The Nintendo Wii In The News
Even before the release of the Nintendo Wii in December 2006, it had become a popular news item. Everyone speculated about the innovative design and wondered if they would be able to get a copy at release. People expected the Wii to be a big hit and couldn't wait to try out the cool new controls. The first news story surrounding the Nintendo Wii was the possibility of a shortage as devoted fans would line up days in advance of the release to get their hands on the console. People speculated on how long it would take for the average Joe to get a Wii if they didn't want to wait in line for days or hours. They soon found out that the Wii would indeed be in short supply following its release. It took the better part of four months for Nintendo to distribute enough consoles so that people wanting one wouldn't have to wait in line for hours. This type of game console phenomenon isn't uncommon and die hard gamers will often line up to get the newest video game system, but since the Wii was designed to appeal to a much different audience the shortage, while not unimaginable, was more severs than expected.
After purchases of the Wii took off, its next big news story was the fact that it was enjoying such fantastic success. Most video game players wrote the Wii off as too family oriented with not enough appeal to hard core gamers to gain as much popularity as the Play Station 3 or Xbox 360. But Nintendo proved them wrong and Wii sales soon outnumbered those of the Play Station 3 and Xbox 360. Nintendo was expecting the Wii to be popular with a wide variety of people but even they didn't expect the mad dash to get a Wii that followed its release. The Wii was in the news for months with stories about how it had totally changed the way video games are played and came from behind to become the most popular new video game console.
The Wii enjoyed a lot of positive publicity but it also had its share of complaints as well. While the Wii didn't have nearly as many technical issues as the Xbox 360 or the Play Station 3, the innovative new controller caused a whole new set of problems. Despite copious warnings throughout the games, players were bashing their hands on furniture and doors and damaging their TV's with overzealous play. While no reported injuries were severe, the wrist strap on some controllers that came out at the Wii's release broke. This prompted Nintendo to make the strap thicker on new Wii's and issue replacements to Wii owners whose controllers had the thinner straps.
The news about the Nintendo Wii has been positive for the most part and the issues that Wii owners did have were quickly resolved by Nintendo. All the hype that surrounded the Wii prior to its release proved to be true as the Wii dominated the video game market and became the most popular console.
