STMicroelectronics sensors to be used in Nintendo’s Wii

STMicroelectronics on May 9 announced that its three-axis acceleration sensors will be used to provide a motion-activated user interface for Nintendo’s new home console, Wii.

Expected to dramatically change the way people play games, the Wii controller includes ST’s high-performance acceleration sensors that can detect the motion and tilt of a player’s hand in all 3 dimensions and convert it into immediate game action.

Driven by ST’s Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology — micron-sized structures that interact with the physical world — the Wii controller can respond to changes in direction, speed, and acceleration, down to the most delicate movements. Specifically, the controllers use embedded acceleration sensors to enable players’ wrist, arm, and hand movements to interact with the games.

Tilt measurements allow users to move characters, while the accurate three-axis acceleration sensing easily transforms the controller into a virtual sword, gearshift, or musical instrument.

The acceleration sensor’s miniature dimensions (5×5×1.5mm) significantly contribute to the user-friendly volume and weight of the TV-control-shaped handpiece.

Ultra-low power consumption of ST’s MEMS devices prolongs the battery life of the controller and the high thermal stability avoids unwanted motion sensing in varying temperature conditions.

The robust design of the sensor also provides very high immunity to vibration and a shock resistance up to 10,000g.

More About: STMicroelectronics, acceleration sensors, Nintendo, Wii

Official press release: Opera announced that Opera partners with Nintendo to put browser on the Wii™ game console

Oslo, Norway and Los Angeles, Calif., May 10, 2006

Opera Software, a world leader in Web browser technology, today announced that Nintendo’s much anticipated new generation game console, Wii, will use the Opera browser.

Users of the Wii console will browse the Internet using their consoles. Navigating via the innovative new Wii Remote controller, users can visit Web sites in between gaming sessions.

“Nintendo is clearly visionary in leading the gaming industry into the new era in gaming, and a wonderful partner for Opera,” says Jon von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software. “We are thrilled to expand our partnership with Nintendo, and work with them to deliver the best gaming experience on the Wii console and the Nintendo DS™.”

“For our Wii console launch in 2006, we required a browser that was fast and secure with support for the latest standards including AJAX. Opera proved perfect for our purposes and is an exceptional addition to both the Nintendo DS and the Wii console,” said Genyo Takeda, senior managing director and general manager, Integrated Research & Development Division, Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Opera and Nintendo announced their partnership to deliver the full Opera browser for the Nintendo DS on February 15, 2006. The Nintendo DS browser is scheduled for release in Japan this summer. Nintendo has not yet announced its global launch plans for this product.

About Opera for Devices

Opera provides an optimized implementation of Internet technologies for handheld devices, digital TV and other devices, with innovative and powerful features that seamlessly adapt the Internet experience to suit varying screen sizes and input devices. In addition to being a full Internet browser, Opera is a high performance execution environment for Web applications and dynamic user interfaces based on interoperable open Web technologies such as AJAX.

http://www.opera.com/products/devices

About Opera Software ASA

Opera Software ASA has redefined Web browsing for PCs, mobile phones and other networked devices. Opera’s cross- platform Web browser technology is renowned for its small size, performance and standards-compliance, while giving users a faster, safer and more dynamic online experience. Opera Software is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with offices around the world. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol OPERA. Learn more about Opera at www.opera.com.

About Nintendo

The worldwide leader and innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its popular home and portable video game systems. To date, Nintendo has sold more than 2 billion video games worldwide and more than 360 million hardware units globally, creating such industry icons as Mario(R) and Donkey Kong and launched franchises like The Legend of Zelda(R) and Pokemon(R). Nintendo manufactures and markets hardware and software for its popular video game systems, including the Nintendo GameCube™, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS™.

source: Opera

More About: Opera, Nintendo, game console, Wii, Wii console

New Nintendo WII controller

This is a image of the redesigned Nintendo wii-motion controller

• Some changes:
• Now is a longer controll
• The B button was redesigned , now is like a trigger button
• They changed the power button shape
• Added the small speaker

More About: wii-motion, controller

Wii Connect 24
Nintendo announced its new console (Nintendo Wii) will be connected to the internet 24 hours a day.

At its press conference today, Iwata explained Nintendo plans to deliver content to the system even when it’s not powered on. For instance, while you’re snug in your bed, friends can deliver new items to you for Animal Crossing for example.

More About: Wii Connect 24, Nintendo, Nintendo Wii

The Nintendo Wii controller will contain a small amount of memory, which can be written to by the console (via Bluetooth) during the game. This will usually be used to store small sound files which can be heard via the controller’s small internal speaker.

This system could be used, for example, to simulated the sound of gun shots coming from the controller when fired.

More About: Nintendo Wii, ontroller, Bluetooth, internal speaker

Nintendo Wii console Image

The new Nintendo Wii is the smallest stationary console Nintendo has ever manufactured, described by Nintendo as being “about the thickness of three standard DVD cases and only slightly longer”. The console will have the ability to stand either horizontally or vertically. The front of the console features a self loading media drive which is illuminated by a blue light and will accept 12 cm Wii game discs and 8 cm GameCube game discs.

