Topic: Japanese Wii Details

[Bloodworth]

BIG Update: More on Virtual Console, Wii menu and channels revealed, and a video trailer featuring a ton of new Wii games!  Updated again with info on Photo Viewer and links to more menu video!

BIG Update: Nintendo has launched the Official Wii website, containing different regions.  Only the Japan area is currently open, but that, combined with the Nintendo Japan Wii hardware page has revealed a ridiculous amount of information.  We will do our best to summarize the major stuff here, with links to relevant pages and video.    

More details on Virtual Console
 For starters, Nintendo has a lineup of 24 publishers currently listed as supporting Virtual Console in Japan.  (More details on pricing and availablity of games are at the bottom of this news story.)  More importantly, the page on Nintendo's site confirms another game system has been added to the lineup: The MSX.  Those unfamilar with the device (it wasn't really a standard console) can get schooled up about it at Wikipedia, but the important thing to know of it is franchises like Metal Gear, Dragon Quest, Puyo Puyo and others got their start on it.  It would seem obvious that some games from those series would eventually be available on VC.    

Wii Menu and Channels Revealed
 The only major things up on Wii.com at the moment are videos and explanations (in Japanese) of the menu system, and the things that will be included in it.  They are all controlled by pointing and clicking with the remote, and include:    

- Mii Channel: The area where you can create your customizable avatar.  It's not just limited to the face; body shape, hair, clothes can be changed along with every concieveable facial feature you can think of.  There's more to it that just the face-making, though, as there was a part of the video where a vast field of people were lined up, and able to be selected for some purpose.  The best way to understand it is to see the video for yourself...and even then, you might not get it.  [Update] More videos of Mii can be seen here and here.    

- News Channel and Weather Forecasting: Self explanatory, but any console connected to the Internet can see the latest news headlines and get weather information via the Wii menu.  See the videos of those in action, too.  [Update] More video of the weather feature can be seen on this page.    

- Wii Photo Viewer [Updated!]: Videos from the presentation show off the very impressive functionality of the photo viewer.  Pictures stored on SD cards can be viewed, rotated, and put into a slide show.  Even more impressive than that is the Wii can edit those photos using the Wii remote as the main tool (think Photoshop).  Even beyond that, the photos can be put together to form a sort of video montage.  To cap it all off, these creations can apparently be shared online via WiiConnect24.  Stunning.  Again, videos of it in action can be had at the link heading this paragraph.    

- Opera Browser: Video of it in action can be seen here.  Google and Google Maps were used to demo the browsing capabilities of Wii.    

Wii Games Trailer
 This is the big one.  Pictures speak louder than words, so just watch the video.  It contains games that have not been previously announced, and new footage for games already known.  The partial list of featured games include:    

-WiiSports Boxing
 -Deep Sea Diving
 -Fire Emblem
 -Trauma Center Second Opinion
 -Wing Island
 -Pokemon Battle Revolution
 -Harvest Moon
 -The Dog Island
 -Resident Evil - Mansion from original RE
 -New footage for Twilight Princess    

Almost all of the information coming out of the Japan Wii reveal is on Nintendo's website.  Here is the link to that; it's all in Japanese text, but many pages have video clips of more things not mentioned here, such as a calendar function, and confirmation of R-Type as a Virtual Console game, among other things.    

Remember, all of the information in this article contains information for the Japanese launch of the Wii.  Be advised details may be slightly different for the American and International versions of the presentation.  For the most part, though, what Japan is getting is pretty much the same as what everyone else will get.    

Come back to PGC later today for more details on Wii around the world.    

Big Update by Steven Rodriguez.    

   

UPDATE: NCL's site has updated with details on the contents of the box when you purchase:    

*Main body of Wii         Ã—1
 *Wii remote control  With strap         Ã—1
 *Nunchakus controller         Ã—1
 *AC adaptor only for Wii         Ã—1
 *AV cable only for Wii         Ã—1
 *Stand only for main body of Wii         Ã—1
 *Supplementary plate only for main body of Wii         Ã—1
 *Sensor bar only for Wii         Ã—1
 *Sensor bar stand         Ã—1
 *Batteries         Ã—2    

It appears that Wii Sports will be sold separately for 4800 yen.      

Nintendo expects sixteen total games to be available on launch day, including Zelda for 6800 yen.    

Also, prices for extra controllers were announced at:    

Remote - 3800 yen
 Nunchaku - 1800 yen
 Classic Controller - 1800 yen    

   

Original Story
 Original Link: http://www.famitsu.com/blog/express/    

With the Japanese Wii Preview underway, Famitsu and others are reporting details on the fly.    

In Japan, Wii will release at 25,000 yen on December 2nd.    

