Wiiiiiiiii!!

Nintendo's Wii is tons of fun. Its wireless controller is motion sensitive, so to play a bundled tennis game, for example, you leap around your living room, swooshing the controller through the air like a racket, your movements controlling the action onscreen. The wand-like remote shudders when you hit the ball, and a 'thock' emits from its tiny speaker. It's the next best thing to a real-life game. I've got a blister on the thumb of my serving hand to prove it.

Sure the Wii lacks the high-definition graphics of Sony's PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360, and it doesn't sport the high-definition DVD player support boasted by its two rivals. Nevertheless, Wii has been the surprise hit of the latest round of game console wars. Its simple graphics are a lot closer to PlayStation 1 than PlayStation 3, but its wand-like controller is such a clever breakthrough you just don't care.

Then there's the $249 price, which is low enough for many to buy a Wii to sit alongside their PlayStation 3 ($1,200!) or Xbox 360. You can also use Wii to display photos or manage your MP3s via your telly, or play others online, though the internet stuff is pretty rudimentary.

Motion-sensing technology has featured on these pages before in the form of Sony's Eye Toy for the PS2. But Wii is much more sophisticated and - thanks to its surprisingly strong initial run overseas - is now backed by tons of games from big publishers like Electronic Arts and Activision.

My only real gripe: at the last moment, Nintendo changed the console's name from 'Revolution' to Wii (yes, pronounced 'wee'). So excuse me now, I've got to, er, Wii. www.nintendo.co.nz

by Chris Keall.