Designed to sit on top of your TV screen to provide living room-to-living room chat with up to three other Wii systems simultaneously, the Wii Speak microphone makes it possible to talk to another player in another game. Of course, this capability has been built into the Xbox and Sony PlayStation for years. Or, you could simply pull out your cell phone and talk along. The point is ease of use -- the ability to link photos with sounds, turning your Wii into an extended family communication hub, sending voice messages.

To use the Wii Speak, you need a broadband connection, and you need to download the Wii Speak Channel. There is no additional charge; simply go to the Wii Shop channel and enter the code that is included in the box. Next, you stick the microphone to your TV, and plug a USB cable into your Wii.