Nintendo Wii bids for video game console crown

LOS ANGELES, Nov 19 (Reuters) The final salvo in the new video game console war comes first thing on Sunday, as Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s unconventional underdog, the Wii, takes on Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3 for top billing in the billion global game market.

A large crowd was expected yesterday for Nintendo's midnight launch party at the Toys ''R'' Us Store in New York's Times Square, where hundreds of people -- some of whom camped overnight -- formed a line that circled the block.

At the GameStop store at Hollywood's Universal City Walk, more than 350 have gathered for the West Coast launch.

Instead of trying to steal hard-core gamers from Microsoft and Sony, which have already released their new consoles, Nintendo hopes to expand the traditionally male video game audience by luring girls and senior citizens.

Nintendo priced the Wii at 0 -- a bargain compared with the 0 premium PS3 and the 0 top-end Xbox 360.

Kyoto-based Nintendo, which created video game characters like Super Mario and Donkey Kong, has hooked girls and older adults with its ''Nintendogs'' pet training games and its ''Brain Age'' cognitive fitness title for its hand-held DS machine.

The DS, which makes play more intuitive and has been a break-out hit for Nintendo, offers touch screen and voice recognition capabilities that allow users to ''pet'' and speak commands to their dog or to write and speak answers to brain teasers.

Nintendo has taken a similar approach with the Wii.

'MAKES YOU FEEL IN THE GAME' The console's computing power is dwarfed by the Xbox 360 and the PS3. And the Wii does not offer the high-definition graphics its bigger rivals boast.

Still, the Wii has captivated cynical gamers with its one-handed, motion-sensitive controller that lets users simulate fishing, playing tennis or shooting a bow and arrow.

''That's what makes you feel in the game,'' said Sergio Gonzalez, 18, who along with friends Anton Stockton and Tulgat Vandandorj, has been at the front of the Wii line at a Los Angeles Best Buy since Friday afternoon.

''Our message is that anyone can get involved in gaming. The Wii is meant to have a light, fun, approachable personality,'' said George Harrison, Nintendo's senior vice president of marketing.

Gonzalez and his buddies say they have no intention of flipping their Wiis on Internet auction site eBay.com -- where people with reservations for the first units are selling Wiis at an average price of 5, according to eBay Market Research.

People who got their hands on the PS3 early also sold the system on eBay, reeling in more than four times its retail price.

Nintendo expects to ship 4 million Wii consoles globally by Dec.

31, double the number of PS3s expected by year end.

Nintendo's last console, the GameCube, sold 21 million units globally to land in third place, behind Sony's PlayStation 2 and Microsoft's Xbox.

''We sold 11 million GameCubes in the US We need to double that to feel successful,'' Harrison said.

Video game analyst David Cole, president of DFC Intelligence, said Nintendo is offering a one-two punch at launch with its ''The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess'' and ''Wii Sports'' titles.

Cole was not willing to guess who would come out on top in this round: ''Any of these systems could potentially be a leader.'' REUTERS DKS PM0608