wii Points): The evil Dr. Eggman (aka Dr. Robotnik) stumbles upon an alternate dimension where some odd birds called Flickies have the ability to travel anywhere. In order to get help in his search for the Chaos Emeralds, Dr. Eggman transforms the Flickies into robots that will help him track down his coveted gems. Of course, it's up to our favorite blue hedgehog, Sonic, to step in and save the day. Jump into this 3-D adventure as Sonic or his buddy Tails, and collect the golden rings to help free the Flickies and defeat the doctor.

Super Air Zonk (TurboGrafx16 CD-ROM, 1 player, rated E for Everyone – Mild Cartoon Violence, 800 Wii Points): Zonk is back in Super Air Zonk, the sequel to the shooting game spin-off of the Bonk series, Air “Zonk." Now moving to a rockabilly beat and able to transform into nine different characters, Zonk lets loose through seven action-packed stages in another battle against his arch nemesis, SandroVitch. Power up Zonk with the classic Meat item, eventually turning him into the champion of justice, Ultra Zonk, or the fearsome Tyrano Zonk in the latter stages of the game. After rescuing his friends from enemies, Zonk can also morph with them to combine powers. Fight enemies with killer tunes belted out from a trusty microphone. Hurl freshly made sushi at them. With its variety of wacky attacks, Super Air Zonk has a sense of humor all its own.

Talkback

IceColdNovember 18, 2007

Wow, at exactly 12:01 too (well here in Mountain Time).

Thumbs up to whichever staffer linked to the forum thread. Though there was another one earlier, but whatever.

OMG. They're reading the forums.

NWR_pap64Pedro Hernandez, Contributing WriterNovember 18, 2007

Thanks a lot guys! Expect the thread to be updated throughout the week as there's too much to talk about.

Now for Go Nintendo to rip it off... XP

ShyGuyNovember 18, 2007

Let's use this anniversary as a time to put to bed the derision of the NWR staff for claiming that you could just walk into any store after launch and get a Wii. This snarky joke is no longer allowed. Except on special occasions. Or times of emergency. Or the fifth Sunday of the month.

Why do you hate having posting privileges so much? Why?


-The ALWAYS CORRECT Management

Shift KeyNovember 18, 2007

Quote

Originally posted by: ShyGuy
Let's use this anniversary as a time to put to bed the derision of the NWR staff for claiming that you could just walk into any store after launch and get a Wii.


How about everyone grow up and move on with their lives? Do they think the staff here are infallible?

AzureNightmareBrad Mosbacher, Features EditorNovember 18, 2007

This is an exciting day in an exciting time.

PlugabugzNovember 18, 2007

Quote

Originally posted by: Shift Key
Quote

Originally posted by: ShyGuy
Let's use this anniversary as a time to put to bed the derision of the NWR staff for claiming that you could just walk into any store after launch and get a Wii.


How about everyone grow up and move on with their lives? Do they think the staff here are infallible?


Yes. They are politically encouraged superheroes with powers of temporal literacy. These people can write the future.

Shift KeyNovember 18, 2007

Quote

Originally posted by: Plugabugz
politically encouraged
So which side is it? I swear NWR reeks of blue but that's because they don't talk about politics so we're left to stab in the dark on these matters and that's why I killed JR.

Michael8983November 18, 2007

It's funny. I doubt even the most optimistic Nintendo fan could have guessed the Wii would be THIS big.
Not only did the console win over the world, more amazingly, so did the name, which quickly became a non-issue as the Wii became a global phenomenon.

MorariNovember 19, 2007

CENSORED FOR YOUR PROTECTION

NWR_pap64Pedro Hernandez, Contributing WriterNovember 19, 2007

I just want to say that while I have made fun of the staff in the past I didn't post that comment in the thread in order to mock them. I put it there as an example of how the Wii's success came as a big surprise to everybody.

Also, I updated the thread with a look back on the various channels released, the Miis and the accident cases.

ShyGuyNovember 19, 2007

I saw thing on Google news that said the Wii was once again the hot toy to have for Christmas. I can't think of any other Christmas toy that went two years in a row.

Cabbage Patch Kids
Tickle Me Elmo
Furbies
iPod (?)

pyrokamileonNovember 19, 2007

I bought my Wii on Day One! haha I'm happy to say I've had my LAUNCH system for over a year now, wow... too bad we couldn't go back in time and let those nay-sayers know that the Wii would sell out consecutively for a whole year!

KDR_11kNovember 19, 2007

You mean "too bad we can't go back in time and buy Nintendo shares like mad".

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