Tech: Nintendo Wii details

I've always been a Nintendo fan - I can't even count how many systems I've bought (okay, I can - NES, SNES, N64, GCN, original GB, GBA, GBA SP, DS Lite - so 8 systems in all). I cut my teeth on the original Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt combo cartridge packed in the NES Action Set my grandparents bought me for Christmas. Heck, if it weren't for that first NES, I might be in Yale now...:P

The new Nintendo Wii has received a LOT of buzz around the Web ever since it completely dominated E3 in May. The crazy control scheme has naturally attracted a lot of interest, though it's only now that Nintendo has finally released firm details about the launch date, price, and games available (you can get the hinkfo from other sites). Here are some of my thoughts:

1. $250 is a bit pricey. My dream would be a $150 price point and a packed-in game, but, admittedly, that doesn't leave much room for the price to drop over the next few years. And Bluetooth technology ain't exactly cheap - a basic Bluetooth handset for your phone, for example, could easily fetch $30-$40 right there.

2. I like pack-ins. I like being able to take a system out of the box and start playing it RIGHT NOW. I know many would prefer leaving Wii Sports out and shaving a bit off the price, but I applaud Nintendo for going retro (consoles used to always have pack-in games, of course).

3. November 19th is technically lagging slightly behind Sony's PS3 launch date, but I think we can all agree it will be nearly impossible for people to actually find a PS3 at launch, especially in Japan (100,000 PS3s for ALL of Japan - not a good sign, Sony). So as long as Nintendo launches before the post-Turkey Day rush, I think they're fine.

4. I'm still kind of in the dark about DVD playback. It's not really necessary (even the homeless guy across the street has a DVD player nowadays), but it'd be nice if it could play DVDs out of the box.

5. Ironically, I'm kind of hyped up about the whole "surf the internet from your TV." Sometimes, you just want to pull up the showtimes of a movie or the phone number of a restaurant - to have to log on to your PC upstairs could be a bit inconvenient. And kudos to the big N for using Opera.

6. I wanna play Zelda.