So, I’ve had the Wii for 72 hours, and have played around with it (and two games: Wii Sports and Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz) enough to form some conclusions. So here goes…

Setup. Out of the box I was surprised just how small the unit is - especially compared to its next-gen brethren. Had to change my plans and set it up on my basement TV, because the widescreen TV in the family room has a beveled edge on the top and is set flush with the wall unit - both factors discouraging accurate placement of the sensor bar. Wonder how many people have had issues with that? Beyond that, cables were clearly marked and the instructions were simple to follow. Took just a few minutes to put it together.

Internet connection. The wireless connection found and connected to my home network automatically - no problems. The automatic updates took a few tries to download, but finally did. I downloaded the Opera browser and went online to see how surfing the Web worked. Web pages render a little oddly; it almost looks like screen captures of Internet pages up on the screen. You “type” in URLs by pointing the Wiimote at a virtual keyboard on the screen. It seems they can make the process easier by adding hotkeys for such common address phrases like “www” and “.com.” What’s more, there’s no address bar, nor any visible “breadcrumbing” feature in the browser, making navigation pretty confusing. To be fair, this is still a beta feature (and Nintendo says they’re going to improve it), but all in all, it’s not a particularly intuitive way to surf the Web - hard to see it replacing a computer with a keyboard.

Wiimote. Wow. What a beautiful piece of engineering. Small and comfortable in your hand, but heavy enough to create real presence. The “rumble” feature is subtle but vital; the little vibrations you get when the pointer passes over a button on the screen create tactile feedback that’s hard to describe; it enables you to really “feel” the pointer and connects you to the activity on the screen at a very deep level. Two quibbles, though: 1) it feels like the audio speaker on the Wiimote is underutilized; and 2) most of the activity seems to center on the “A” button on the top of the controller rather than the “B” button/trigger on the underside. It seems to me that “pulling a trigger” is a more natural feel that “pushing a button;” I’d prefer to see the “B” button more prominently featured in gameplay.

However, my biggest complaint about the Wiimote is that Nintendo only includes one with the game. The shortage of consoles currently extends to a shortage of Wiimotes, and just having one is very annoying, when you’d like to play against someone else. I think Nintendo should’ve packaged a second Wiimote with the console; hard to see how any customer isn’t going to need one. They could’ve done that and still kep the price point under $300 ($299?) - it would’ve been fairer to the consumer. Instead, it seems that the $250 price is a bit artificial, and I’m frustrated that I can’t get my hands on a second controller.

Mii Channel. How much fun is this? The ability to create your own “Miis” - personal avatars that appear in different games - is very cool and surprisingly detailed - not only can you choose different facial features, you can adjust their hieight, width and position on the face. My own avatar was a surprisingly good caricature of me, and my two girls (ages 8 and 6.5) had lots of fun creating their own images as well as characters for their friends. Nintendo cleverly designed it so each new “Mii” that’s created pops up during the Wii Sports games - in the crowd, as a player on the baseball team, etc. The kids love spotting the Miis they create when they’re playing.

Graphics. Bright, cleanly rendered environments predominate, but after being exposed to what’s being accomplished at the leading edge of XBox 360 and PS3 game design, you have to adjust your expectations. I haven’t experimented with some of the more elaborate worlds created for Wii games (like Red Steel or Zelda), so I’ll be interested in seeing what great designers can do to push the graphics envelope.

Wii Sports. You can see why Nintendo packaged this with the Wii; it’s really the best way to get a feel for the console. Some good attention to detail here; for example, it enables you to adjust for left-handedness (my oldest daughter’s a lefty), and the Mii on the screen is then shown as a lefty. Tennis is probably the most fun; I worked up a sweat playing best-of-five. My 6.5 year-old got a kick (punch?) out of the boxing; she plugged in the nunchuck and absolutely pummeled her opponent. Golf also works well, though at the advanced level some of the holes are so “tricked out” as to be a little silly, and occasionally the game didn’t respond accurately to the Wiimote’s putting stroke. I know the bowling’s popular, but my kids had some trouble mastering the motions needed for it. Baseball seemed to get a little repetitious. I really like the way the games automatically respond to how I get better by ratcheting up the quality of the computer opponents.

Summing up. The Wii seems to accomplish something that has been a long-sought objective of the gaming industry - to break out of the traditional “gamer” box and appeal to a much wider set of customers. That’s a major achievement in its own right. Beyond that, I’d love to see much more experimentation with what’s possible with the Wiimote. I think Nintendo’s on to something very powerful here - a new way to interact with information and activity occuring in a virtualized setting. This could have significant ramifications for how high-end simulations are constructed, and much more. But that’s another conversation. The bottom line is that the Wii is a smartly designed, well-thought-out, incredibly fun gaming system. And with that, the golf course awaits…