I'm going to the usa next week and was wondering if I buy a Wii-mote from there will it work with a PAL wii???????????

Thanks inadvance, I look forward to reading your reply

Standard accessories, like the controller, will work with any system from any region. It's the exact same hardware. As it turns out, I'm so desperate for Wii component cables for my U.S. system that I've resorted to importing them from Japan. Hopefully I'll luck out and get them in the first shipment!

I don't have the magic console yet, so all of the information I am hearing about Wii updates is second-hand. Second-hand is bad. So I am asking YOU: Is there any way to refuse updates from Nintendo, short of disconnecting your Wii from the 'net? It sounds to me like updates come over the air unbidden, and you arent even notified as to what the update does. As a consumer, I am offended by this (if it is true) ... I paid cash money for my console, it should be MY choice as to what happens to it. I dont want to accept updates if i have no idea what they are doing to my box. Has anyone brought this up before?

M.

Sure, you can refuse them. The console will work just fine without any updates, since not every Wii will be connected to the Internet. If all you want to do is play disc games, you'll be fine. However, if you want to do anything online with WiiConnect24 like buy Virtual Console games, you won't be able to do much without putting those updates in. The last time I went into the Wii Shop Channel, I couldn't browse or do anything until I updated my system. (I did.) This is what the connected console era is bringing, and if you don't like it, your only real option is to pull the plug.

Of course, the Wii interface, console firmware, Internet service and all of the other stuff that your console can do is really owned by Nintendo. The thing you purchased is just the means to use their services and to connect to their servers. Did you bother reading all of that legal stuff when you were setting up your console for the first time? Accepting it—whether you read it or not—is the same as saying you agree to let them do things like the console updates. Once you're on Nintendo's court, you need to play by their rules. That's just how it is.

I was reading and saw the article titled virtual console Mondays. :-) This is great is every week you ran an article on the list of games on the system! :-) I love the redesign and my own 12 hours Wii wait on launch day was well worth it. :-) I do have a question though.

1) I have seen demo stations or (Kiosks) as they are called in stores such as Target and yet no Wii remote. Do you think this could hurt Nintendo? (Maybe the average consumer wants to try it but there is no controller there to try it on.) :-( (I know how people at Gamestop handed there keys then use the Wii controller but I am talking about your average store Target,Best Buy etc.)>

Yeah, I saw that Wii kiosk at a Target too. There was indeed no remote to play it with! Nintendo kind of got themselves in a tricky situation with the demo kiosk thing. Tying down the controller would be awkward, and letting anyone use it freely would get it easily stolen. Retailers can't babysit people playing the game demos, but the specialty stores can. You can go to an EB or GameStop to try out a Wii, but then of course you're going to need to leave your driver's license, keys or something else you don't want to trade a remote for.

There's no doubt it's going to be a negative for Nintendo, but how big and for how long remains to be known. Every time I walk into my local Best Buy, I see a crowd of people huddled around the playable PlayStation 3 kiosk. The only thing they can do with the Wii display is look at the games. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to see why that's not favorable for Nintendo, and is probably one of the reasons for their marketing campaign. You know, the grassroots/viral/word-of-mouth thing. Their hope is that people hear about the Wii and know about it before they go to the store and see the demo stations side by side. By then it probably wouldn't take as much convincing. We'll see how it works out for Nintendo.

Does the Wii play history feature keep track of Gamecube and/or Virtual Console games?

Thanks, Jon

For Virtual Console games, yes it does. It tells you the name of the game and for how long you played it at a time, just like with any other Wii game or channel. GameCube games aren't recorded in play history, since once you select to play a GC game from the Disc Channel, your Wii turns into a GameCube and no longer does any of that play history stuff. Oh well.

Hi

I am from Ireland but I'm living for a year in Canada. Now with the recent debates about region free wii, I haev a problem. I would really like to get a wii, but what should I do?

1 Get a wii Ntsc version from Canada. And when I go to Europe buy a signal converter and tranformer and buy all Ntsc games.

Or

2 Get a system from Ireland, which will work when I return home. But can I get the system to work in Canada, with the right connections?

But there are issues with the right tv's and Will the virtual console work for each region. Or must all virtual games be downloaded for the right signal.

Thanks

Leo O'Reilly

Oh boy, that's a sticky situation. If I were you, I would get a system from Ireland and tough it out for that first year. I think you'll thank yourself for doing so two or three years from now. It's a hassle to convert voltages and video signals, and since you're intent on getting the Wii before you leave North America you might as well put up with that hassle for the short-term. You'll have the system for at least four or five years, after all.