Prices for Virtual Console games are as follows:
 Famicom -500 yen
 Super Famicom - 800 yen
 N64 - 1000 yen    

Nintendo plans to release thirty Virtual Console titles of their own, with another thirty TurboGrafx and Genesis games coming as well, making for a total of sixty titles.  After that, Nintendo anticipates adding ten titles to the service each month. Titles can be purchased either via credit card or with a pre-paid Wii card.

[Artimus]

That converts to $212USD. If it goes for $250 in the US then Nintendo deserves to lose. Bleeding the consumer with that price would be idiotic.

And let me be the first to say: they lied about the release date. Plain and simple.

We should've known they'd screw up eventually. Hopefully it's not too big of a one.

[NWR_Lindy]

Hmmm, makes me wonder if the $250 report was a misquote.  With $212 USD as the price in Japan, $199.99 seems far more reasonable for the US.

Remember, NOA themselves haven't announced anything yet.

[Jensen]

they lied about the release date? they said "before thanksgiving", which is true in the US, and they said near simultaneous launch. 2 weeks is pretty close....

[mantidor]

ouch, one controller.

Then again this is Japan, lets hope the launch in this part of the pacific comes with two controllers, it would make sense if you compare both prices directly.

[Artimus]

Whoa, the Nunchuck and Wiimote are SEPARATE? $60 for the duo?! God, they're insane. What happened to affordability?

The ONLY good price so far is the Classic Controller at $20. And god knows it'll probably be $40 here at this rate.

[joedick]

The classic contrller seems to be reasonably priced.

Personally, I doubt there will be a second controller packed in the US. Let's hope I'm wrong!

[Moto Yugota]

Quote
Originally posted by: Silks
Hmmm, makes me wonder if the $250 report was a misquote.  With $212 USD as the price in Japan, $199.99 seems far more reasonable for the US.

Remember, NOA themselves haven't announced anything yet.

Quote
it would make sense if you compare both prices directly.

Um, the $250 number was never an actual price.  What was said is that it would be no more than $250.  $212 < $250, so this means absolutely nothing to the US launch, regardless of what it comes packed with (which will probably be no different than what's packed with the Japanese system).  Where did you people get the idea that $250 was the reported price?  Certainly not here or any other video game site that I've seen.  They all reported accurately what I just stated above.

[Artimus]

Quote
Originally posted by: Moto Yugota

Quote
Originally posted by: Silks
Hmmm, makes me wonder if the $250 report was a misquote.  With $212 USD as the price in Japan, $199.99 seems far more reasonable for the US.

Remember, NOA themselves haven't announced anything yet.

Quote
it would make sense if you compare both prices directly.

Um, the $250 number was never an actual price.  What was said is that it would be no more than $250.  $212 < $250, so this means absolutely nothing to the US launch, regardless of what it comes packed with (which will probably be no different than what's packed with the Japanese system).  Where did you people get the idea that $250 was the reported price?  Certainly not here or any other video game site that I've seen.  They all reported accurately what I just stated above.

LOL

The same sites you go to, only we visited them today. You must not have.

[Svevan]

$250 as posted by an NYT article.

The Japanese bundle is DIFFERENT than the US bundle, as we shall see in just a few hours. The Japanese bundle has no Wii Sports, and I'm holding out for an extra controller in the US bundle. So no, Nintendo is not dirty or rotten or evil. Just wait a few hours.  

[Moto Yugota]

Quote
Originally posted by: Artimus
That converts to $212USD. If it goes for $250 in the US then Nintendo deserves to lose. Bleeding the consumer with that price would be idiotic.

And let me be the first to say: they lied about the release date. Plain and simple.

We should've known they'd screw up eventually. Hopefully it's not too big of a one.

How can the release date be a lie when they never confirmed a release date to begin with?  Plus, this is the Japanese release date, not the NA release date, so anything that HAS been said about the NA release can't be proven true or false with this information at all.  All you're doing here is speculating with absolutely no reliable basis in fact to back you up.

[Artimus]

Quote
Originally posted by: Moto Yugota

Quote
Originally posted by: Artimus
That converts to $212USD. If it goes for $250 in the US then Nintendo deserves to lose. Bleeding the consumer with that price would be idiotic.

And let me be the first to say: they lied about the release date. Plain and simple.

We should've known they'd screw up eventually. Hopefully it's not too big of a one.

How can the release date be a lie when they never confirmed a release date to begin with?  Plus, this is the Japanese release date, not the NA release date, so anything that HAS been said about the NA release can't be proven true or false with this information at all.  All you're doing here is speculating with absolutely no reliable basis in fact to back you up.

You need to step out of last week and get with the picture, sister.

They said Q4 before Thanksgiving and 'the competition'.

[Strell]

You know.

If you had asked me a few days ago..."Jolly Strell, how could Nintendo postively ruin the hype trainmobile they are on, and utterly destroy their launch?"

I probably would have said everything, as well as "include some scorpions in the box."

