Wee tidbits about Wii

[Generosity of God]

No DVD-movie playback

First Party Titles are Region free

Third Party devs decide if they want region free or not.

its all on IGN. check it out. too lazy to LINK though.

[Shadow19]

http://wii.ign.com/articles/732/732748p1.html

First-party games unrestricted says Nintendo, third-party games up to individual publishers.
by Matt Wales
UK, September 14, 2006 - First-party games for Wii will be region-free, according to NoA's vice president of marketing and corporate affairs, Perrin Kaplan.



Speaking to Wired News' Joel Johnson, Kaplan confirmed that, like the DS, Wii gamers will be able to play titles from different territories without restriction. Traditionally, games purchased in regions such as Japan, US and Europe have only been playable on native home consoles. The news is likely to be welcomed by import fans, eager to get their hands on games as close to initial release as possible - however, Kaplan also suggested that region-locking on third-party games would be left up to individual publishers. Currently, it's unclear how Nintendo's region-free policy will affect the playback of existing GameCube titles, which are fully compatible with the Wii.

In the same report, Kaplan revealed that downloaded Virtual Console games would be tied to an individual user's account. However, the system is structured in such a way that, in the event of, say, a meteor crashing through the window and pile-driving your Wii to a pulp, you'll still be able to play your previously purchased games on a brand new Wii console.

Wired also questioned whether Wii owners would be able to add storage capabilities via a USB hard drive add-on. Kaplan's response was that, initially, storage would be limited to flash memory. Although she suggested a hard drive add-on could conceivably be released in the future, it doesn't sound like Nintendo has any official plans as yet. Whether enterprising Wii users will be able to use their own non-Nintendo USB hard drive accessories with the console from the off is unclear.

[HolyPaladin]

No DVD-movie playback

That shouldn't come as any surprise to anyone. Nintendo hasn't been too big on that sort of thing.

[venomv]

I really wanna know why anyone would choose to have multiple regions now. It really doesn't make sense for the publishers....

But anyway, did they say what kind of space the disks will have, I assume it will be a propietary format sinse there is no DVD playback....that could affect games having enough room for multiple audio tracks, therefore killing the advantage of being region free from the publishers perspective, if they aren't big enough.

[speed stick]

Region free is something great. Nintendo understands that in this point in time there is no need for a built in DVD player, they made the correct choice.

[venomv]

That why I think it is a propietary format...if it was simply a DVD drive there would be no reason not to have DVD playback......And why I wonder how much space it holds.

Aliens teach people how to defy gravity in 2010
Peace in the Middle East in 2050

Lol, how long ago did you put them there?

[speed stick]

Actually just a couple days ago. lol.

[Carlos]

In the same report, Kaplan revealed that downloaded Virtual Console games would be tied to an individual user's account.
Is it just me, or does this sound like they're going for something like Xbox Live?

[venomv]

That is a nessesity when you are talking about downloadable games...people need to be able to access what they paid for even if their machine goes bad. (or a HDD crash, which Wii won't have to worry about)

[Carlos]

That is a nessesity when you are talking about downloadable games...people need to be able to access what they paid for even if their machine goes bad. (or a HDD crash, which Wii won't have to worry about)
I'm thinking that they'll go beyond that.

[D3adcell]

Here from wii.com

Media
A single self-loading media bay plays single- or double-layered 12-cm optical discs for the Wii console, as well as 8-cm Nintendo GameCube discs

[Carlos]

Hm. I thought the side slot, the one with the cover, was the GC games slot, but it goes in the same slot as the Wii games, nice.

I AM loving the new Wii.com. Its a nice site. Well done, Ninty.

[venomv]

I'm thinking that they'll go beyond that.

Such as......

[Carlos]

Such as......
GamerCards, c'mon, have some imagination, dude.

[venomv]

Well you can't get that from that quote. But it would be cool, and not that suprising.

[Carlos]

Your own profile, your own personality, etc. I mean, it could be integrated with the channels on wii.

[Vishus]

I imagine that the DVD playback could have been a drop in the bucket nowadays.

[Carlos]

I imagine that the DVD playback could have been a drop in the bucket nowadays.
Even so, they wouldn't want it in there for various reasons:

IMO: It distracts people from thinking its a game console.

[Vishus]

Does everyone know everything about their machines? I don't think its a distraction. Not too many people even look at the PS3's blu-ray disc player for movies or understand the advantages once it reaches a better price.

[Khaos]

50 bucks says Datel or Madcats makes some kind of dvd attachment.... They've been doing some more advanced stuff lately...

