I was told to arrive early—that Nintendo would be announcing something big. Nintendo's Satoru Iwata stood before the 2005 Tokyo Game Show podium and did just that: he showed off the new controller for the very first time. The console was then codenamed "Revolution". It was later released as the Nintendo Wii and was a pretty big deal.
A teaser trailer rolled, promising a room full of assorted press and industry folks the ability to use the Wii Remote as a tool to drill teeth, a knife to chop vegetables, and a sword to slice enemies with. Yet, there was something else that caught my eye—a green controller.
By god, I've always wanted a green controller—no, a green console. One day, I promised, that green Nintendo magic would be mine. Oh yes. Mine.
Of course, I know there have already been green consoles, such as a green Xbox and a green Nintendo 64. But there was something about that green, that Wii green. In some publicity shots, it looked like a lime green. Maybe it was Luigi green. Whatever, I was intrigued!
It was the promise those early colors had—that there would be multiple Wii colors. At launch we only got white, which was followed by black. There was red, so we can check that off the list. The unexpected color was blue. The silver/gray one never seems to have been released—let's face it, those are boring colors. But, definitely there's been no green one for consumers from Nintendo.
I know Nintendo had mock-up green controllers. I saw them in that TGS trailer! And it's a damn shame they were never released.
Game companies always do stuff like this—promise stuff that's possible. Sometimes it's an array of colors, which is what Sony did last year at TGS with the PS Vita. Sometimes, it's tech or games.
As the Wii's time draws to a close and as Nintendo readies the Wii U, I can't help but feel slightly sad. I was holding my breath for a last minute green Wii, not because I would buy one, but just to see the realization of those early trailer and product shots. We were promised so much. A lot was realized, but not everything. Unfortunately, everything rarely is.
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