Wii is here!

[DarthPrime]

I heard that we might not see Goldeneye, because of some odd reason. I hope it was just a rumor. It was an extremely popular game, that should be released.

The N64 section is what I was looking forward too, and its lacking a lot. I hope the VC release schedule picks up some, and we get some classic RPGs like Secret of Mana, etc... I would love that. Still for a little over a year the VC section looks pretty good.

I keep thinking we might see another N64 game soon. I don't see why they don't release Smash Bros. for the N64 on the VC with the release of Brawl coming up. I know they did something similar with Metroid/Super Metroid to promote Metroid Prime 3.

[PixarFan2006]

I would like to know how many VC games you've downloaded so far.

Here is my list:

Donkey Kong Country (SNES)
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddys Kong Quest (SNES)
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble (SNES)
Harvest Moon (SNES)
The Legend of Zelda: a Link to the Past (SNES)
Paper Mario (N64)
Super Mario Bros (NES)
Super Mario Bros 3 (NES)
Super Mario World (SNES)

I know, its relatively small.

[Simba3]

I would like to know how many VC games you've downloaded so far.

Just a couple so far...

Donkey Kong Country 2 (SNES)
Streets of Rage (SEGA)

[DarthPrime]

I would like to know how many VC games you've downloaded so far.

Here is my list:

Donkey Kong Country (SNES)
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddys Kong Quest (SNES)
Harvest Moon (SNES)
The Legend of Zelda: a Link to the Past (SNES)
Paper Mario (N64)
Super Mario Bros (NES)
Super Mario Bros 3 (NES)
Super Mario World (SNES)

I know, its relatively small.

So far 0. I may download one or two eventually.

An update on my Wii situation... I'm still waiting for my Wii to get to NOA in WA. It should be there by the 18th. I'm supposed to get a remanufactured system back with all my information transferred over, and a 1 year warranty on the remanufactured system.

Because of the long times with shipping I may or may not get it back before Brawl. Which is ok, I just hope this repair goes better than my first one did.

[MadonnasManOne]

An update on my Wii situation... I'm still waiting for my Wii to get to NOA in WA. It should be there by the 18th. I'm supposed to get a remanufactured system back with all my information transferred over, and a 1 year warranty on the remanufactured system.

Because of the long times with shipping I may or may not get it back before Brawl. Which is ok, I just hope this repair goes better than my first one did.

Keep us upated. I may actually have to send my Wii in, as well. I need to hurry up and call, because my warranty will be expiring very soon. The problem I have had, was something that started back when the Everybody Votes channel was released. I started noticing little black lines, on occassion, whenever I was in the Everybody Votes channel. It only happened while I was in that channel. I didn't notice it on any other channel, nor in any of my games. The lines weren't always in the same place, and they weren't always there. They kind of looked like little digital artifacts in a pattern running from top to bottom. Sometimes they would be there, sometimes not. Not very noticeable, either, but, still something I could see. I thought it was a problem with a glitch in the channel. Well, it is now appearing while I'm playing any game that has light/white backgrounds. I've searched on the internet, and I've read that some others have experienced similiar issues. From what I've read, it affects only the first wave of Wii systems that were released. Apparently, when connected to WiiConnect24, the fan didn't come on, and it caused the system to get quite warm inside, and that apparently has affected a graphics chip. Word is that systems released later do not have this issue.

Anyway, it's not a HUGE problem, but, it's kind of like having a new car, and knowing that little scratch is there. I'm thinking I'll call Monday, and see about getting my system replaced. I just hate to have to go through that, especially with BRAWL being released so soon!

[DarthPrime]

An update on my Wii situation... I'm still waiting for my Wii to get to NOA in WA. It should be there by the 18th. I'm supposed to get a remanufactured system back with all my information transferred over, and a 1 year warranty on the remanufactured system.

Because of the long times with shipping I may or may not get it back before Brawl. Which is ok, I just hope this repair goes better than my first one did.

