The Wii Detail That Would Have Improved The System Drastically
The Nintendo Wii joined the seventh generation of gaming consoles in 2006 alongside Sony's PlayStation 3, one year after Microsoft's Xbox 360. While Microsoft and Sony's entries remained relatively close to their predecessors as far as design, Nintendo took its own console in a completely different direction.
The Wii used wireless remotes, motion controls, and a vertical tower design very unlike Nintendo's previous GameCube console. In addition to the Wiimotes, the console was compatible with unique accessories like the Wii Fit Balance Board, the Mario Kart Wii Wheel, and Bandai Namco's controller mat.
The Wii was certainly experimental, but that didn't hinder its sales by any means. The home console has sold more than 101 million units since its release, making the Wii Nintendo's third best-selling console overall and its best-selling home console. Despite the sales records and positive reception, the Wii was missing one important element that may have had an effect on its long-term success.
The Wii should have been HD
Unlike the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, the Wii was initially not capable of supporting high definition (HD). Nintendo game director Shigeru Miyamoto defended the gaming giant's decision to exclude HD capabilities from the Wii at first, stating during a Q&A at E3 2006 that the number of homes with HDTVs was not yet high enough to justify an HD console.
"Of course I think five years down the road it would be pretty much a given that Nintendo would create an HD system, but right now the predominant television set in the world is a non-HD set," Miyamoto said at the time.
Miyamoto quickly came to regret those words. In a 2013 interview, the game designer said he wished the Wii had gone to HD sooner, because HDTV sets had taken off two to three years sooner than Nintendo expected. "Even for the Wii, no matter how much it made the system cost, it would have been great if it were HD in the first place," said Miyamoto. Nintendo later incorporated HD capabilities into the Wii U, but the Wii U didn't see much success overall.