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Since it’s initial release in November 2006, Nintendo’s Wii has made a splash as one of the most popular video game systems ever. After having a year to work on the system, the Wii still remains a top-selling system next to bulkier, higher-powered gaming machines. The PlayStation 3’s base model price was reduced from $500 to $400 during the summer of 2007 to fight the Wii’s bargain price of $250. However, one year after its release, there are still several kinks that need to be worked out to avoid falling short of becoming another gimmick.The Wii is most lacking in online functionality and third-party support. However, Nintendo focused on innovation and fun graphics and faired quite well. The Wii is more about entertainment than power. This system widened the age gap of the phrase “casual gamer.” The system’s minimalist controller scheme includes more age groups.There are reports of retirement homes using console-bundled Wii Sports for recreation, and this is now a selling point in several of its TV advertisements. It’s not unusual to find an entire family, made up of several generations, playing Wii games. Older adults and young children don’t have to worry about complex, 20-button controllers with multiple joysticks. A few flicks of the wrist while holding a button or two will get the job done on the Wii.However, those who call themselves gamers feel there’s some loss of functionality with new technology – simply in the name of fun. One problem with the Wii is the lack of a large hard drive.The stock 512MB, found commonly in small flash drives, leave little room for heavy users and people who download old games from previous systems such as Sega, Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64. While the Wii does support SD cards for additional memory, there are severe limitations. If the Wii wants to keep its gamer-base, it needs to improve its online playability. Low-effort downloads of shallow software, such as the Everybody Votes Channel, needs to be replaced with better online support. The Wii is still lacking the Wi-Fi level that the PS3, Xbox 360 and even the PC mastered long ago, with the capability to communicate and play games against other Wii systems. When there is no communication included in the game, it feels more like playing against the console. One consumer pit-fall is the lack of games not made by Nintendo. Nintendo-produced games dominate the rankings by critics and sales for the Wii. While this is not bad news for Nintendo, it can be bad for the casual gamer looking for fun and quality beyond the gimmicks of games simply requiring players to repeat sometimes awkward motions with the Wii Remote and Nunchuck.Adding insult to injury, several of the third-party games released within its first year were ports from other console systems, under-utilizing the Wii Remote Control system, its key component. Beyond its faults, the Wii’s mission is to create a fun system, and that has allowed the Wii to excel. Multiplayer games with groups of friends or family is far more social and exciting than sitting in a dark room alone playing games.The wild popularity of the system in the last year has given it time to produce and keep a fan base that enjoys the Wii’s interactive functionality. Hopefully, the game will evolve beyond the small board game-like fare and continue to include socially engaging games.