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Nintendo Wii Beginners Guide (updated 12th Nov 2006)
What is the Wii?
‘Wii’ is pronounced ‘We’ meaning for everyone. That’s what this console is about, it allows you to get into gaming even if you haven’t ever picked up a controller in your life. At the same time, long term Nintendo fans are being catered for by a return from their favourite franchises and the Virtual Console (see below).
The Wii will retail for £179.99 when it is released on 8th December 2006 in Europe. The release means it will go head to head with the 360 for the Christmas rush. GAME and other stores will be opening many of their shops at midnight.
Games will cost between £32-£40 and additional controllers will also be available from launch at the estimated retail prices of: Wii Remote £29, Nunchuk £14 and the Classic Controller £14.
Updated: Amazon and Play.com have both lowered the price of their Wii games to around £32.99. The Wii Play and extra Wii Remote is also £32.99, which is a bargain, considering the Wii Remote on it's own is £30.
It is seen by many as a great starting console for those not currently used to gaming and also as a good second console to either the PS3 or Xbox360. In this way Nintendo hopes to corner a new market. There's the weather and news channels built in too, keeping you up to date with the world. It's all looking quite cool and well thought out.
The console will come with a Wii remote controller, Nunchuk and old fashioned joypad for retro games (see virtual console). It will also be bundled with Wii Sports, a series of sports games that use the Wiimote to play.
It will support Wi-Fi (Wireless Internet) from the box and should make use of it in at least some games, as well as the Wiiconnect24 service.
It has been confirmed that the Wii will be region locked, including the Virtual Console, meaning that only European titles will work on a European console etc...
Wii Specs
CPU: PowerPC CPU (code-named "Broadway"). Made with a 90 nm SOI CMOS process, jointly developed with and manufactured by IBM.
Graphics Processing Unit: ATI ‘Hollywood’ with 480p resolution (853x480)
Memory: 512 megabytes of internal flash memory,
USB: two USB 2.0 ports
Network: WiiConnect24 service for constant internet connection, even with the console off. Wireless supported by IEEE 802.11b/g built in Wi-fi connection to internet or Nintendo DS.
Removable Memory:SD memory card (Nintendo branded cards currently being made) or Gamecube memory card
Media: A single self-loading media bay will play single- or double-layered 12-centimeter optical discs for Wii, as well as 8-centimeter Nintendo GameCube discs.
Controllers: Wireless Nunchuk and Wiimote (a TV remote style controller), plus retro style joypad and 4 gamecube controller ports.
Wii Points
Similar to Microsoft Points, the Wii-points can be bought over the counter at games shops and other stores and used to pay for Virtual Console and other items on the Wii. Wii points will be available alongside the console at launch.
Mii software
Mii lets you create Avatars to represent you online and the cool Mii room that you can put them in. These character can be used in games such as the included Wii Games and Wii Play. There will also be the option to meet other Mii characters online.
Virtual Console
The Virtual Console is a great new idea, it emulates all previous Nintendo machines and also allows for new games.
From the Nintendo website: ”Wii will have downloadable access to 20 years of fan-favorite titles originally released for Nintendo 64, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) and even the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The Virtual Console also will feature a "best of" selection from Sega Genesis titles and games from the TurboGrafx console (a system jointly developed by NEC and Hudson). It also will be home to new games conceived by indie developers whose creativity is larger than their budgets.”
15 games available from launch and between 5-10 new games updated each month to download.
The Wii remote
The most original aspect of the Wii is the Wii remote (or Wiimote as it is unofficially called), the TV remote style controller which allows you to interact with the games by movement, rather than using a standard controller. This will let you do things such as play tennis or golf by using the same actions you would for real or controlling many other aspects of a game. Traditional games are supported by adding the small Nunchuk controller to the side of the Wiimote and using this as a standard controller with motion sensing.
Other games can use the joypad supplied or Gamecube controller. There are even rumours that you can use the DS as a pad.