[Carlos]

Does everyone know everything about their machines? I don't think its a distraction. Not too many people even look at the PS3's blu-ray disc player for movies or understand the advantages once it reaches a better price.
Um, yes they do.

That's why they're making the biggest deal out of the price.

The fact that casuals get their hands on consoles, some of them think that the console is also a DVD player, so yes they do.

Everytime my old (launch old) DVD player doesn't work on some DVD movies, we switch to our PSTwo.

[Vishus]

I'd buy it. I want more sessions for porn activities. Now that we can surf the internet, I want my DVDs to work. Of course I am really excited for the "cheap" attachments. I'll be excited for a phone/cell phone if Nintendo gives us Skype and when America starts to be WiFi heavy like South Korea.

[Khaos]

Yea, but you gotta pay for the nation-wide wifi in Korea, Nespot.... :(

But every Korean PSP (the only place where teh PSP is actually popular lol) gets like a year free of nespot...

[Vishus]

^^^ People are still complaining about $600. $600 is cheaper than a $1000 BRD player.

^In America you're not paying for anything. I just walk into free Wifi place and play my DS.

[Khaos]

Damn Koreans are so stingy... lol. But, I guess in the spirit of america, all the food places on post have free wifi (though one blocks DS's, me and my friends agree lol)...

OK, don't break the cycle, Vishus! (lol)

[gljvd]

^^^ People are still complaining about $600. $600 is cheaper than a $1000 BRD player.

^In America you're not paying for anything. I just walk into free Wifi place and play my DS.


well actually , In america you go to a food place like starbucks or panera bread and you can also go to some malls .

They give you wifi free becuase they think you will buy something and most of the time you will , even if its jsut something to drink

[Delirious]

damn I was hoping for dvd cause my player is on the fritz and all I have is my laptop to watch dvds now.

[Shade Valkyrie]

Well, just in case some of you have not heard the dissapointing news (http://wii.ign.com/articles/732/732982p1.html) - both Wiis first, second and third party titles will be region-locked, not region free as first stated.
IGN: Is the plan to keep Wii games region free? How about the online service -- will users be restricted to UK content, or will they be able to dip into say Japanese services if they prefer to?

David Yarnton: The Wii will be region-coded.

IGN: There was a report we had out of the US…

David Yarnton: No, that was a mistake… games and online services will be region-coded.

[Shadow Voa]

^ Oh man thats so lame, I was planning on importing Bleach Wii from Japan!!! :(

[Gillespee]

IMO: It distracts people from thinking its a game console.

I'm not complaining about no DVD since that doesn't bug me at all, but I see no logic here. You do remember the whole weather and news channels along with sharing pics and videos, right?

[Gookanheimer]

Just had a thought...

Does anyone know if Wii will have any kind of LAN capabilities? I mean, since it has the wireless stuff built into it, being able to play something like Red Steel as a four player game across two TVs would be awesome.

[Teh Roxor!]

^ Oh man thats so lame, I was planning on importing Bleach Wii from Japan!!! :(
Yeah, it sucks. I wonder why they do that...

I'm sure there's a work-around. There always is.

[Shade Valkyrie]

I wonder if my Datel Freeloader will work on the Wii... If it work with GC games on the Wii maybe it can work on Wii games too! I'll plan to have this checked out as soon as I can and I'll make sure I'll report back to you guys! ;)

[Methusaleh]

I really wanna know why anyone would choose to have multiple regions now. It really doesn't make sense for the publishers....

The publisher is who it does make sense for. The *only* reason to region lock--regardless of what the publishers would have you believe--is market segmentation.

The Big N has history with the DOJ, so this announcement is somewhat surprising when put in perspective, despite recent history. The almighty dollar is at the core of this decision however, which leads me to believe Mr. Yarnton may know something the NOA doesn't.

[Methusaleh]

Just had a thought...

Does anyone know if Wii will have any kind of LAN capabilities? I mean, since it has the wireless stuff built into it, being able to play something like Red Steel as a four player game across two TVs would be awesome.

A poster after my own heart. For me, wLAN is where it's at.

LAN was part of the orginially announced features of Wii, but I've heard *nothing* on the subject in many months, not even from 3rd parties... which is slightly alarming considering Nintendo's penchant for quietly cancelling planned features.

[Gookanheimer]

Yay, someone noticed!

So it was mentioned at one stage? That's kind of comforting, since they haven't specifically mentioned that it's been dropped. No news is good news, isn't it?