GamesRadar's potentially annual Platinum Chalice awards 2006

Winner: The Wii
Nintendo

We have to admit. Even as recently as this summer, we weren't convinced. We were always excited by the possibilities... but we just weren't sure that Nintendo could pull it off. When the secret behind the Wii was announced in September 2005, it was like... buh? You're doing what now?

Nintendo promised us a revolutionary form of control, completely different from what we'd played before. It also admitted that the graphics that were only a slight upgrade over what we'd already been playing for years. It promised us an affordable system with kick-ass Nintendo games that would prove the concept.

And you know what? Turns out all that blue sky was... real. Unlike some console makers we're too polite to name, Nintendo delivered everything it promised. Whatever generation, whatever company you talk about - Nintendo's as guilty as anyone - that's rare. So we give Nintendo a shout for delivering on its promises this year. Now, let's see about 2007...

Honorable mention: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Nintendo | GameCube

It came out a month late and doesn't run in widescreen, but Nintendo still delivered one of the GameCube's best games at the eleventh hour. And Link's still left-handed!

Winner: The Wii
Nintendo

We have to admit. Even as recently as this summer, we weren't convinced. We were always excited by the possibilities... but we just weren't sure that Nintendo could pull it off. When the secret behind the Wii was announced in September 2005, it was like... buh?You're doing what now?

Nintendo promised us a revolutionary form of control, completely different from what we'd played before. It also admitted that the graphics that were only a slight upgrade over what we'd already been playing for years. It promised us an affordable system with kick-ass Nintendo games that would prove the concept.

And you know what? Turns out all that blue sky was... real. Unlike some console makers we're too polite to name, Nintendo delivered everything it promised. Whatever generation, whatever company you talk about - Nintendo's as guilty as anyone - that's rare. So we give Nintendo a shout for delivering on its promises this year. Now, let's see about 2007...

Honorable mention:The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Nintendo | GameCube

It came out a month late and doesn't run in widescreen, but Nintendo still delivered one of the GameCube's best games at the eleventh hour. And Link's still left-handed!

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