Wii developer kit shot in the wild, many Luigi-green with envy

While it's bad news that the Wii won't be region-free, we hope that these new snaps will lift your spirits. An anonymous tipster just sent us five photographs of the Wii developer kit, and we only have one thing to ask our friends at Nintendo: did ours fall off the back of a FedEx truck? Seriously though, we know that developer kits come in colors that the public never gets, but perhaps Nintendo could one day take a page out of Apple's playbook and charge a premium for this snazzy green -- it is, after all, the color of money. Make sure to check out the quartet of photos on the next page.

[morgan @ Sep 15th 2006 6:46PM]

wow that really is small. look at it compared to the keyboard. amazing.

[Cody S. @ Sep 15th 2006 6:51PM]

Pretty impressive for a dev kit, albeit unusual for a simple up-scaling of the device. I wonder if nintendo has actually gotten everything inside 3 DVD cases worth yet.

[Michael @ Sep 15th 2006 7:02PM]

Perhaps they'll sell faceplates as accessories?

[LongshotX @ Sep 15th 2006 7:10PM]

Looks like something Donatello from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles created in his sewer lab.

[Sidd @ Sep 15th 2006 7:15PM]

i like the green color

[lolersticks @ Sep 15th 2006 7:16PM]

Umm, Cody S...the Wii is in full production

[Stu L Tissimus @ Sep 15th 2006 8:16PM]

Okay, so here's a question: Now that USB Mass Storage devices won't be supported (according to Kaplan, who was wrong about region-free...), what uses will there be for the USB slots?

[Jawknee @ Sep 15th 2006 7:33PM]

I would definitely be willing to pay extra for a colored face-plate. But I think that them selling them as an accessory is also a good idea. The 360 does it so why not the Wii?

[Triscuit @ Sep 15th 2006 7:46PM]

Lemme go buy a new pair of pants.

[All Your Lost Socks @ Sep 15th 2006 7:44PM]

I bet you can take them off and recolor them. I would spraypaint mine Haruko's-Vespa-Yellow...

[GamerG @ Sep 15th 2006 7:48PM]

Amazing? its barely 50% more powerful than a gamecube they could probably fit it in a wrist watch these days!

[skmetal7 @ Sep 15th 2006 7:48PM]

its basically the size of a dvd drive, just crazy

[Tom @ Sep 15th 2006 7:48PM]

I'm sick and tired of all this anti-FedEx rhetoric! Why are ya'll at engadget such friggin' UPS fanboys??!!

[jrot @ Sep 15th 2006 7:55PM]

They will eventually make other colors I'm sure. But i'll take the white at launch. I'd prefer red or black or maybe a nice green. Although a cool face plat for $9.99 to $19.99 isn't bad either.

[Joe Mac @ Sep 15th 2006 7:56PM]

Personally I don't like the green front. If it were all green it might be sexy.

[Dan Diemer @ Sep 16th 2006 12:41AM]

it's probably green so nintendo knows who sent the picture out, so they can promptly be shot

[Brian @ Sep 15th 2006 8:09PM]

You know, I never really took Nintendo seriously. I had my Genesis Nomad, and my PS2, and I'm still not much of a gamer...

But I have to say, given the unimpressive features of the PS3, the 'up-in-th-air' status of the format war, and my current income situation, I'm digging the Wii. Nintendo may just have found themselves a customer.

[Falsoman @ Sep 15th 2006 8:10PM]

So, now that ATI is part of AMD, Nintendo is taking on with the Brand colors?

[Cameron @ Sep 15th 2006 8:28PM]

Stu L Tissimus, probably USB mass storage devices later on via a firmware update or something and also for the USB-Ethernet adapter should you not want to use wireless internet at all.

[josh @ Sep 15th 2006 8:32PM]

may the Nintendo Wii, or anything that sounds remotely similar to it, never ever ever be called sexy or even remotely good looking again.

[Nick @ Sep 15th 2006 10:47PM]

so with the video cables RGB better come with the system. and if its not it better be in stores unlike the gamecube rgb cable...

[Metal-Geo @ Sep 15th 2006 9:10PM]

Am I the only one who thinks it looks pretty damn nice for a dev kit? I mean... compared to the PS3 and Xbox 360's.

