Nintendo Rocks Out with Wii Music

Nintendo has launched Wii Music, letting up to four players mimic the real-life motions of playing instruments with the Wii Remote and Nunchuck controllers.

Drum roll, please! Nintendo has debuted Wii Music, a new game for its popular Wii gaming console that lets players mimic the motions of more than 60 real-life instruments using the motion-sensitive Wii Remote and Nunchuck controllers to learn to play along with more than 50 songs—and the game encouraged players to improvise, making their own music, mixes, and arrangements.

“Music is a universal language that inspires and moves people,” said Nintendo executive VP of sales and marketing Cammie Dunaway, in a statement. “Wii Music provides a fun way for people to play together and be entertained while building a fundamental understanding of musical themes and rhythms. Wii Music can motivate people to learn real instruments or enhance their appreciation of musical performances.”

To play instruments, players use the motion-sensitive Wii controllers to imitate plucking string, striking an instrument with a mallet or stick, or bowing a violin…along with other variations. The game lets players play fast or slow, soft and hard, and make up material as they go along. Novice players will be able to start carrying a tune “instantly,” while experienced musicians will be able to quickly rearrange tunes, create mixes, and improvise. Unlike games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band, which are very competition-oriented, the goal of Wii Music is simple to be creative and have fun experimenting with instruments, styles, and musical elements.

Songs available in Wii Music include familiar melodies like “Ode to Joy” and pop tunes like “Every Breath You Take”—along with tunes Nintendo fans will know, like themes from Mario Bros., Zelda, and even Wii Sports.

Wii Music also enables up to four players to jam together on the same song, and players can save their performances and send them to friends and family who also have Wii Music—and then those players can also add their own parts. Wii Music also comes with mini-games that let players conduct an orchestra, play in a handbell choir, and play virtual drums.

Wii Music should be available this week; the game is rated E for Everyone and should be priced at $49.99.