With the newer consoles having been on sale for a number of months now, it is not unexpected that availability of previous generation accessories may become scarce. However, with the Wii doubling as a GameCube and its ability to use GameCube controller for its on Wii games, I'm surprised how quickly the supply for GameCube controllers has dried up almost entirely. Specifically, I'm talking about WaveBirds.

Is there any chance more WaveBirds will be produced and put out to market? Perhaps even a newer version that more closely matches the aesthetics of the Wii console? Either option would be preferable to the current situation where the WaveBird seems to quickly be aging itself into "Collector's Item" status. A revamped white WaveBird would be great, but I'd take the "classic," too.

Any word of a change in the current situation?

- starfx6464
Seattle

I didn't think about this, seeing as I've had a WaveBird since its launch. However, walking around various retailers this week seems to confirm that the GameCube wireless controllers are scarce. EB/GameStop doesn't have them online, either. On the one hand, it is understandable that since it's a GameCube accessory, and the GameCube is a dead and done system, there would be little point in carrying anything for it. Then again, it is compatible with the Wii.

The way I figure it, Nintendo would rather you use the Wii remote as the wireless controller for Wii instead of GameCube controllers. Although they would be nice to have for playing GC games, the backwards compatibility is not the main feature of the console. Using GC controllers to play Wii games isn't something Nintendo would particularly prefer, either.

I don't know for sure if the controllers are being discontinued by Nintendo. It would surprise me if they were discontinued actually. What's probably happening is that it's not producing them at the capacity it once was, which is understandable.

I've been dying to ask this question for a while, and no one else seems to be getting to it, so here goes. In the last mailbag, someone asked about the viability of arcade games/ Wii collaborations that end up on the console eventually. My question is, since the arcade market is "dead" IYO, why haven't games such as Mario Kart and F-Zero AX appeared on the Gamecube, or now, the Wii? It wouldn't seem to be a hardware issue, since they run off of basically the same guts. Conversion would seem to be fairly quick, compared to the development cycle of a new, original franchise. Has no one thought of this? Or is the original content of those two games simply not enough to warrant releasing those games on the Wii?

Lastly, could you explain the cancellation of Radio Allergy? If the game was compatible with the Wii, why would it have been canceled? The Gamecube format would only have helped its multicrossover appeal. There are still quite a few young gamers out there who cannot afford any of the new systems, much less a brand new game. A new GC title, reportedly for less than 30 bucks, not to mention playable on the Wii? That seems like a no-lose proposition. Someone needs to explain the market to these companies. You don't sell games strictly by the market research you've gathered.

There are all kinds of markets and clients to be catered to, and pleasing them all will gather the greatest amount of profit.

- rshak8
Bellevue

All the content in F-Zero AX is actually in F-Zero GX. The 10 arcade characters are unlockable by taking your GameCube save to the arcade, or by completing the story mode chapters on Very Hard. One way may be easier than the other, depending on if you were able to locate an arcade unit. The six tracks are in there, too. As it is, AX is basically a really expensive version of a slice of GX, so there was no point in bringing AX to the GameCube. It was already there!

Arcade games are usually not ported directly to the home console because of how limited in scope arcade games usually are. They are designed to be quarter-munching quick play games. Asking someone to pay full price for something that is usually played for a total of 5-10 minutes is a tall order. However, Mario Kart Arcade GP is a different story. It's got 24 tracks, over 100 items to cream people with and a magnetic card system to save game process. It's about as fully-featured as most console games and it, like F-Zero AX, runs on the Triforce arcade hardware. Triforce is basically a GameCube—and by extension, a Wii. So why not move the game to the console?

I have no idea. Moving it to the Wii would probably make the most sense now that the GameCube is out of the picture, and in fact Nintendo could very well be doing that. At the very least it could be basing the next Mario Kart game, which is surely in development right now in some form or another, off the arcade versions. There's also the possibility that Namco is developing the next Wii Mario Kart. I hope that's the case, because I would really like to see the game show up in America (and Europe! (and Australia!!)) for everyone to get a chance to play it.

