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The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo. A distinguishing feature of the console is its wireless motion controller, the Wii Remote, which can be used as a handheld pointing device and detect movement in three dimensions.

The Wii competed with other seventh-generation consoles in the market. Since its release, the Wii had consistently outsold both. Nintendo stated that its console targeted a broader demographic than that of the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. The Financial Times reported that as of September 12, 2007, the Wii was the sales leader of its generation. Nintendo also released the Wii in an alternative color of black at the latter stages of 2009. As of September 30, 2013, the console has sold 100.30 million units worldwide.

The Wii is Nintendo's fifth home console, the direct successor to the Nintendo GameCube, and earlier-manufactured models were able to play all official GameCube games. Originally codenamed "Revolution" during early development, Nintendo first spoke of the console at the E3 2004 press conference and later unveiled the system at E3 2005. Satoru Iwata, President and CEO of Nintendo, revealed a prototype of the controller at the September 2005 Tokyo Game Show. At E3 2006, the console won the first of several awards. By December 8, 2006, it had completed its launch in four key markets.

In late 2009, a successor to the Wii, then codenamed "Zii", was announced, with further details revealed at E3 2011, where it was given the name Wii U.

Motion Controls[]

Because the majority of the population are right-handed, all of the action from the GameCube version of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is mirrored so that Link – and therefore the player – would use the sword, via the Wii Remote, with the right hand. For this reason, everything else is also reversed in the game; maps are flipped left to right, the sun rises from west to east, Hylian writing appears backwards and the normally right-handed Princess Zelda holds her sword in her left hand. This also results in the pieces of the Triforce on Zelda and Link's hand reversed. There is no option to reverse the game for a normally left-handed player.

Extensions[]

Wii MotionPlus[]

The Gold Wii Remote Plus bundled with Skyward Sword

The Wii MotionPlus is an expansion device for the Wii Remote, required to play The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. When attached to the Wii Remote, the Wii MotionPlus adds control of Link in a way that has not been introduced in any other game in the Zelda series. It is able to sense every movement the player makes, and matches the movements up with Link onscreen. While older games do not support the Wii MotionPlus, detaching it from the Wii Remote is not required, and it will not affect the gameplay in any way.

The Wii MotionPlus, while attached to the Wii's port for peripheral devices, provides its own port for other attachments. Alongside the Wii MotionPlus attachment, Nintendo also released the Wii Remote Plus, a Wii Remote with a built-in Wii MotionPlus. This omits the need for the Wii MotionPlus attachment, avoiding conflict with other attachable devices such as the Wii Zapper. A golden Wii Remote Plus was released as a bundle with The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword in late 2011.

Wii Zapper[]

The Wii Zapper is an extension for the Wii Remote and Nunchuk controllers that comes bundled with the spin off game Link's Crossbow Training. It resembles a Crossbow and can be used with other Wii shooting games, designed to make the games feel more realistic. The Wii Remote is placed horizontally on the top while the Nunchuk is placed vertically on the back.

Zelda games released on the Wii[]

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