When the Nintendo Wii console was launched many thought that it will not be successfully because of the lack of graphical power it has when compared to Microsoft’s Xbox 360 or Sony’s Playstation 3 game consoles. Users did not see it that way and recent statistics show that more units of Wii were sold in the USA when compared with PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 sales. The unique controller system provided by Nintendo’s console was the success of the device and its simplicity and wireless capability was very popular. Let us take a closer look at the device and see what is behind its system to better understand how it works.First we have a MEMS (microeletromechanical system) Sensor which is the Wii remote. It has a three-axis accelerometer that can measure movement in three dimensions. MEMS sensors are usually expensive because you need a hermetic package that is usually built out of metal or ceramics. Nintendo managed to avoid high costs because of using a cap over the sensor elements at a wafer level. You thus obtain a perfect hermetic cavity that permits the use of small, lightweight and cheap cases. We thus have a MEMS controller that is very easy and cheap.

Secondly we have a Braodcom Bluetooth chip inside the Wii Remote that enables a wireless sending of constant streams of acceleration, position and button-state data to the actual console. Built-in ROM/RAM memory manages the interface and converts voltage data into digitized form.

While the accelerometers can control gauge movement they can not pinpoint position relative to the TV screen. This is why the Wii console also has an Infrared Sensor Bar that has to be placed at the bottom or the top of the screen. Infrared signals are sent and pick up is done by detectors located on the Wii remote. Angle and distance information is used to triangulate location, data that is then sent back to the console.

The Nintendo Wii also has a second MEMS Sensor controller called Nunchuk. It is plugged into the Wii remote and features an analog joystick plus two buttons. We have a built in separated MEMS accelerometer. The Nunchuk translates the wiggles of its sensors into voltage and reading its values a translation is done into motion thanks to a microprocessor. Data is transmitted through the above mentioned Bluetooth feature to the console

Nowadays you can not really create a successful gaming console without Internet connectivity. This is why the Nintendo Wii also has Wi-Fi wireless connectivity to the actual device. You can thus play against other opponents through wireless and you can also browse the Internet for information located on Nintendo servers. Different Wii games are also said to offer online play in the future.

Although simple in design and graphic capabilities this is the game console that conquered the world of console gamers. Nintendo’s success is sure to follow a lot of improvements by other companies.