Nintendo Wii / Wii U

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Nintendo details Euro launch campaign

TV spots, they got you covered. In-store demos, but of course! Trailers at the movies, you know it. PR hype, without a doubt. Nintendo is going to blitz Europe with a £6.5 million ad campaign from here to December, and then another £4.5 million from January to March.

Wii product manager Rob Lowe made a few statements concerning the aggressive campaign. 80% of UK television watchers are expected to see Wii TV commercials 3 times a day!

“It is our intention to make the Wii the number one console in the UK. The campaign focuses on real people playing and having fun.” - Rob Lowe

Magazine scan with link to Wiimote accelerometer

Read Jonathan sent in this magazine scan (name of magazine not mentioned) that offers up a link for the company Nintendo worked with on the Wiimote/Nunchuck.

AiLive talks 1:1 Wiimote interaction

The gang over at Wii Insider emailed the AiLive team to discuss the possibilites of 1:1 Wiimote interaction. Here is AiLive’s email response…

Thank you for the email.

We’re delighted that the community is energized with hot debates about the Wii. This means that there’s a very healthy enthusiasm and demand for the kinds of features that the Wii entails.

To respond to your specific statement, clearly there *are* ways to get a 1:1 interaction between the Wii-mote controller and the game character. The Metroid demo is a good example of that. Using the Wii-mote for driving and steering is equally straightforward as shown by some of the launch demos. It is true that it is more difficult to interpret the controller data in broader contexts. Developing immersive and intuitive controls in these contexts is definitely challenging but not impossible. In fact, this is precisely the reason why Nintendo asked us to create LiveMove. Rising to these kinds of technological challenges is what AiLive is all about.

More Target Wii accessories

We have seen the Wii controller gloves from all different angles, but reader Oompaloompaman57 sent me some close up pics from some of the other goodies. Check them out below.

Japanese Wii Pricing

Nintendo and third parties making games available for cheap.

October 20, 2006 - While the world was keeping a close eye on Sony's pricing policy for PlayStation 3 software, Nintendo and its third parties went about announcing a surprising set of prices for Wii games. In Japan, Wii owners are, on average, going to be paying less per game.

Here's the current known pricing for Wii software. All prices include 5% consumption tax. Games are listed from most expensive to least.

Necronesia (Spike): 7140 yen [47,70€]

Bleach Wii (Sega): 7140 yen [47,70€]

Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo): 6800 yen [45,42€]

Red Steel (Ubisoft): 6800 yen [45,42€]

Sengoku Musou Wave (aka Samurai Spirits, Koei): 6090 yen [40,70€]

Furu Furu Paaku (Taito): 6090 yen [40,70€]

GT Pro Series (MTO): 6090 yen [40,70€]

Elebits (Konami): 6090 yen [40,70€]

Caduceus Z (aka Trauma Center, Atlus): 6090 yen [40,70€]

Swing Golf Panya (Tecmo): 6090 yen [40,70€]

Wing Island (Hudson): 6090 yen [40,70€]

SD Gundam (Bandai Namco): 6090 yen [40,70€]

Crayon Shin Chan (Banpresto): 6090 yen [40,70€]

Odoru Made in Wario (aka Wario Ware, Nintendo): 5800 yen [38,74€]

Pokemon Battle Revolution (Pokemon): 5800 yen [38,74€]

Ennichi no Tatsujin (Bandai Namco): 5040 yen [33,66€]

Mahjong Taikai Wii (Koei): 5040 yen [33,66€]

Hajimete no Wii (Nintendo): 4800 yen [32,06€]

Wii Sports (Nintendo): 4800 yen [32,06€]

Nota: conversão directa

The current "standard" pricing for PlayStation 2 games is 6,800 yen, or with tax, 7,140 yen. Only four Wii titles have reached that point (Nintendo covers the tax in its 6,800 yen prices, although we're not sure why Ubisoft is using Nintendo's pricing policy for Red Steel).

Average Wii pricing seems to be about 1000 yen less, or 5,800 yen. Simple games like Wii Sports and Mahjong Taikai are priced even lower, at 4,800 yen.

That's three pricing tiers, with most of the games in the middle. Looks like Wii owners in Japan can look forward to saving a few yen on all but the biggest of games.

