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Nintendo revealed more launch details today on its next console, the Wii. It will be released November 19th for just under $250. It will come with Wii Sports, a collection of sports games like Tennis, Golf, and Baseball. It will also have downloadable “channels” for web surfing, photo sharing, weather checking, and playing classic games.

If you dont know already, the Wii is very different from any other video game machine. The main feature is the controller, which looks like a TV remote. It detects full 3D movement so moving the remote around will correspond with actions in the game. It also functions as a pointer, so most of the interface works like you were using mouse to point and click.

I have always been a huge fan of Nintendo (Don’t tell anyone, but I experimented with some Sega back in the day too). Nintendo practically invented gaming as we know it with the NES and Gameboy. But unlike other gaming companies who generate the same thing year after year, Nintendo continues to innovate, as demonstrated by releasing the Nintendo DS and now the Wii. With the low price, attractive design, and focus on fun/easy to play games, they hope to open the market to new demographics (like your grandma).

I had decided that I no longer wanted to buy any new consoles. I felt that this current generation of games (PS2, XBox, Gamecube) was the peak of 3D gaming (which has not been as fun as the 2D era). Any new consoles would just be an HD rehash of the same ole thing. And looking at the PS3 and XBox360 games, I don’t think I was wrong. Compared to the Wii, the PS3 and XBox360 seem almost outdated now even though they are more powerful (and expensive) machines.

Just when I start to loose interest, Nintendo changes things up to keep me in the game.

Official Website

4 color rebellion » Highlights from New York Wii Event

Every week, on NPR, Frank Deford has a great sports commentary. His story today was about women making up 58 percent of the U.S. college population. His theory is that it is because men play more sports. Sounds valid to me. My interest in organized sports waned as I entered High School. This left more free time for exploring other interests, which led me to a CS degree at Georgia Tech. What would be different if I had excelled at a sport in High School?

Even if I had attended Georgia Tech with a sports scholarship, I’m sure I would have switched the M-Train. But getting a scholarship for a Division I school is hard, so I may have been inclined to attend a less prestigious college to play on a sports team. But training for the sport itself would have left less time to pursue interests in other things like computing and art which may have squelched my desire to attend college at all.

I did not play High School sports, so here I am. As long as you are doing what you are passionate about, it doesn’t really matter. But while we men play ball and hit each other, the women are slowly taking over the world.

Listen at NPR: Sports Hold Boys Back in College
or Read at SI: Is focus on sports hindering boys’ academic growth?

Well, finally got my blog back up.  Check back as I post about random stuff your probably not interested in.  I might even change the default theme, who knows.