When the Wii (revolution in that time) console was unveiled at E3 2005 the console was colored black. However, at the Tokyo Game Show 2005 when the controller was revealed, promotional material depicted a white console. Nintendo has since revealed three additional colors (platinum, lime green, and red).

Controller

The Wii controller sets aside the traditional controller seen in other mainstream consoles in an attempt to appeal to a larger audience. The controller is shaped like a television remote control and is held with one hand. Due to its symmetrical nature, the Wii’s controller is able to be used by either hand, unlike other controllers. The controller can also be rotated 90 degrees counter-clockwise and used like the NES controller.

he controller is also able to sense motion; a sensor placed near the television allows the computer to sense the controller’s position in three-dimensional space. Other sensors in the controller itself allow it to sense its tilt and yaw. This allows players to mimic actual game actions, such as swinging a sword or using a flashlight, instead of simply pushing buttons. An early marketing video showed actors miming such actions as fishing, cooking, drumming, conducting an orchestra, shooting a gun, sword fighting, performing dental surgery, and what seems to be, a game of Super Mario Bros. with one handed play.[9]

The controller also features an expansion port at the bottom which will allow various attachments to be added to the controller. Nintendo has revealed one of these attachments to be a unit which features an analog stick and 2 trigger buttons. It will connect to the main Wii controller via a short cord, and its appearance while connected to the main controller has led it to become dubbed “The Nunchaku”. Nintendo has stated the aforementioned “Nunchaku” add-on may be bundled with the Wii console.

Nintendo has also announced a controller “shell” which will resemble a traditional game controller called the “Classic-Style Expansion Controller”. The Wii “remote” will fit inside this shell which will allow gamers to play games using a traditional controller while retaining the “remote”’s motion sensitivity. According to Satoru Iwata, it is meant for playing “the existing games, virtual console games, and multi-platform games”.[2]

Despite the controller’s similarity to lightguns which are only compatible with standard-definition cathode ray tube televisions, Nintendo has stated the Wii and its controller will be compatible with all televisions including digital projectors.

The Nintendo Wii will feature parental controls, prohibiting young viewers from viewing inappropriate content. This allows parents to set the age level of the system, and when a disc is inserted, it will read the content rating encoded on the game discs; if this rating is greater than the system’s age level setting, the game will not load unless the user correctly enters a password to override the setting.
For instance, a game carrying an ESRB rating of M for Mature, which is intended for those over the age of 17, will not play on a system that is set to only allow games rated E for Everyone (six and older) and EC for Early Childhood (three and under).

This will be found in all systems released around the world; it is confirmed that the European units will use the PEGI rating system, North American units will use the ESRB rating system, units for the Japanese market will presumably use the CERO rating system, German units will use the USK system, and Australian units will use the OFLC system.

One of the most anticipated features of Wii is its game download service, dubbed the “Virtual Console.” .

Using this Virtual Console service, users will have the ability to download and play many or all Nintendo-produced NES/Famicom, SNES/Super Famicom, and N64 games for a small fee.
More notably, some games may offer free retro downloads as a bonus for the purchase. Nintendo has also announced that games developed for the Sega Genesis and TurboGrafx 16 consoles will be offered via the Virtual Console download service.

While the gameplay will be the same for all of the retro titles offered via the Virtual Console, Nintendo has stated that some of the games may be improved with sharper graphics or better framerates. In addition, gamers may be able to download games that were not originally released in their region, and some multiplayer games may be playable online, if it is technically possible.The Virtual Console service will not be used exclusively for retro games, however. Nintendo has stated that they are interested in using the service to distribute new, original content.

According to a Japanese press release, “all downloaded games will be stored on the 512 [MB] flash memory built into the system”. To prevent illegal copying, downloaded games will feature a proprietary DRM system

Processors:

• IBM “Broadway” CPU
• ATI “Hollywood” GPU

Memory:

• Unknown amount of RAM
• 512 MB built-in flash memory.

Ports and Peripherals:

• Two USB 2.0 ports.
• Support for wireless controllers.
• 4 Nintendo GameCube controller ports and 2 Nintendo GameCube memory card ports (for backward compatibility).
• Optional USB PC-compatible 802.11b (Wi-Fi) wireless attachment. (see Connectivity)

Media:

• Slot-loading optical disc drive compatible with both 12 cm Wii optical discs and 8.0 cm GameCube optical discs (1.5 GB) as well as standard DVD discs.
• 2 Front-loading SD memory card slots.

Built-in content ratings system:

• PEGI 3+, 7+, 12+, 16+, 18+
• ESRB EC, E, E10+, T, M, and AO.
• CERO All Ages, 12+, 15+ 18+.
• OFLC G, PG, M, MA15+

Networking

• Wi-Fi by Broadcom

Video:

• up to 480p and will work with a computer monitor as well as any TV or projector.

Audio:

• Unknown