Many people who own a large HDTV wonder how the Nintendo Wii will look on their set, especially in light of the Nintendo Wii’s non-high def graphics. I’ve been playing the Wii on my 47-inch 1080p Vizio HDTV for 6 months now, and my opinion hasn’t changed much since my last post on the subject. My original conclusion was that it looks fine (not HD spectacular though) and does not detract at all from a positive gameplay experience. There is moderate pixelation within 6 feet. As I sit approximately 8 feet from the television, the pixelation is not very noticeable; however, I still wouldn’t describe the graphics as sharp. Perhaps the best way to describe it is like slightly compressed 480p video.

It’s important to note that the Wii looks better on 16:9 widescreen set than on a standard def 4:3 set. I recently had the chance to hook the Wii up to a 30-inch standard def TV, and the graphics of the standard def didn’t seem as impressive as on an HDTV. On the high def set, colors are brighter, and the increased screen real estate of the widescreen aspect ratio really does enhance graphics and game play. A bigger screen can bring you into the game. Still, what is really needed are high def graphics. It’s exciting to think that one day Nintendo will inevitably produce an HD version of the Wii, and the graphics can catch up with the cutting-edge gameplay.

My final recommendation is that if you own an HDTV 40 inches or bigger and you’re interested in buying a Wii, you should have no worries that the graphics will look awful and spoil your fun. Just don’t expect a high def experience. Also, make sure you purchase the Wii’s proprietary component cable to upgrade the graphics to 48o progressive. The cables the Wii ships with top off at 480i.
*Update* Click any of the pictures for a bigger version.