No Wii sports, plus it is WAY less cool than it was hyped to be.
No second controller.
HUGE prices on VC and extra controllers.
50-60 dollars for games despite lower dev costs.
No new IPs announced.
No new secrets on the Wiimote.
Big name games being delayed left and right.
$250 price tag.
Launching after PS3.
No new IPs.
No indie stuff (which I wasn't counting on anyway).
No neat stuff with the VC (alterations, etc).

I mean, what the hell else could you possibly screw up there?

Someone at another forum said "well it's obvious why Nintendo has been so quiet - they didn't want to tell us what the score was."

Wow.

I had better hear more agreeable sh*t tomorrow.  

[NWR_Lindy]

Maybe the $250 report came from  right here.  However, the Seattle newspaper story was taken down and I can't see anything on the NY Times site regarding Wii.

Maybe it was a ruse by Nintendo to scare people, only to "surprise" them with the real, cheaper price.

[Moto Yugota]

Quote
Originally posted by: Artimus

Quote
Originally posted by: Moto Yugota

Quote
Originally posted by: Silks
Hmmm, makes me wonder if the $250 report was a misquote.  With $212 USD as the price in Japan, $199.99 seems far more reasonable for the US.

Remember, NOA themselves haven't announced anything yet.

Quote
it would make sense if you compare both prices directly.

Um, the $250 number was never an actual price.  What was said is that it would be no more than $250.  $212 < $250, so this means absolutely nothing to the US launch, regardless of what it comes packed with (which will probably be no different than what's packed with the Japanese system).  Where did you people get the idea that $250 was the reported price?  Certainly not here or any other video game site that I've seen.  They all reported accurately what I just stated above.

LOL

The same sites you go to, only we visited them today. You must not have.

Reporting on speculation articles from two newspapers that rarely have anything to do with video games at all, including one that is rarely accurate in it's speculations, is hardly worth even actually mentioning.  The NYT is hardly reputable for even mainstream information, why would their video game information be any more reliable?

[Moto Yugota]

Quote
Originally posted by: Silks
Maybe the $250 report came from  right here.  However, the Seattle newspaper story was taken down and I can't see anything on the NY Times site regarding Wii.

Maybe it was a ruse by Nintendo to scare people, only to "surprise" them with the real, cheaper price.

Seriously, you people put way too much faith in newspaper articles put up on websites.  Even if they publish it in paper format, newspapers are hardly the accurate fact-gatherers that they used to be.

[Moto Yugota]

Quote
Originally posted by: Silks
Maybe the $250 report came from  right here.  However, the Seattle newspaper story was taken down and I can't see anything on the NY Times site regarding Wii.

Maybe it was a ruse by Nintendo to scare people, only to "surprise" them with the real, cheaper price.

Okay, just read that article from this site.  Now I find everyone's response even more ridiculous.  One newspaper quoting another newspaper???  And you can't find the original source anywhere???  How can you honestly even BEGIN to consider that a reliable source?

[mantidor]

many of us did saw the original source before it was pulled off, and these are newspapers that are serious about reporting stuff, they are not joystiq.

[Bloodworth]

Considering what the article had right (that nobody knew about at the time), I'd say they're probably on target.

[BigJim]

Last I checked the PI story was back up, too.

No reason not to believe it. Other than chances of false hope.

IGN has already said NYT broke an embargo. Which means they also knew before NYT announced it themselves.

[Jensen]

wii.com is up.... the Wii interface is quite rad, I love the avatar/friends/Mii section  

[Svevan]

And you don't trust the NYT, which is trusted and quoted by nearly every major media outlet in the world? And, by the way, newspapers run stories from other newspapers all the time. Get real.

[KDR_11k]

Quote
Originally posted by: Artimus
Whoa, the Nunchuck and Wiimote are SEPARATE? $60 for the duo?! God, they're insane. What happened to affordability?

The ONLY good price so far is the Classic Controller at $20. And god knows it'll probably be $40 here at this rate.

I don't know where you're getting those exchange rates from but I'm guessing it's depicted on Goatse. Google: 3800 JPY + 1800 JPY in $ = 47$, 1800 JPY in $ = 15$

[WuTangTurtle]

I'm perfectly fine with both the date and price, and wii sports included (boxing FTW!) i don't see the 360 or PS3 doing anything even compareable so nobody should be complaining.  Especially when u factor in the items you need to buy for both the 360 and PS3 to use it to its fullest those price gaps further make Nintendo the most affordable by far.

I mean c'mon Zelda is a launch title and Mario and Super Smash Bros will follow up to ensure there isn't a dryspell, personally I see the launch doing extremely well.  I'm telling ya PS3's will sell out their 2 million systems worldwide but by then Nintendo will have double that.  Forecast is looking very well, very well indeed.

[Nephilim]

NINTENDOGS WIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

anyone noticed that nunchuck was wireless during the baseball promo?
link was evil when he pulled the mastersword out too... weird and awsome!
raganok style chat room? check out at the end of the end of the male avatar vid....looks great