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Wii Chess

2008 video game

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 17, 2026
Entity authorityQ2348788
Source-derived summary

Wii Chess is a 2008 computer chess game developed by Nintendo and Lancarse and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It was released on January 18, 2008 in Europe and September 30, 2008 in Japan as a "budget-oriented" retail title.

Wii Chess was announced in December 2007 to a mixed reception; it was criticized for its lack of Mii characters, lack of customizability, price, and its "bland visuals", but was praised for its AI difficulty, and its online multiplayer capability. It originally sold in 2008 for €30 / £21, and was labeled "overpriced" by critics. Wii Chess was never released in North America or Australasia, making it the only game in the Wii series that was never released in those continents. In September 2008, Wii Chess was re-released as a downloadable WiiWare title in Japan as Tsūshin Taikyoku: World Chess.

Gameplay

Unlike other games in the Wii series, Wii Chess is the only game in the Wii series that can be played using the Wii Classic Controller, and the only game to not use the Wii Remote's pointer function; instead, chess pieces are moved across the board using the D-pad on the controller.

Wii Chess features an option that gives players new to chess instructions on how each piece should move across the board. Players are also able to record and replay their games at a later time. Players could also play online against other players courtesy of the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, with Wii Chess players being able to compete against players who own the Japanese WiiWare exclusive Tsūshin Taikyoku: World Chess and vice versa.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Wii Chess” as 2008 video game. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Chess, video and game.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2008, 2007—that can be checked directly. The authority record carries competing date values—2008-01-18, 2008-09-30—which should remain separate until their references and qualifiers are resolved. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Chess, video and game providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Wii Chess”, the useful work is to connect “2008 video game” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2348788. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 3 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2008 and 2007.

Critical limits

The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Wii Chess”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Wii Chess primary sources, Wii Chess archive and Chess research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Wii Chess”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Wii Chess” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.