Now, about Radio Allergy. It was going to be a $30 shoot-'em-up you could play on the Wii that was going to be competing with a few dozen $5, $6 and $8 shoot-'em-ups you can play on the Wii. Virtual Console killed Radio Allergy from coming to the United States, pure and simple. Only hardcore SHMUP fans would have bothered buying the game, but chances are they're already buying them on VC. Publisher O3 dropped the game because it knew there wasn't any money to be made by selling a niche game to an audience that's already moved on to something else (Wii VC) or doesn't care for the genre (current GC owners). Developer Milestone still wants to release the game as part of a compilation, because it also realizes that the game is not going to sell by itself unless it's under $10.

People won't buy something just because it's there. You can't assume that people will buy Radio Allergy because it's a new GameCube game that is Wii-compatible. Even if they did, would the publisher sell enough copies to turn a profit on the game? Multiple factors, including market research and competition analysis, told them that it probably wouldn't. That's business sense.

I know Nintendo said that there will be no problems with the Wii overheating, but the other day, while I was playing Mario Party 8, my Wii suddenly shut off on me. I unplugged it, and plugged it back in, and the light by the power button still wouldn't come on. So I unplugged the cords from the back of the system, and plugged them back in, and it finally came back on. I rebooted my game, only for it to turn off within a 10 or 20 minutes. I left it alone for the night, because both the Wii, and the game disc felt really hot. Then this morning, after about an hour and a half of playing, it shut off again! I can't handle this. What do you think I should do?

- Mii Hott
Minnesota

Electronics naturally become warm when they work. My Wii gets very hot when I take it to a friend's house and stuff it in a narrow space, but I've never had problems because I make sure the intake and exhaust vents on the Wii are clear. I would think you're not doing that, as I've never heard of a Wii doing this.

Just make sure the vents on your Wii are clear of obstruction. This means the holes in the back and on the (vertical) bottom aren't blocked off. Also make sure there's nothing that's pumping warm air directly into your system, like the exhaust from another electronics device. If this isn't your problem, try calling up Nintendo to see what else they can suggest.

Hello Steve,

I have a regular DS (DS dark?) and it's beginning to get pretty scratched up. I'm wondering if I should wait for Nintendo to release a new model of the DS, or settle with a DS lite which I would be less satisfied with.

Do you think Nintendo is due to release a micro equivalent? Once they run out of colors, don't they kick up sales with a new model? Thanks.

- the Mystery Man
With Cheney in an undisclosed location

No way there will be a third DS model. The DS Lite is here to stay for a long time. Get a pink one right now!

I will turn my Wii on and push a button on my Wiimote so that it will come on and communicate with the Wii. Well, every so often, the Wiimote won't connect. And it's not due to a lack of battery, I know this because the lights flash showing that its charged. Why won't my controller connect? What is happening, and why does it only happen once in a blue moon?

- doug
ct

This happened to me once, and for the life of me I couldn't figure out what was going on. Some of our other staffers have reported this happening to them too, some more than others. I had a theory that it may have had something to do with a connected GameCube controller, but it's been happening to people without them connected. It may just be an anomaly of some sort. I really don't know, and I really hope it doesn't happen again!

Hello to everyone at NWR!

So, Metroid Prime 3 will be out in just 2 months, and then Halo 3 a month after that. Do you think Corruption's control will be so good, that it may make Halo look bad? I've been thinking about a lot lately; What if gamers find that MP3 feels so real, that by the time Halo is out, many gamers will find the traditional controller dated (at least for a FPS), and just go back to playing Metroid. What's your opinion on this, will Corruption have an effect on the success of Halo 3?

- Rodimus Prime
Belgrade

I doubt the success of either game will affect the other. And I know for sure that one game isn't going to change console FPS gaming as we know it forever. A lot of people are going to get Halo 3, definitely more than the five million that got Halo and the six million that got Halo 2. Most of those people aren't going to care that you can point and shoot at things with the Wii remote because they won't have a Wii. They'll be quite happy playing Halo online with their friends and foes all day and all night. Just like I will.

I mean, the mouse and keyboard is still the gold standard in FPS gaming. If method of control was such a vital factor, the PC version of Halo would have caused everyone playing it on the Xbox to stop. Halo 2 PC isn't going to chance much of anything either, especially with how Microsoft is handling Vista online gaming. When Metroid 3 and Halo 3 come out in August and September, the Wii and Xbox 360 will have their big-name shooters. That's all that will happen. Five years from now, people will still be playing Halo 3. Maybe Wii owners will have a big-time online FPS of their own by then.