Product: Broadcom, Nintendo Partner For Wii Bluetooth, Wi-Fi

Wireless communications firm Broadcom Corporation announced that Nintendo's upcoming Wii game will include both Broadcom Bluetooth as part of the console's unique controller and integrated Wi-Fi in the console itself technologies. The Wii console is the first major gaming platform to introduce Bluetooth technology as a standard feature, eliminating the cables between the console, hand-held game controllers and other accessories. Broadcom Bluetooth technology used in the controllers significantly increases the level of performance in the game controller, with special enhancements that provide low latency to accommodate the interaction between the controller and the console. "The Wii game console will take advantage of the most popular wireless technologies to deliver an advanced user experience that no other competitive console can match," said Genyo Takeda, Senior Managing Director, General Manager, Integrated Research & Development Division for Nintendo. "Broadcom's ability to supply and support custom features for both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi has enabled us to provide our customers with a unique gaming experience powered by high-performance, field-proven wireless solutions." Nintendo further leveraged off of Broadcom's Bluetooth chip solution to ensure low power consumption, maximizing battery life to simplify upkeep and maintenance. The Wii console includes Broadcom's single-chip 54g Wi-Fi solution, which provides a high-performance wireless link for playing online or multiplayer games. The console takes advantage Broadcom BroadRange technology as well, which allows users to maintain higher data rates further from an access point. While both Bluetooth and 802.11g Wi-Fi products operate in the 2.4 GHz radio frequency band, thus introducing the possibility of radio interference between the two radio signals, Nintendo worked with Broadcom to optimize the wireless performance for optimal simultaneous throughput of both technologies, minimizing the possibility of radio signal collisions, blocking and other phenomena that could degrade the performance.