Bandai Namco confirm Wii titles (RPG confirmation)

Bandai Namco has given a firm Japanese release date for Ennichi no Tatsujin, as well as officially announcing two other Wii titles in the works. Have a look at the list below.

12/02/06 - Ennichi no Tatsujin (Action)

TBA - Sword of Legendia (RPG)

TBA - Pac-Man Carnival (Action)

There you go RPG fans, the speculation is over. Now you have an official confirmation of Sword of Legendia for the Wii!

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[ur=http://gonintendo.com/?p=4261l]More pics of Wii VC controller[/url]

http://gonintendo.com/wp-content/photos/thumb_198ddc847e7954948e1bd853190b.jpg

Exclusive Interview: Opera Talk Wii

The norwegian software company Opera are developing the Internet browser for both the Nintendo DS and the Wii.

Opera's Berit Hanson was nice enough to answers our questions regarding their web browser currently in development for Wii.

Why do you think Nintendo chose Opera for their Wii browser?There are a lot of browsers out there, and some are more popular than Opera?

Opera is experienced in porting to many different devices and mobile phone platforms. We have long been a provider of full Web browser to a variety of devices, allowing users to access the entire Internet despite potential limitations of smaller device. Opera also features unique rendering technology. This means that if you are surfing the Web on your TV, Opera will not appear as it does on a PC. It will adapt the content of the page to suit the size of the screen. These capabilities, in addition to the speed and reliability of the browser, made Opera a natural choice for the Wii.

How long have you had to develop the Opera software for the Wii?

We have followed Nintendo's development schedule for this project, but are unable to say more.

What web standards will the browser support? The DS browser don't support Flash or PDF, what about the Wii browser?

Opera for Wii will support all the same Web standards that are included in Opera 9 for PCs and Macs. This desktop beta version is available now at this link: http://www.opera.com/download/index.dml?ver=9.0b This version does include Javascript. Whether plug-ins such as Flash will be supported in Opera on Wii has not yet been announced. Stay tuned!

Will the browser be customisable? Will we see skins and "widgets" like in the PC version?

Nintendo isn’t ready to discuss if there will be any user customization allowed for Opera on Wii. Opera’s desktop browser is highly customizable and “skinnable”. We have announced that Opera Widgets will be available on devices and it would be cool to see them on Wii.

What functions will the Wii controller have? Will it act as the mouse pointer? Are we able to scroll or type using the functionality of the Wiimote?

We aim to make a browsing experience that leverages the intuitive capabilities of the Wii remote. Opera for desktop PCs has the built in mouse gesture-based navigation, but how this might be available and mapped to the Wii remote hasn’t yet been revealed by Nintendo.

Will Opera for Wii support tabbed browsing and bookmarks? And will we be able to have personalised bookmarks, so that each family member can have their own profile?

Yes, Opera for Wii will include bookmarks. But Nintendo and Opera have not yet revealed specifics on the unique browser features on the Wii. More will be announced as the Wii launch approaches.

Will the browser be sold as a separate item, like it is for the DS? If so, is it possible to "install" the browser rather than having to swap in the optical disc?

The Opera browser is saved to the Flash ROM on the Wii console, and does not require a separate memory card as Opera for DS does. The browser can be launched in only a few seconds, immediately delivering a great user experience.

What version of Opera is the browser based on? 8.5 or 9.0 ?

Opera 9

Will it support music and video? Will it be possible to stream videos and music?

We are unable to comment on this at this time.

Comparing to a PC display, roughly what resolution will Wii use for browsing?

All we can say at this time is that the user interface for Opera on Wii will be customized to better suit a living room environment. For example, fonts will be larger and the user interface will be simplified so that the Web is easier to view and use from a distance while navigating with the Wii remote.

Will it launch with the Wii?

As mentioned before, Opera will not be sold separately on a game cartridge for Wii. We would like all Wii users to be able to use Opera to surf the Internet. The details of how exactly Opera will be available for browsing within Wii have not yet been announced by Nintendo.

How hard was it to develop the Wii version compared to the PC and the DS version?

There were no major challenges during our development of the Wii browser, since Opera has experience with porting to many different devices and mobile phone platforms. The biggest challenge has been to create the best “living room” Web experience, leveraging the unique capabilities of Wii. Opera has worked closely with Nintendo to achieve a breakthrough experience, especially in terms of incorporating the revolutionary Wii remote into the browsing experience.