Keep us upated. I may actually have to send my Wii in, as well. I need to hurry up and call, because my warranty will be expiring very soon. The problem I have had, was something that started back when the Everybody Votes channel was released. I started noticing little black lines, on occassion, whenever I was in the Everybody Votes channel. It only happened while I was in that channel. I didn't notice it on any other channel, nor in any of my games. The lines weren't always in the same place, and they weren't always there. They kind of looked like little digital artifacts in a pattern running from top to bottom. Sometimes they would be there, sometimes not. Not very noticeable, either, but, still something I could see. I thought it was a problem with a glitch in the channel. Well, it is now appearing while I'm playing any game that has light/white backgrounds. I've searched on the internet, and I've read that some others have experienced similiar issues. From what I've read, it affects only the first wave of Wii systems that were released. Apparently, when connected to WiiConnect24, the fan didn't come on, and it caused the system to get quite warm inside, and that apparently has affected a graphics chip. Word is that systems released later do not have this issue.

Anyway, it's not a HUGE problem, but, it's kind of like having a new car, and knowing that little scratch is there. I'm thinking I'll call Monday, and see about getting my system replaced. I just hate to have to go through that, especially with BRAWL being released so soon!

I'll keep up with the updates. The first repair wasn't great, and I'm hoping this one is a lot better. I did get my Wii back and it worked, but there was damage to the Wii (screws, scratches, dirt), and they didn't replace my Galaxy disc. However when I called Nintendo back they were willing to replace everything after I gave them a little information about the first repair. Even after my problems I am pleased with the way they handled the situation, and offered to replace my Wii and game.

It sounds like your GPU has overheated, and I would send that in before your warranty is up. The fan doesn't run on any Wii with WiiConnect24, and I have heard of the graphic glitches on a few Wiis that had WiiConnect24 turned off. Its probably a bad heatsink, or GPU, and WiiConnect24 just speeds it up. My friend has a launch Wii and hasn't had the issue, but he has never left WiiConnect24 on. Not sure if he got lucky, or its because he leaves WiiConnect24 off.

The replacement is fairly easy. Nintendo emails you all the information, and you print out a FedEx Ground label off the website Nintendo sends you in the email. You have to pack it up and take it to a FedEx shipping center though. Once the Wii is repaired or replaced its shipped back to you by UPS Ground. They ship it back in a small brown box with some packing peanuts. The Wii is wrapped up in a plastic bag and they have a paper telling you what the did to fix the Wii.

My first repair was very quick (about 2 weeks total), but this one is taking longer. Reason for that is Nintendo had me ship to WA instead of NY, so its taken from Feb 7th until tommorow to get from the FedEx drop off to Redmond WA. I'll probably get it back before Brawl, but it will be close. You might be able to send yours off and get it back before Brawl depending on where they want you to ship the Wii too. Good luck, and keep us updated on your Wii.

[DarthPrime]

Just checked MyNintendo and they are already preparing my replacement for shipping. It doesn't say if they replaced Galaxy or not, but does list my Wii replacement at $75.00. Although because of the Warranty it doesn't cost anything. So if your Wii breaks outside of the warranty I guess Nintendo will fix/replace it for $75.

The new Wii serial number is a lot higher than my old Wii I got last May. I know its a remanufactured Wii, but could a higher serial number mean a newer console?

[yamiiguy]

I heard that we might not see Goldeneye, because of some odd reason. I hope it was just a rumor. It was an extremely popular game, that should be released.
.

It's true, Rare are with Microsoft now so none of their games excluding ones with Nintendo's intellectual property (Donkey Kong Country) can be released on the Virtual Console unless Nintendo and Microsoft reach an agreement with each other and in the case of Goldeneye with whoever has the James Bond license as well.

Anyway I've had Super Smash Bros. Brawl for nearly a month now on my new Japanese Wii and it is fantastic. Subspace Emissary is truly awesome.

[2099net]

Of course, GoldenEye was going to be released on XboxLive Arcade, but Nintendo nixed that. But all the work and development was done. I guess the Nintendo era Rare games won't appear on either system.

