The Wii launch is officially one month away and since I`ve already done a set of predictions for the launch of the PS3 it was only appropriate to do some for the Wii launch. For the humor impaired these are written with tongue firmly in cheek so no need to bust out the pitch forks and torches if something below offends you.

1. By the end of the year, Wii owners will be easily identifiable by their enormous forearms, slimmer physique, and pasty complexion - also expect a rash of cases of tendonitis and tennis elbow
Most gamers have a pale complexion due to the fact that their hobby tends to keep them indoors most of the time but with combine that with the fact that sunlight might screw with the Wii`s sensor bar and people are going to be busting out the black out drapes. I`m a big fan of the new Wii control scheme but given the focus on moving more than just thumbs and fingers I think we`re going to see people developing huge forearm muscles as well as tendonitis in the wrists and elbows.

2. The sunlight issue is going to be a bigger deal than people realize
While we don`t know the extent of the interference sunlight has on the Wii yet it`s a bit disturbing to find that sunlight could actually impact the unit. For some people this may mean having to move their TV so that the sensor bar doesn`t face a window or to put up heavy blinds to keep the sun out and prove interference. I hope this isn`t the case but I think there`s a huge potential for problems here if the sensor is impacted by sunlight.

3. The Wii online service will be good but not as good as Xbox Live. People will forgive this as the service is free
Yes, I`m re-using one from my PS3 article but I think the same concept still applies as people forget all the good stuff you get with Xbox Live Arcade. The Wii’s service does have a lot of cool innovations like the channels metaphor and the ability to check the weather and news from the console which is cool (expect something similar on your 360 within the year). I still don’t think the match making services will be as strong as what Xbox Live has but it should be interesting tot see what Nintendo has up their sleeve.

4. There`s going to be a shortage of SD cards until the beginning of next year - between Wii launch and holiday shopping there`s going to be a huge increase in demand for high capacity SD cards.
The Wii is reportedly going to have some 1 million units available at launch and while a lot of people probably already own SD cards I imagine that a lot of them are going to want new ones specifically for their systems. Couple the launch of the Wii with the holiday season`s rush on electronics (Cameras, MP3 players, and other devices) and there`s a potential for a storage shortage by the end of the year.

5. We`ll see some but not a lot of reports of the units being defective
The first batch of new consoles always have a few bugs in them while the manufacturing process is cleaned up but I don`t think we`ll see this happen as much with the Wii as we will with the PS3 and with what we saw wit...