Do you think Wii will see more applications? Are you planning on developing anything else for Wii?

Opera is very excited to be working on the Wii project, and we hope to continue to improve the Wii browsing experience by utilizing Opera's unique capabilities. We would also love to see some interaction between the Wii and the DS browsers, but Nintendo has not announced any plans to do so yet. More info will come as the launch approaches.

Genesis VC Games Revealed

A visit to the ESRB reveals a handful of registered Wii Virtual Console titles...

We are just around the corner from Nintendo's hinted-at blowout of Wii information. Though the exact content of Nintendo's event has not been specified, it is a good bet that the company's anticipated Virtual Console service will have a strong presence. Though gamers are excited at the possibility of access to games from a myriad of systems (including NES, SNES, N64, Sega Genesis and TurbografX 16/PC Engine) there has been little confirmation of which titles would be made available on the service on Day One. On the heels of an allegedly leaked list of VC goodness, here is something a bit more concrete: thanks to the Entertainment Software Rating Board we now at least know of a handful of the planned Genesis classics.

Searching the ESRB database for registered Wii software nets the following Genesis titles:

- Sonic the Hedgehog

- Ecco the Dolphin

- Golden Axe

- Altered Beast

- Columns

- Toejam & Earl

- Ristar

(Note: It may be fun to point out that, technically, the site doesn't specifically label the games as VC titles... therefore an outside possibility exists that these are actually all Wii-bound updates to the originals - an intriguing (if unlikely) thought.)

US Wii Price, Launch Date Revealed

...

Wii's much talked-about Virtual Console download service, which enables gamers to purchase classic games, will offer a library of some 30 titles when the system launches. Titles will include entries from the Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong franchises, Nintendo said. Virtual Console games will cost between $5 and $10 each. Specifically, Nintendo Co. Ltd. announced that Virtual Console games would cost 500 yen ($5), 800 yen ($8) or 1,000 yen ($10); we're presuming these prices are for NES, SNES and N64 games respectively.

...

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1:38 a.m. EST [update 7]: Famitsu reports 30 Nintendo games and 30 PC Engine/Megadrive (Turbo-Grafx/Genesis) games before end of year. Ten new virtual console games every month after that!

Video involving virtual console

Wii Point

[Orube_the_Sinner 0]

Sorry a pergunta noob, mas a Wii ainda só saiu na Japão, não é? :Pusagi ???:

[Fakemaster 0]

Acho que ainda nao foi lançada oficialmente em nenhum lado... mAs falta muito pouco mesmo muito

[Blaze 12]

A wii com sorte sai ja po mes que vem no Japão e USA.

Na Europa s em Dezembro.

[Strone 0]

eu estou ancioso.. e' a unica consola que quero comprar..

[Dark_Light 14]

Em dezembro? Acho cedo demais... mas pode ser que seja para aproveitar o natal. WII FOR PRESENT /o/

Have fun...

[Mimerich 0]

Wii para dominar tudo e todos! nao sei como se pode comprar outra consola q nao a Wii!

estupido é nao haverem anuncios na tv, era fama instantanea. a nintendo portugal é uma desgraça.

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Nintem em Portugal é uma merda.

Dark, a Wii sai ja po mes que vem noutros paises. Mas Europa é aquela base. Se por facto de fontes seguras que a wii ja ca está e teve na FIL numa demonstração so para convidados ._.

[Orube_the_Sinner 0]

Já sei o que quero para o Natal XD <:3

-Paiiii, compra-me a nova Nintendo wii.... por favor.....

- T, para o Natal pode ser... *vê o preço*.... para o p´roximo que já deve estar mais barata XD

Quanto é que irão custar os jogos em média? Tive a ver a lista, e parece que é quase tudo para cima dos 50 euros... nem quero imaginar quanto vais custar a própria consola.... :tonto2:

[Blaze 12]

A wii vai custar 250 euros.

Os jogos ficarão entre os 50 e 60. Podendo ser ser até mais baratos.

[Milo-Scorpion 1]

Se a Wii sai na europa em Dezembro, (falhados do costume), talvez dê para comprar o Twilight princess para a Gamecube primeiro.