Update Speak of the devil. This just popped up in the blogscape after I posted this post:
http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/22/briti ... wednesday/

Yamiiguy, are you not excited about the C64 VC news? Just imagine all those great SID tunes! It would be worth downloading The Last Ninja just for the soundtrack!

[yamiiguy]

Of course, GoldenEye was going to be released on XboxLive Arcade, but Nintendo nixed that. But all the work and development was done. I guess the Nintendo era Rare games won't appear on either system.

Update Speak of the devil. This just popped up in the blogscape after I posted this post:
http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/22/briti ... wednesday/

Yamiiguy, are you not excited about the C64 VC news? Just imagine all those great SID tunes! It would be worth downloading The Last Ninja just for the soundtrack!

Of course I am, I have a personal confession to make - I have never played a C64 game but I will, any recommendations?
I hope the Atari 2600 makes it's way onto the VC too, I've played some great games that were on that system. I'm also looking forward to the Master System addition...Alex Kidd in Miracle World!

[2099net]

Well, probably not recommendations as such. The downloads seem very pricey for a single C64 game. I think they're around £5 each?!? Which is clearly insane.

However, I do believe the C64 has some of the best game music of all time. Music which sounds "computery" but isn't beepy. The Last Ninja has one of the best soundtracks.

Check out http://c64s.com/ to play 100's of C64 games now. For free. (but how about Doctor Who and the Mines of Terror?

[MadonnasManOne]

Wow! You know the Wii and Wii Sports has achieved iconic status, when they actually come back from a commercial break during the Oscar Awards, and Jon Stewart and some girl (who I didn't recognize), are playing Wii Sports (Tennis) on a HUGE screen. I just think it's great that the little system that many thought wouldn't, has gone on to achieve iconic status!

[Simba3]

Wow! You know the Wii and Wii Sports has achieved iconic status, when they actually come back from a commercial break during the Oscar Awards, and Jon Stewart and some girl (who I didn't recognize), are playing Wii Sports (Tennis) on a HUGE screen. I just think it's great that the little system that many thought wouldn't, has gone on to achieve iconic status!

I saw that too, it was very funny. The girl was one of the singers for the song "Raise It Up" from August Rush, which was nominated for best original song. But yeah, I thought the two of them playing Wii on the HUGE screen was pretty cute.

[MadonnasManOne]

I saw that too, it was very funny. The girl was one of the singers for the song "Raise It Up" from August Rush, which was nominated for best original song. But yeah, I thought the two of them playing Wii on the HUGE screen was pretty cute.

Oh, okay. I thought that might have been her, but, I couldn't tell for sure. Let me say, that girl has some major talent!

[DarthPrime]

I saw that tonight too. The Wii has done amazing in capturing all types of gamers and non gamers. I still can't figure out why its been such a huge success, but it has. I guess the fact that it is so different from the 360, and the PS3 has helped it catch on outside of the traditional or hardcore gaming crowd.

On other news I did read something that is a little sad about the Wii online. They are going to start charging for some online games. If the game is a Pay to Play it will say it on the box with a red circle instead of the blue Wi-Fi that is currently used. I just wonder how many games will be released like this... It probably want hurt though. Microsoft has done well with Live on the XBox.

[MadonnasManOne]

I saw that tonight too. The Wii has done amazing in capturing all types of gamers and non gamers. I still can't figure out why its been such a huge success, but it has. I guess the fact that it is so different from the 360, and the PS3 has helped it catch on outside of the traditional or hardcore gaming crowd.

On other news I did read something that is a little sad about the Wii online. They are going to start charging for some online games. If the game is a Pay to Play it will say it on the box with a red circle instead of the blue Wi-Fi that is currently used. I just wonder how many games will be released like this... It probably want hurt though. Microsoft has done well with Live on the XBox.

The Wii has been such a huge success because it has made playing video games "fun", again, mainly because it's so easy to pick and up play. That's how it's been able to capture so many "non" and "casual" gamers.

As far as the Pay to Play games, only the feature has really been announced. Not much in the way of details. Most speculation figures that there will be different levels of what can be done online in the Pay to Play games. Some have speculated that Nintendo is planning a much more feature rich online experience for those who are willing to pay a little extra. What those features might be, are still to be revealed. I suspect that it will work very much like the online service for XBOX Live. More than likely, all games that have online will be free to play, but, if you want more features, you'll pay for those. I am interested to see if this will offer a significant upgrade in what the online service will offer. Here's hoping!

[DarthPrime]

I hope the online service is expanded and enhanced as well. I still like the ideal of online gaming being free. Although if they go with a pay service it will be alright if the experience is worth it.

I think in the long run they will run into some problems if they do something like Live. The Wii will need more storage space for downloaded content, levels, upgrades, etc... Maybe Nintendo can release an upgrade to use the SD cards for storage, or an external hard drive.

Your right the Wii is fun. The Wii's price I don't think has much effect on sales, but the controls do. Its different, and its working really well for Nintendo. It also has a huge amount of buzz around it from people who have never played it. Its still impossible to find one, and selling out as fast as it can be stocked in stores. I honestly don't remember a system, this long after its launch, being so hard to find. Its kind of crazy, but it also shows just how great the Wii is doing. Its going to be hard to beat Nintendo this generation.

[2099net]

I really don't see what the issue is with xBox Live. You pay a fee. Big deal. It comes to less than £1 a week (so I assume about $1 a week). What can you do with a dollar? Would you get potentially hours of entertainment from it like you do with xBox Live?

Xbox Live is more than just playing the games. It's a whole database of achievements, friends, blocked friends, messages (text, audio, video), video downloads, demo downloads and (most importantly) it's stable. (Except for two weeks around Christmas sadly). XBox Live is quite literally about half of the console's value. If you don't have Live, you're missing out on about 50% of what the xBox 360 does. I don't know why people expect this for free.

I also have a PS3, and the PSN just cannot compare to xBox Live. It's slow. So slow at downloading anything. Everything takes 2 to 3 times the speed of xBox Live. (Rumour is that this is because there's no PSN servers hosted in Europe, they're all in the US or Japan, despite the European market being Sony's current strongest). Admittedly, I've not played any multiplayer games on the PS3 beyond a quick half-hearted fiddle about on Resistance, but at least xBox Live is fully integrated into the console's OS meaning friends, messages and lobbies are all easily accessable and consistant in their look and feel.

[DarthPrime]

Got my Wii back today. Its a remanufactured unit, but looks perfect. Although its broke too.

I downloaded everything on Wii Shop again, but this unit will not take in disc in. I put my new Galaxy disc in and it took it in 1/4 of the way. It makes a "buzz saw" type sound, and I had to actually pull the disc back out. It also scratched the new disc up...

I'm at a loss for words... I guess I'll setup yet another repair. No Brawl for me on the 9th.

I have learned one lesson in this... NEVER buy a console without a store replacement warranty.

I'll keep everyone updated.

[DarthPrime]

A small update, but I called Nintendo again and I have to send my Wii back to Redmond WA.

This time they are going to transfer all my information to a new Wii, and not a remanufactured one. I get the 12 month warranty, plus since its a new Wii I'm able to register it and get the extended warranty (I will need to call them to do this since you can only register 1 Wii on your MyNintendo account). They said to send in Galaxy and the Wii again, and both will be replaced. Since this is my 3rd repair in a month they offered to send the new Wii back to me overnight instead of UPS ground. I thought that was nice, so I should still get to play Brawl sometime during its release week.

I asked them if I would be getting the entire Wii package since it was new (I was wondering what all I needed to send in too.), and they said they could only send the console. I was assured several times that it would be a brand new Wii, and they were really sorry for all the trouble I have had. They also were sorry that I had to be put on hold so much during my call.

I'm still real uneasy about actually getting a Wii back. I hope the 3rd time is a charm. I am glad they are offering to give me a new Wii, and not a repaired or remanufactured one this time. Hopefully that helps... I don't know.

I just can't believe all the trouble I've had... and right near Brawl's release date.