As promised, a few photos of the Nintendo Wii being unboxed.
The form factor of this machine is eerily similar to a device Apple might make, so much so that the device actually looks like its missing the Apple logo; take a look at this photo; you’ll see what I mean.
I spent several hours last night playing the various sports games (I still haven’t fired up Legend of Zelda
yet), and exploring the system. It’s still as much fun as it was the first time I played. I fervently hope game developers start taking advantage of the unique opportunities here, from the controllers to the wireless internet connection to the community-building possibilities.
One area I enjoyed for several more minutes than was warranted was the Wii weather channel. It has a globe showing the temperature of hundreds of cities around the world. You can “grab” the globe and spin it, and when you release it, it will continue its momentum, spinning for a little like a real-life globe. Plus, you can adjust from an overhead view to a near-parallel view and do fly-overs.
(Interesting tidbit about the Wii weather channel: THW told me that with the new 
Madden Football game for Wii, it will use your local weather situation to change the conditions in the game. If it’s snowing and night-time for you outside, it will be snowing and night-time in the game. That’s way cool, and an example of using the system right.)
I’m looking forward to exploring some more, and I can’t wait to get my hands on some new games.
P.S. For the story on how I managed to get a Wii, see my two earlier entries: