Nintendo is taking a gamble by putting out a console less powerful than the Xbox 360, which has been on the market since last year. The PlayStation 3 also will far surpass the Wii in rendering games in high-resolution, realistic graphics.

"We have a different paradigm for what turns on the consumer," Fils-Aime said. "If you want power, frankly, you're going to go somewhere else."

In particular, the Wii won't render high-definition video output. It's limited to a resolution slightly higher than that of standard TV. Nintendo is betting that HDTVs are still not common enough to be a major factor for people buying a game console.

However, some other features of the Wii will match the "big" consoles. It will be able to access the Internet if the user has a wireless network in the home, or buys an optional wired adapter. Through the connection, the user can retrieve weather and news reports, and download earlier games for earlier Nintendo consoles like "Donkey Kong." Those games will cost between $5 and $10.

Nintendo plans to provide games that let players connect to other players online, but none of the approximately 30 titles that will launch this year will have online play.

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Contributing: Yuri Kageyama