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Nintendo wii and Web Design
May 23rd, 2007

For those who are unaware, Nintendo came out with a revolutionary video game system about 6 months ago called the Nintendo wii. Not revolutionary in the sense of "better graphics" or "faster processing" but instead it features much greater interactivity.

Now I'm not really an avid gamer, but I do enjoy sitting down and experiencing a good game every now and then...

But there's no more sitting down!

A friend of mine brought his Nintendo wii out for the long weekend. We hooked it up and started playing. I was totally amazed! The major difference is that the controls are 100% interactive with you. Even more impressive is that the controls are so natural. I was literally blown away at how well the controls worked when standing in front of the tv.

I was boxing a couple opponents and can honestly say that after three knock-outs, I was sweating! Bowling was complicated and I'll tell ya, you haven't lived until you've been "cow racing!"

But Nintendo has been working on interactive gaming for the last 20 years. They've had the Nintendo Laser gun and the Power Glove. What's the difference? This is just another version right?

WRONG! These older technologies ultimately failed because it was a chore. The user spent more time playing with the controller than interactive with the game! I had a Nintendo powerglove when I was younger... I ended up taking it apart to see the electronics inside... that's about all it was good for.

Can we apply this success of the wii to web design?

Absolutely! Much of the success of the new Nintendo wii is that the controls are so intuitive and easy to use. The same should go for a website. When a user visits your homepage, don't force them to try and figure out how to use your interface. It should be simple and intuitive. Let your visitors interact without having to think "How do I do this" or "what do I do here." It should simply make sense.

After 6 months, I have my wife doing me a favour and hunting down a wii for me at local stores. You see, the wii is so good, that 6 months later with Playstation 3's and XBox360's lining the shelves with superior graphics and outstanding technical features... The wii is still nearly impossible to find on store shelves!

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