Major Wii News :O:O! + other news

[HUGECOOL]

IBM has announced that their Broadway chip custom-designed for Nintendo's Wii console is not only already in Nintendo's hands but has been since July. "We have been shipping well within this quarter (July)," said Ron Martino, director of IBM Technology Collaboration Solutions. "In fact, we have shipped a significant volume in this quarter."

So what does this news mean to gamers who have been waiting patiently for a release date from Nintendo? Well, considering that Nintendo has had their hands on a large amount of the final Broadway chips since July, we can easily speculate that the Wii could feasibly be released within the next few weeks. Perhaps by the end of the month.

Nintendo has also confirmed their reception of IBM's chip: "The first chips are in our possession," said Genyo Takeda, Senior Managing Director/General Manager, Integrated Research & Development Division, Nintendo Co., Ltd. "Today's milestone marks the final stage of our drive to reach both core and nontraditional gamers with an inviting, inclusive and remarkable gaming experience."

When I asked Martino about the power behind the Broadway chip, all he could do was compare it to the Wii's predecessor, the GameCube. "Compared to the Gekko in the GameCube, it's 20 percent more power efficient. It also performs significantly better. The key point is that it is Power Architecture-based and custom-made and optimized for Nintendo," he said. "This is a critical milestone for us at IBM. We have been very pleased with the entire development project."

I pressed Martino to compare Broadway to the other consoles they've had an integral part in developing for and he wouldn't budge, only commenting on what Nintendo was able to offer. With this news and Nintendo confirming the shipment of "6 million systems to retailers around the world between its launch in the fourth quarter of 2006 and the end of its fiscal year on March 31, 2007," we fully expect Nintendo to make an official announcement next week during their event in New York City. And as previously mentioned, we expect a release date far sooner than what has been projected.

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Other Wii-related news:

- Spore for Wii-DS confirmed!
- Wii Sensor Bar is now 50% smaller.
- Wiimote will use AA batteries which will last apprx. 30-60 hours
- Wiimote will have 6Kb of built-in internal memory.


- Joystiq

[DJ-Ali]

I doubt It'll be out in the next few weeks. And IGN or any other popular Game sites I know havn't confirmed it. So We'll have to wait a see.

[Condas]

IGN have said when Wii will be released in japan i'll get link in a second

http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/730/730116p1.html

[alexxxxx]

I wanna know the price. =]

[HUGECOOL]

I doubt It'll be out in the next few weeks. And IGN or any other popular Game sites I know havn't confirmed it. So We'll have to wait a see.

That's because the report barely surfaced the Internet. It was to be revelead today specifically at 12:01a.m Eastern time.

Here is the official source for the whole thing: (Link)

[womanizer]

Spore!!!!!!!!!1111 For those of you who don't know, it's Will Wright's next game [the creator of The Sims]

So far I'm planning to get Trauma Centre and Spore for the Wii and maybe the rayman attack of the bunnies game.

[Bear-Max]

Oh that was hilarious on Joystiq.

"Major console news is on the way" got everyone overly excited, and then it turned out to simply be confirmation that the Wii processing chip is actually in production.

Joystiq got so many negative comments they had to post an apology

[HUGECOOL]

Oh that was hilarious on Joystiq.

"Major console news is on the way" got everyone overly excited, and then it turned out to simply be confirmation that the Wii processing chip is actually in production.

Joystiq got so many negative comments they had to post an apology

Lmao, yeah, I saw.

People were all sorts of angry when it was posted, but I'd be angry too if I had called in sick to work just to see the news. lool

[Homesrfan]

Anybody know if the 175$ price is confirmed? (Doubt it... )

[HUGECOOL]

Anybody know if the 175$ price is confirmed? (Doubt it... )

Price and launch dates havent been confirmed yet. BUt I tihnk we'll know on the 14th of this month. x]