Beginnings Of The Nintendo Wii 

Nintendo Wii (‘We’) is the latest video game console released by the company. Its project code name was Revolution, and is the fifth home video game console by Nintendo – the heir apparent to the GameCube.

What makes Wii different from its competitors is the Wii Remote (Wiimote) – a handheld controller that can detect motions and rotations in three dimensions. The Wiimote can function as a gamepad when turned on its side, and communicates wirelessly with the console by means of Bluetooth.

Before Wii, and even before NES, there were playing cards. The year 1902 saw the “Hanafuda” cards by Fusajiro Yamauchi, great-grandfather of long-time Nintendo President Hiroshi Yamauchi. The playing cards were created in Japan in 1889. Yamauchi Nintendo & Co. was established on 1933, and the year 1950 saw Hiroshi Yamauchi as President. He absorbed the manufacturing operation of the YN & Co. with Marufuku Co. Ltd. being the primary company. A year later the company would change its name to Nintendo Playing Card Co. Ltd.

1963 was the true birth of Nintendo Co. Ltd. Aside from the name, the company began developing games. In 1980, GAME & WATCH video game series were released and at the same time, Nintendo America landed in New York. Nintendo launched the Donkey Kong to the arcade world on 1981 and became a worldwide hit.

July 1983 was the release of the Family Computer (Famicom) to Japanese stores. 3 years later it was re-designed and released in Europe and the US as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Duck Hunt and the Super Mario Brothers popped into the public. The console became the No.1 sold toy in the US a year later. 1987 also marks the Legend of Zelda becoming the first NES title to sell more than a million units.

One of the pioneer portable gaming systems was released in 1989. it was called Game Boy, and was released in Japan and the US the same year. Meanwhile, the Super Famicom was being updated – its 16-bit update was released in Japan on November 21, 1990. It was released as the Super NES in the US on August 1991, along with Super Mario World. It was released a year later in Europe.

The Virtual Boy and the Ultra 64 was released in 1995. Ultra 64 became Nintendo 64, released in Japan on June 23, 1996. On September, the mini version of Game Boy, Game Boy Pocket, was released. 1998 saw Pokemania with the release of Game Boy Color along with Pokemon (Pocket Monsters).

Game Boy Advance and GameCube were released in 2001. The following year, Yamauchi steps down after 52 years of leading the company. Satoru Iwata was named his successor.

2004 saw the advent of the Dual Screen (DS), released on different months in different locations. And finally, on November 19, 2006, Nintendo Wii was released in the US and it was released in Japan on December 2, 2006.