[Fakemaster 0]

Eu esperava pela edição para a Wii... Toda a gente sabe das maravilhas do Wiimote.. XD nesse jogo

[Blaze 12]

O zelda sai aquando a wii.

Logo deve sair aqui muito depois.

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Top ten things you may not have known about the Wii

01. It doesn’t play CDs, but it plays AVIs off your digital camera’s SD card.

02. The flaps that protect the Gamecube controllers and memory card slots are removable.

03. Wii Sports includes training and workout modes.

04. You can let one remote control all four players in Wii Sports: Tennis.

05. It takes five pieces of heart to make a heart container in Zelda: Twilight Princess

06. The box includes two clear plastic holders: one for the sensor bar and another that acts as a stabilizer for the thick, gray console stand

07. When used as a pointer, the Wii detects how far the remote is from the sensor bar.

08. The system keeps track of your cumulative play time for all games, and logs it on your Wii’s daily message board.

09. The standard A/V cables that have worked on every Nintendo system since the SNES do not work on the Wii (the system-side input is different)

10. The system doubles as a great whiteboard.

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Wii console manual reveals its secrets

"Up to 100 Miis can stay in your Mii Plaza." (pg. 11)

* "The Photo Channel can display a maximum of approximately 1,000 photos. If your SD card has more than 1,000 photos, remove the card from the Wii console and remove or reorganize your photos in your camera, cell phone or computer." (pg. 15)

* "You can not save or overwrite photos or videos on the SD card." (pg. 20)

* "Any of the options in Fun! mode [doodles, etc. -Ed.] can be applied to individual frames of a video." (pg. 21)

* The photo channel supports JPGs of up to 8192x8192 resolution and QuickTime files of up to 848x480. (pg. 22)

* MP3 audio is listed under supported formats. After quite a bit of searching, we figured out how this feature works, but we didn't like what we found (more later.)

* "NOTE: Your use of the Wii Shop Channel is subject to your acceptance of the Wii Users Agreement, the Wii Privacy Policy and the Wii Code of Conduct. Copies of the most updated versions of these agreements may be found at support.nintendo.com. [not yet - Ed.]" (pg. 24)

* "NOTE: Some Virtual Console games can only be played with a Classic Controller. (sold separately) [this seems to contradict previous confirmation that Gamecube controllers would work on all Virtual Console games -Ed.]" (pg. 25)

* "Software downloaded from the Wii Shop Channel is licensed to you, not sold" (pg. 25)

* "NOTE: The calendar displays dates from January 2000 to December 2035." (pg. 31)

* "NOTE: You will not be able to send photos from your Wii console to the PC/cell phone user." (pg. 36)

* "NOTE: The Wii console uses a 24 hour clock. For example, 1:00 pm is displayed as 13:00 pm" (pg. 42)

* The parental control features "does NOT control access to Nintendo GameCube games" (pg. 46)

* "If you use the messaging features of the Wii console, you need to understand that Nintendo may monitor your use and share certain information (i) as required by law, (ii) where necessary to protect the company, its customers or its employees, (iii) as necessary to provide the services. [big Brother is watching -Ed.]" (pg. 47)

* "NOTE: The initial recommended distance for using the Wii Remote Pointer is 3 to 8 feet from the sensor bar ... Also note that the influence of direct sunlight and various light sources can make the Pointer operation less optimal. [Oh really... -Ed.]" (pg. 50)

* By formatting the Wii Shop Channel from the Wii's system menu, you clear all "records of your transactions and rights to download software." (pg. 61)

* "NOTE: You should format your Wii Shop Channel data first, then your Wii System Memory, prior to selling or otherwise transferring your Wii console to any third party." (pg. 61)

* "NOTE: Adjusting the speaker and Rumble settings will affect all Wii remotes currently connected to the Wii console. " (pg. 63)

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Wii: DVD confirmado!

A Nintendo acaba de confirmar a inclusão de leitor DVD numa futura versão da Wii.

Como já havíamos noticiado, a Wii vai mesmo ter uma versão com leitor de DVD incluído.

De acordo com a Nintendo, o software fornecido pela Sonic Solutions será o CinePlayer CE DVD Navigator.

