Yesterday I was lukcy enough to get my hands on Nintendos curious new console, as I caught up with the tour Ninty are conducting round the UK.

Nintendo certainly are laying on the 'family console' vision for the Wii, there were no futuristic display stands in sight, rather, they had divided up the display area into four 'rooms' and had each decorated as a living room, complete with sofa, mock window with mock view, curtains, the whole bit.

The four rooms, having one console each were displaying Zelda, Wii Sports, Trauma Centre and Rayman. I decided to plump for Wii sports, as its both boxed with the console and simple enough to judge the controls rather than the game.

Playing full game of Bowling, I found the so called 'Wiimore' a pleasure to use, it feels right in the hand, comfortable and very responsive when moved. Buttons are sensitive, and the rumble feature far more subtle than say, a PS2 controller, more like a mobile phone on vibrate.

Sounds from the controller were hard to judge, the environment was noisy, and game limited to 'rings and bleeps', yet the signal on the controller that it was my turn increased the sense of involvement with the game rather than just watching the screen. Im happy to say I won my bowling game with the other guy waiting in line.

Second, which proved to be a good contrast was a minigame from the Rayman Raving Rabbits title. The game, which involved locking rabbits in toilets (dont ask) requires use of both the wiimote in one hand and 'nunchuk' controller in the other. The on screen pointer in this game, demonstated how well the wiimote doubles for a mouse like pointer.

The Nunchuk, whilst sharing colour and finish, is like chalk and cheese in comparison to the wiimote, not simply in its curviness and prominent conventional 'stick', but strikingly in its weight... in that it had almost none! Whereas the wiimote has the feel you would expect from TV remote, the Nunchuk gives the impression of being a hollow shell. Whilst solidly built, if it wasnt for its accellerometers and other functions, you wouldnt be surprised to get this out of a christmas cracker!

Using the two controllers simultaneously did lead to a kind of 'patting your head while rubbing your stomach' effect, thought Im sure that would pass with time.

The console itself was kept locked out of sight, so I cant comment on the box itself, but the overall impression was of a very well designed piece of equipment.

Of course the success of the Wii depends on the quality of the games, and how well they take advantage of the consoles unique abilities. Based purely on my brief experience, Nintendo could easily be looking at a success, if not as massive as the DS, then well on the way.