Wii
On the 24th of September 2001, Nintendo began collaborating with Gyration Inc., a company that held several patents in motion-sensing technology. This partnership marked the start of a project initially referred to as GameCube Next. The goal was not to compete on hardware power but to prioritize new gameplay experiences for a broader audience. Satoru Iwata directed the company to design the console to appeal to all demographics, including mothers and non-traditional players. He instructed Genyo Takeda to go off the tech roadmap when designing the new system. An initial prototype was completed within six months of this directive. Miyamoto later remarked that if the DS had flopped, they might have taken the Wii back to the drawing board.
Nintendo announced the launch plans and pricing for the Wii in September 2006. The console first launched in the United States on the 19th of November 2006, priced at $249. Other regional release dates included Japan on December 2, followed by Australasia on December 7. The United Kingdom received it on December 8 for £249.99. As part of its launch campaign, Nintendo promoted the Wii in North America through television advertisements directed by Academy Award winner Stephen Gaghan. The internet ads campaign featured slogans like Wii would like to play. Launched in November 2006, the campaign had a budget exceeding $50 million for the year. The Wii became a global social phenomenon throughout 2007, with crowds gathering in Hamburg to buy one on launch day.
The Wii's central processing unit, named Broadway, is a 32-bit chip developed by IBM. It runs at 729 MHz and was manufactured using a more efficient 90 nm process. Other system functions are handled by Hollywood, a system-on-a-chip that combines graphics, audio, and input/output functions. The Wii Remote contains a MEMS-based three-dimension accelerometer along with infrared detection sensors located at the far end of the controller. These accelerometers allow the remote to recognize its orientation after being moved from a resting position. The infrared detectors track emissions from LEDs in the included Sensor Bar placed above or below the television display. A wrist-mounted strap is included with the Wii Remote to prevent it from slipping out of players' hands.
The development of the Wii Menu was led by Takashi Aoyama of Nintendo's Integrated Research & Development Division. The project aimed to figure out what the interface could show running in a low-power mode on an around-the-clock schedule. The console launched with six channels including the Disc Channel, Mii Channel, Photo Channel, Wii Shop Channel, Forecast Channel, and News Channel. Each player on a Wii console was encouraged to create their own Mii via the Mii Channel to be used in games like Wii Sports. Third-party media apps were added to the Wii's online channels, typically offered as free downloads but requiring subscriber logins for paid services. Among these included BBC iPlayer in November 2009 and Netflix in November 2010.
The company had already shipped nearly 3.2 million units worldwide by the end of 2006. Wii sales surpassed Xbox 360 sales by September 2007. At the March 2009 Game Developers Conference, Iwata reported that the Wii had reached 50 million sales. In 2010, sales of the Wii began to decline, falling by 21 percent from the previous year. The Wii surpassed 100 million units sold worldwide during the second quarter of 2013. Total lifetime sales of the Wii reached over 101 million units as of the 31st of March 2016. As of 2025, it is the seventh-best-selling console of all time. Nintendo discontinued production of the Wii in October 2013 after selling over 100 million units worldwide.
There were lawsuits against Nintendo claiming physical damage done by ineffective wrist straps on the Wii Remote when they slipped out of players' hands. The first class action suit filed in December 2006 led Nintendo to issue a product recall for the existing wrist straps and send out new versions that had an improved securing mechanism. A second class action lawsuit was filed by a mother in Colorado in December 2008, claiming the updated wrist straps were still ineffective. This suit was dismissed by September 2010, finding for Nintendo that the wrist straps were not knowingly faulty under Colorado consumer protection laws. One challenge was from iLife Technologies Inc., who sued Nintendo over their Wii Remote's motion detection technology for patent infringement in 2013. iLife initially won a $4.7 million judgment against Nintendo in 2017 before the case was overturned in 2020.
The Wii has been recognized as Nintendo's blue ocean strategy to differentiate itself from its competitors Sony and Microsoft. Soichiro Fukuda, a games analyst at Nikko Citigroup, estimated that in 2007, Nintendo's optimized production gave them a profit from each unit sold ranging from $50 in Japan to $100 in the United States. The console was marketed to promote a healthy lifestyle via physical activity. It has been used in physical rehabilitation for stroke, cerebral palsy, Parkinson's disease, and balance training. In May 2010, Nintendo gave the American Heart Association a $1.5 million gift. Joe Skrebels of IGN argued that the Wii's greatest legacy is the music composed by Totaka for the console, noting that covers and memes featuring the music are everywhere on platforms like YouTube and TikTok.
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Common questions
When did Nintendo begin collaborating with Gyration Inc. on the Wii project?
Nintendo began collaborating with Gyration Inc. on the 24th of September 2001 to develop motion-sensing technology for a new console initially called GameCube Next.
What were the launch prices and dates for the Wii in different regions during 2006?
The Wii launched in the United States on the 19th of November 2006 for $249, followed by releases in Japan on December 2, Australasia on December 7, and the United Kingdom on December 8 for £249.99.
Which company developed the Broadway central processing unit used in the Wii console?
IBM developed the 32-bit Broadway chip that runs at 729 MHz using an efficient 90 nm process for the Wii system.
How many units had the Wii sold worldwide by March 2016?
Total lifetime sales of the Wii reached over 101 million units as of the 31st of March 2016 after Nintendo discontinued production in October 2013.
When did Nintendo issue a product recall for the original Wii Remote wrist straps due to lawsuits?
Nintendo issued a product recall for existing wrist straps following a class action suit filed in December 2006 claiming physical damage from ineffective securing mechanisms.