Surfing the Web
The Wii will use the Opera browser so that you can surf the internet on the console. The browser is to be free with the console until June 2007, when a one-off charge using Wii-points will be put in place to download it.
The Wii uses Wi-fi as standard, but you will be able to buy a USB Ethernet adaptor if you don't have a wireless network. The internet is always on, even when the console is in standby, allowing Nintendo to provide updates and goodies 24 hours.
First Reviews
NGamer has provided 2 reviews (alongside a host of previews) in their latest (December) issue. These are Red Steel (90%) and Super Monkey Ball (84%). They're two titles worth picking up.
The possible official launch titles taken from Ngamer are:
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Farcry Vengence
GT Pro (with free steering wheel)
Rayman Raving Rabbids
Wii Play (with Wii Remote)
Rampage
Need for Speed Carbon
Open Season
Monster Truck 4x4 (with free steering wheel)
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
Tony Hawks Downhill Jam
Red Steel
The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy
Gottlieb Pinball
Super Fruitfall
with Warioware smooth moves coming later.
Game Scores/Reviews
Red Steel 90% NGamer
SuperMonkeyBall:Banana Blitz 84% NGamer
SuperMonkeyBall:Banana Blitz 8.4 IGN
Call of Duty 3 7.7 IGN (Great use of Wii remote but no multiplayer)
Trauma Centre: Second Opinion 8.0 IGN
Wii Sports 7.5 IGN
New News
Nintendo have reportedly handed their hardware over to Sonic Solutions to work on a new version of the Wii with DVD playback, due out at the end of 2007. This is an additional version to allow new buyers the choice of a standard Wii or a DVD playing version (for extra cost).
What is the Wii?
‘Wii’ is pronounced ‘We’ meaning for everyone. That’s what this console is about, it allows you to get into gaming even if you haven’t ever picked up a controller in your life. At the same time, long term Nintendo fans are being catered for by a return from their favourite franchises and the Virtual Console (see below).
The Wii will retail for £179.99 when it is released on 8th December 2006 in Europe. The release means it will go head to head with the 360 for the Christmas rush. GAME and other stores will be opening many of their shops at midnight.
Games will cost between £32-£40 and additional controllers will also be available from launch at the estimated retail prices of: Wii Remote £29, Nunchuk £14 and the Classic Controller £14.
Updated: Amazon and Play.com have both lowered the price of their Wii games to around £32.99. The Wii Play and extra Wii Remote is also £32.99, which is a bargain, considering the Wii Remote on it's own is £30.
It is seen by many as a great starting console for those not currently used to gaming and also as a good second console to either the PS3 or Xbox360. In this way Nintendo hopes to corner a new market. There's the weather and news channels built in too, keeping you up to date with the world. It's all looking quite cool and well thought out.
The console will come with a Wii remote controller, Nunchuk and old fashioned joypad for retro games (see virtual console). It will also be bundled with Wii Sports, a series of sports games that use the Wiimote to play.
It will support Wi-Fi (Wireless Internet) from the box and should make use of it in at least some games, as well as the Wiiconnect24 service.
It has been confirmed that the Wii will be region locked, including the Virtual Console, meaning that only European titles will work on a European console etc...
Wii Specs
CPU: PowerPC CPU (code-named "Broadway"). Made with a 90 nm SOI CMOS process, jointly developed with and manufactured by IBM.
Graphics Processing Unit: ATI ‘Hollywood’ with 480p resolution (853x480)
Memory: 512 megabytes of internal flash memory,
USB: two USB 2.0 ports
Network: WiiConnect24 service for constant internet connection, even with the console off. Wireless supported by IEEE 802.11b/g built in Wi-fi connection to internet or Nintendo DS.
Removable Memory:SD memory card (Nintendo branded cards currently being made) or Gamecube memory card
Media: A single self-loading media bay will play single- or double-layered 12-centimeter optical discs for Wii, as well as 8-centimeter Nintendo GameCube discs.
