Wii Comes to Europe: Event Report

Nintendo brings a bunch of Wii consoles across the seven seas and into Europe, for some fresh hands-on play time. England might not have brought the World Cup home, but who cares when Wii is in town?

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Despite Metroid, Mario and Zelda not making the journey, trade and media across the country gathered for their first glimpse of Nintendo Wii performing on home soil, serving as a great second look for anyone who played Wii at E3 back in May, and more importantly, letting Wii newcomers 'play to believe' for the first time.

Prior to entering the arena hosting the systems, all visitors were gathered around for a 'safety briefing' in a similar fashion to those given prior to a plane taking off. Bluetooth devices were required to be turned off as they may interfere with the Wii remotes, which were not yet been finalised.

The reception area housed displays of the various Wii controller configurations, such as the Nunchuck expansion and the light gun shell. The Classic controller was also on display. A screen in the background ran a rolling video similar in content to the one shown at Nintendo's TGS 2005 press conference.

NCL ordered a strict no-photography rule for the event, which is just as well because we've been waiting ages to use these pics

The arena itself was pure white, mirroring the shiny Wii and DS hardware inside. It all made for quite an "iPod generation" feel - very bright, fresh and airy. Nintendo also went all-out with the babes on hand to demonstrate various games, all dressed in the same pure white as the console, in a uniform fitting for a game of tennis - or more appropriately, Wii Tennis. The Wii consoles themselves were hooked up to 40" TV sets through component, giving a sharp, crispy progressive image.

Forget physics cards; as far as attendees here were concerned, it's physics controllers that are defining the future of console gaming, and the Wii delivers. While most of this writer's lucky colleagues already sampled the delights of Wii at endless private play sessions during (and after!) E3 hours a couple of months back, I'll offer my own first impressions.

The stylish remote-like controller is extremely light, with all buttons easily accessible. It was extremely sensitive and able to calculate physical movements with admirable precision. Whether you're lobbing a ball in Wii Tennis or unleashing your killer instinct in the shooting demo, the Wii remote is able to convert physical movements in multiple directions, into something that's entertaining to control and watch on the screen.

Gossip coming out of Nintendo prior to the event suggested that bringing Wii to London so soon after its world-wide playable debut was a bit of a challenge. But it was worth it; at the event, a Nintendo Europe spokesperson explained that Britain's press and retail guests were reacting just as positively as those who first saw the new system at E3. Some of the lifestyle press we spoke to said they were turned on by the aesthetics and size of the console, which looks like a stylish little cutie compared to its behemoth competitors. We were also promised more would be unveiled at the Leipzig Games Convention, taking place in Germany in August.

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