Entre outras funcionalidades, o leitor permitirá visualizar em widescreen, escolher vários menus e ainda optar por diversos ângulos de câmara.

O comunicado oficial da Nintendo avança ainda que as consolas com o CinePlayer estarão no mercado no final de 2007.

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More Wii pack shots

Admit it, you can't get enough of Wii pack shots. Peripheral packaging unveiled inside

Not long now. December 8 (or November 19, if you're getting a US one) is Wii launch day. We've already booked the day off work and are counting down the days.

Earlier today Nintendo sent over some images for its official Wii peripherals.

Check out the Classic controller, a few leads and Nunchuk and Remote boxes below.

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Wii problem: "the SD card simply doesn't register"

Tags: Nintendo of America The lucky guys over at Joystiq were able to test drive the Wii around a week before the unit's US launch. So they were having the time of their lives playing The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, but when they started saving their game progress, they realized that the system won't recognize their SD cards.

According to Kyle Orland of Joystiq:

Our tests have shown that the SD card simply doesn't register on the memory management screen. We've tried this with a number of SD cards, both empty and full of data, and while picture viewing and MP3 playback worked fine, the system refused to recognize the card as a game save storage device.

Unfortunately, the console's manual says otherwise: "copy and delete data found on the Wii System Memory and SD cards." The official Wii website also says the unit will have an SD card slot for portable saves, and other Wii forums like WiiLoaded.com attest to that fact.

So, what went wrong? Well, since the Wii has not been launched yet, we do not know. Hopefully, Joystiq will get the answer from Nintendo when they finally get in touch with them.

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DVD capable Wii confirmed for US launch latter half of 07

We posted the press release earlier today, but now we have the confirmation of the unit coming to the US.

Nintendo of America’s Public Relations Manager Matt Atwood said that a price has not yet been determined, but that the DVD-enabled Wii would come at a higher price than the standard Wii console ($249) because of the “extra cost required to implement DVD playback.”

I am surprised to see that this sucker is coming to the US. Is anyone interested in this one?

Press release

Intec’s third party Nunchuck

Dtoid PSA: How to prevent Wiimote stress

As you may have seen, Nido and I spent a lot of time at the Miami Nintendo Wii event this weekend and Robert Summa also received his Wii last Friday (Don't miss his various videos from unpacking to gameplay ). Besides having our own respective blasts, there were some Wii sores from exercising with the Wiimote. Even Summa's girlfriend reported weary elbows after Wii Sports Tennis. We can empathize -- after three long laps on Excite Truck while standing at the press event I began to feel my shoulders burn slightly as I had my arms extended, steering wheel style.

Don't get me wrong -- it's a blast and it felt very natural, but making the full gesture in suspended air over the course of a few 5 minute stages would have surely rendered my underused geek deltoids useless after 20 minutes. So! Unless you aspire to build rocks on your shoulders, here's some pointers on how to reduce joint stress and last longer when playing Wii games in general:

Don't:

* Extend your arms outwards unless absolutely necessary

* Let your elbows and shoulders do all the work

* Stand (unless you hate being at the edge of the sofa)

* Allow little chilluns form a line near you for their turn

Do:

* Try to handle the Wiimote with arms relaxed at your sides

* Be patient with it -- there is definitely a learning curve!

* Attempt to perform the majority of the actions with your wrist

* Sit on nearby little chilluns if no sofa is available

We can't stress that last Do point enough, as you'll be able to spend a heck of a lot more time gaming if the small ones are gasping for other more essential things than the Wiimote. Like oxygen.

Pyro Studios confirms Wii Support!

Revogamers.net gave me a shout about third-Party developer Pyro Studios, who has now confirmed that two titles are in the works for the Wii for 2008. The first is known to be an adventure game. Pyro Studios has developed games like the Commandos series and Real-Time Strategy games like Imperial Glory and Praetorians. Let’s hope they develop an RTS title as well for the Wii! Bring on the RTS console Revolution!

Jack Black plays the Wii

Movie star Jack Black, who will star in the upcoming film Tenacious D played with the Wii and spoke about it as can be seen in the video:

“So this is like the next level for Nintendo, looks tiny…(Plays Wii Sports)…The Wii is a powerful machine…it’ll take an hour to learn and weeks to master…Tenacious D is better than the Wii.”

Did he just say that?