Controllers: Wireless Nunchuk and Wiimote (a TV remote style controller), plus retro style joypad and 4 gamecube controller ports.
Wii Points
Similar to Microsoft Points, the Wii-points can be bought over the counter at games shops and other stores and used to pay for Virtual Console and other items on the Wii. Wii points will be available alongside the console at launch.
Mii software
Mii lets you create Avatars to represent you online and the cool Mii room that you can put them in. These character can be used in games such as the included Wii Games and Wii Play. There will also be the option to meet other Mii characters online.
Virtual Console
The Virtual Console is a great new idea, it emulates all previous Nintendo machines and also allows for new games.
From the Nintendo website: ”Wii will have downloadable access to 20 years of fan-favorite titles originally released for Nintendo 64, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) and even the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The Virtual Console also will feature a "best of" selection from Sega Genesis titles and games from the TurboGrafx console (a system jointly developed by NEC and Hudson). It also will be home to new games conceived by indie developers whose creativity is larger than their budgets.”
15 games available from launch and between 5-10 new games updated each month to download.
The Wii remote
The most original aspect of the Wii is the Wii remote (or Wiimote as it is unofficially called), the TV remote style controller which allows you to interact with the games by movement, rather than using a standard controller. This will let you do things such as play tennis or golf by using the same actions you would for real or controlling many other aspects of a game. Traditional games are supported by adding the small Nunchuk controller to the side of the Wiimote and using this as a standard controller with motion sensing.
Other games can use the joypad supplied or Gamecube controller. There are even rumours that you can use the DS as a pad.
Surfing the Web
The Wii will use the Opera browser so that you can surf the internet on the console. The browser is to be free with the console until June 2007, when a one-off charge using Wii-points will be put in place to download it.
The Wii uses Wi-fi as standard, but you will be able to buy a USB Ethernet adaptor if you don't have a wireless network. The internet is always on, even when the console is in standby, allowing Nintendo to provide updates and goodies 24 hours.
First Reviews
NGamer has provided 2 reviews (alongside a host of previews) in their latest (December) issue. These are Red Steel (90%) and Super Monkey Ball (84%). They're two titles worth picking up.
The possible official launch titles taken from Ngamer are:
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Farcry Vengence
GT Pro (with free steering wheel)
Rayman Raving Rabbids
Wii Play (with Wii Remote)
Rampage
Need for Speed Carbon
Open Season
Monster Truck 4x4 (with free steering wheel)
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
Tony Hawks Downhill Jam
Red Steel
The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy
Gottlieb Pinball
Super Fruitfall
with Warioware smooth moves coming later.
Game Scores/Reviews
Red Steel 90% NGamer
SuperMonkeyBall:Banana Blitz 84% NGamer
SuperMonkeyBall:Banana Blitz 8.4 IGN
Call of Duty 3 7.7 IGN (Great use of Wii remote but no multiplayer)
Trauma Centre: Second Opinion 8.0 IGN
Wii Sports 7.5 IGN
New News
Nintendo have reportedly handed their hardware over to Sonic Solutions to work on a new version of the Wii with DVD playback, due out at the end of 2007. This is an additional version to allow new buyers the choice of a standard Wii or a DVD playing version (for extra cost).
Page:
Added game scores and news.
Just added some more info from the net and new issue of Ngamer.
Updated.
and added the region locking note.
Updated.
Added the details of the Opera browser, and added that it will be free until after June 2007
Added the details of the Opera browser, and added that it will be free until after June 2007
Yessir, the new wii connect24 service.
You're lucky I don't have an 360 with an 360 live thingie and a hacky hacky game, then I'd challenge you and kick your butt. :)
By the way will the Wii be online?
By the way will the Wii be online?
Yes you can, lock on button + attack button = death, it also equals boring, in my opinion
I'm sure on the day of release he'll be absent from the forums :)
Can never catch me, i make Mewtwo look like a 1hp, unconscious Caterpie :-)
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