There's also Virtual Console regions. If you get an American system, you can only get all the Virtual Console stuff from America. In case you didn't know, our VC lineup sucks at the moment. (Then again, it could suck just as much over there as well.) There may be special Europe-only things that you won't be able to get if you're stuck connecting to Nintendo of America, so there's another reason to stay away from the NTSC systems.

So again, get an Irish Wii. Make sure the TV you're using in Canada can accept a PAL signal. If it does, the only hoop you'll need to jump is the voltage conversion one. Else you'll need a video converter.

Despite trying to get my Wii to cooperate with my dad's hyper-secure wireless network, I am unable to get it to connect. I am unable to use the Wi-Fi USB adapter for the DS, as it would cause a security hole in the network. I know that eventually there will be an Ethernet adapter that hooks up via the USB ports, but I'd like a more definite answer. Do you guys know when the ethernet adapter will be available? I imagine several others who can't access a wi-fi network would like to know too.

--MadCat

Nintendo's online store has it listed as coming out in "early January 2007." It won't be too great of a wait. To tell the truth, all you online folks really aren't missing much. Right now all Wii can do online is send message board messages, bounce Miis around and browse a meager Virtual Console selection. (That fact needs repeating.) By the time you get online, there might be more to do. You never know, we could even see some online games by then.

Eh, who am I kidding?

Hi guys. Love the site, longtime fan.

So I have a wireless network in my house that I plan to get my Wii on whenever I get one. Currently on the network are 3 computers, one in my kitchen, one in my bedroom, and my laptop. We recently had to secure the network because we found out some of our neighbors were stealing it. Anyway, my question is, once I get my Wii up and running, it isn't going to cause a noticeable slowdown to how the other computers in my household perform online, is it? If it does, I question if its worth it to get my Wii online at all. Speed on my computers is very important to me, understandably.

Thanks!

My computer and Xbox 360 are both on LAN, and have another computer and my Wii (and DS and PSP from time to time) on the WAN. I upload things very frequently on my machine, and I haven't noticed any speed drops or anything as of yet due to the Wii being added into the mix. Although the Wii is on and connected to the Internet 24/7, my up/down speeds have stayed about the same. If you're paranoid about it, you can always set the console to stay off the Internet when you turn it off. Your system's standby light will be red when you do that, instead of the orange it is when WC24 is active.

Like I said in the previous question, the Wii's online functionality is pretty limited to start off with. Essentially, all it is doing right now is checking mail and browsing web pages. (The Wii Shop Channel is actually a modified website for use with the Wii.) It's not exactly bandwidth intensive stuff. If you want to do something like play games online, which need more bandwidth to run smoothly, then of course it will hog up your network's resources. Any online console does that, or any online PC game for that matter. I need to throttle down my FTP upload speed if I want to do some online racing on my 360, or else I'll get lagged out of the game.

We'll need to see how the first batch of Wii online games fare, but expect them to be taxing on your Internet connection.

Hey Bag,

Don't know if this will be in time to make the next bag, but I might as well try right? I was just wondering if the only way to get wii points will be to purchase them? I'm thinking that it would be awsome if nintendo made it possible to earn wii points, either by completing a wii game (such as Zelda), completing a game on a certian difficulty (such as Call of Duty3) or buy achieving a high finishing percentage (In games like Metroid). Also, someone on the forums suggested something like a wii points giveaway to online smash bros tournaments. I think that all of the ideas above are great, and I know I would enjoy the opportunity to pay for a virtual consol game with credit earned by maticulasly beating the games that I have. Do you think that any of these ideas might ever materialize?

Oh, that's a good question. And you just made it in time for me to answer it!

Don't expect to ever see Nintendo hand out freebie points through game accomplishments. If they did that, then it would mean they'd be giving you money for free. Sure, it would be great for us, but I think Nintendo would rather they get paid actual money for all of their Wii downloads. People wanted the same thing with the Gamerscore and Marketplace Points systems on the Xbox 360, but that was never going to happen, either.

I think awarding points through online promotions, tournaments and the like is very possible. Handing out 100 or 200 points from time to time via a special promo would generate a lot of Wii Points sales, since you can't buy anything with 200 points. It could make for a very attractive carrot for people to make the plunge and send Nintendo their money buy a Virtual Console game if they hadn't already done so.

Good news! The NWR mailbag now has a mailbag submission form to make it quicker and easier for you to ask us a question (and for me to read them)! That means you don't have to open your email client. You see that? We've already saved you a step!

Go on, ask your questions. The form link is right underneath this paragraph. And above it. Or maybe one is a false link? Choose wisely! I'll be back next week with some very formal questions, but only if you send some in!