Journal: News & Comment

Wii: taking a different direction

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In computing and information technology generally, "more, faster, bigger" (or "smaller," depending on the field) is the received wisdom for future development. Yet that often leads to commoditization of products and services, where competitors leapfrog one another incrementally and profits shrink, while customers wonder whether they are actually gaining any value from the process.

That dynamic is particularly acute in video gaming, and this week Ars Technica profiles how Nintendo is changing the rules with its new Wii game console, which eschews bigger, hotter, faster electronics for small size to fit in well with TVs and other AV components, power efficiency, the ability to update itself when it's not in use, and wildly original controllers. Plus it's hugely cheaper than competing consoles from Microsoft and Sony. I think it's going to be a huge hit, and if it is, could be a business lesson for other technology firms.

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