[George @ Sep 15th 2006 9:20PM]

I never understood the whole faceplate thing and coloring video game systems that arent portable. It just seems immature and useless to me. I guess its a teenager thing because you dont see companies making colored electronics like dvd players or home stereos usually.

[Hachi_Roku @ Sep 15th 2006 9:23PM]

I might be mistaken but they look allot thicker and fatter then standard Wiis. Atleast I hope so because that would mean that the Devkits are like stand alone Wii with development software or soething.

[tucker @ Sep 15th 2006 9:58PM]

nice FLCL reference by 'All Your Lost Socks'...

[Jim @ Sep 16th 2006 10:22AM]

Would you also stencil a "P!" on it?

[Abe @ Sep 16th 2006 12:37AM]

I didn't use to be a nintendo fanboy, but with the wii...well, I would kill a man, in cold blood, in front of his mother if doing so would somehow get me one.

[Tim @ Sep 16th 2006 1:54AM]

I still haven't figured out where you put the gamecube game discs. Everyone knows you can't put an 8cm disc in a slot load 12cm slot, and I haven't yet been able to spot an 8cm slot.

[Suba @ Sep 16th 2006 2:15AM]

Part of the technology advance the wii has Tim.
Wiis drive has the ability to load the standard 12cm dvd or the 8cm mini.

Wii has lots of new age goodies inside

[rockintom99 @ Sep 16th 2006 4:46PM]

Metal-Geo: As the xbox 360 dev kit was basically the powermac g5, you're saying this looks better than that? Doubtful.

[Dave @ Sep 16th 2006 4:22AM]

Go WII, kill xBox :)

[Godsmurf @ Sep 16th 2006 4:29AM]

Anyone else think the Wii looks much better just being rectangular than it does in its weird-angled stand?

[tehuberone @ Sep 16th 2006 5:45AM]

Stu L Tissimus

The USB ports, i think, are going to be used for a keyboard. The Wii is going to have a web browser so A keyboard would be perfect for the Wii USB ports.

[Paradigmious @ Sep 16th 2006 8:01AM]

Gentlemen, this is the colour of true pwnage. Remember it with your eyes and make her hue and value the desktop of your mind. This is the colour that will destroy everything you know about the gaming industry. We shall call it 'Cthulhu Green' for the Ender of Days.

[Mwahahahaha... @ Sep 16th 2006 9:01AM]

Wow... I was unfortunate enuff to see that colour only last night spewing forth from the mouth of a chav in a nightclub....

[Amonamano @ Sep 16th 2006 8:53AM]

I think it will sport greeeeeeen light instead of blueeeeee found in normal Wiis....

[Yixian @ Sep 16th 2006 10:05AM]

Pfft, after the catastrophe that was the Nintendo Wii Europe Event followed of course by the news that the Wii is not region free, I wen't in a matter of days from being an avid Wii fanboy to completely and utterly disinterested.

I also know that I am not alone in this. Many, especially Europeans, are just sick of the rape. I mean, at £133 for GameCube technology + some sensors, even Japan is getting extorted.

Theft.

[LIL666JR @ Sep 16th 2006 12:46PM]

It looks a little cheap in these pictures. I mean, the whole thing looks really plastic-like up close. I also think its a huge deal that they have integrated wi-fi. That costs an extra 100 bucks on the 360. I'm probably not gonna use the web-browser. The DS web browser is crap. And there probably going to do what they did with the DS: launch it in one or two colors, then come out with some more.

[Blanco @ Sep 16th 2006 2:28PM]

LIL666JR, do you want them to make it out of polished wood instead?

[Mr. Awesome @ Sep 16th 2006 4:16PM]

This is the debug kit, not the dev kit

[Chris Miller @ Sep 16th 2006 4:55PM]

The pictures are too small, how do I make them bigger?

[Greg @ Sep 16th 2006 10:29PM]

Lean in real close to the screen.

[Alexander @ Sep 17th 2006 4:47PM]

I would definitely be willing to pay extra for a colored face-plate. But I think that them selling them as an accessory is also a good idea. The 360 does it so why not the Wii?
--------
People complain to Sony for copying Nintendo. Do you really think Nintendo should copy Microsoft?

[Timerider @ Sep 17th 2006 5:22PM]

Yay! I love Luigi.

[Mike Smith @ Sep 18th 2006 12:01PM]

Are you sure this is a dev kit? It doesn't look anything like the ones we use.