Just wanted to wish you all at NintendoWorldReport a merry Christmas and to thank you all for your awesome coverage of everything Nintendo!

- TheJuggla17
New Jersey USA

Aww, thanks! The same to you, and to all of our readers!

I am a really big fan of the Metroid Prime games. I have played each of the two on Gamecube so many times, on hard mode. I have scanned everything, and am very interested and impressed by the story so far. But now that Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is coming out, I might not get to play it because I cannot afford the new Wii console. So my question is will there be a Gamecube version of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, like there is a Gamecube version of The Legend of Zelda: the Twilight Princess ?

- Milorad

Nope. The game has been developed from the ground up for the Wii, and will only be on the Wii. Consider Twilight Princess to be Nintendo's last real GameCube game.

When will we get any sort of functionality involving the DS and Wii? It's a feature I haven't heard much about since the Wii was still the Revolution and came in 5-6 different colors.

We were supposed to be able to use the DS as a controller, as well as download software from the Wii among other things. Has this interoperability been scrapped? Does the Wii even have the ability to connect directly with the DS or would we have to use WiFi? Would it require a bluetooth adapter for the DS? Does it even make business sense for Nintendo?

Sorry for the loaded question... but I know you're the guys to ask.

- Captain N
Columbus, OH

DS-Wii connectivity will get here eventually. Just like how we had to wait a bit for the promised Internet, Forecast and News channels, the ability to hook up with the DS and/or DS games is something Nintendo is still working on. Just because it hasn't showed up yet doesn't mean it won't be there.

Given what we know about the Wii, it's clear it will (eventually) act as a hub to download DS demos from, like the DS download stations that are setup in retailers across the country. That would mean, of course, that the Wii would need to be connected to the Internet, either wirelessly or via the soon-to-be-released Ethernet adapter. It would be nice to be able to download DS demos from the Internet directly onto the DS with the handheld's own wireless features, but Nintendo hasn't mentioned anything like that happening.

And of course, it makes perfect business sense for Nintendo to dish out DS demos. Wii demos too, if technically possible. Especially now that Nintendo's line is "playing is believing," the only way people are going to know that buying the games would be worth it would be to download demos on the DS so people can see for themselves. There will be a lot of people who just download one, play it and be done with it, but if more people are exposed to a game that can only lead to increased sales in the long run.

Hi NWR. First off let me say #1 I love this submission thing and #2 You put your opinions on the Virtual Console games (I thought about back at E3 as I am sure many have.) Great job and Happy Holidays.

My question is how do you think Wii games will play online? I am mainly concerned about cheaters such as the credit card strikes in bowling on Clubhouse games and the headshots in Metal Gear Solid:Portable Ops. It takes the fun out of the online gaming experience. Beating you online fairly with a Zelda vs. Mario battle in Smash Bros. Brawl is no fun if the other player cheats or is super good like the headshot thing. Can you think of any ways Nintendo could remedy this or are we doomed to cheaters&super good players taking the fun out of the game?

- Brandy

Good question. Online cheating is something that can totally ruin a gaming experience for everyone. It doesn't take many bad apples to spoil the bushel, so trying to get rid of them should be a top priority for any online gaming network. The gold standard is obviously Xbox Live, where the closed network makes it very difficult to cheat, and even more difficult to get away with it without losing your account privileges. However, using "cheats" like the credit card trick on the DS are impossible to catch. What if that guy who bowled a 285 was just really good? Could you prove otherwise? Probably not. With the different input methods of the DS and Wii, developers will need to make sure their control implementations aren't prone to blatant cheating.

For the people that are really cheating, I'm hoping that Nintendo will have some way to ban individual Wii consoles from the WiiConnect24 network. If they are caught doing something that is clearly illegal in a game, they should pay the penalty. This may be possible now that it looks like we'll just have to deal with one friend code for one console on the Wii, instead of codes for every game on the DS. I suppose Nintendo could also ban serial numbers, but I don't know if that info is being sent over the Internet or not.

Separating the good players from the not-so-good is something that can be done on the developer level. If the game keeps track of your rankings both online and off it would be easier to find people that are just as good (or as bad) as you are. Mario Kart DS had something like this with the Rivals search option, and, Tetris DS does it automatically. But for Metroid or Clubhouse, it's a crap shoot. I sincerely hope that Nintendo and other online developers put some Xbox Live matchmaking-like features into online Wii games, because everyone would be better off for it.

Oh, and before someone asks: Snaking is not cheating. As long as you play within the rules of the game, it's all fair.

so I hear that this new legend of zelda game for wii has already been in development for an entire year. do you guys think it will be realistic, along the lines of twilight princess? or do you think it will be cel-shaded the way windwaker was? I really don't mind at this point because after twilight princess I have my mature zelda to hold me off this whole generation! but.....I have heard this AWFUL rumor that the nesxt zelda game would star tingle, and not link, as the main character. hopefully that's not true, because even someone as cooky as shigeru miyamoto himself wouldn't go that far. I hope......

- ghost of hyrule
Phoenix, AZ

Tingle, ha. That's a good one. But seriously, what can Nintendo do to top Twilight Princess? Well, they have been saying something along the lines that TP will be the "last Zelda as we know it." What does that mean? Well, the one thing that I've always wondered about is why the "Legend of Zelda" always has to star a Hylian named Link. Yeah, he's the ancient hero and all, but what about Zelda? What about Ganon? Wouldn't it be nice to see that legend stuff from their corners of the Triforce?

I'm starting to think that we're going to see the end as Link being the primary hero in the games. He'll always play a role in the story (he has a piece of the Triforce in his palm, after all), but it may be lessened somewhat. What I'm basically trying to say here is that it's time we got games that starred Zelda or Ganon. People have been wanting something like that for the longest time, and now that the Zelda series has climbed to its peak, perhaps it's time for Nintendo to scale another mountain.

I don't know what Nintendo will do next, but I'm already convinced they won't try to out-Zelda themselves. In fact, I think Nintendo has dropped several allusions to the future of the series in Twilight Princess. I'm not going to say what they might be here (NO SPOILERS), but I'm sure there were some lines in the game that might have raised some eyebrows. They sure did mine.

To NintendoWorldReport:

I currently do not own a Wii, and I don't plan on getting one until sometime next year. Thing is, I really don't want Wii Sports. How long do you think it will take Nintendo to discontinue the bundle?

- Someone

I anticipate Wii Sports will be bundled with the Wii until next year's holiday period, wherein Nintendo will probably announce a "price drop" and offer the Wii without a free game for $220 or $200. I came across a rumor that this might happen as early as April, but it would be a silly thing to do considering how fast the console is selling because of the game. Without Wii Sports, the system would lose a lot of its market appeal at a time when Nintendo will probably start catching back up with production to meet demand (in regions outside of Japan, at least).

Wii Sports is a fine game to have packed into the console, though. I didn't think I would be playing the game any more than a week or two, but now I think it's something I'll be playing for many, many more months. It's really fun, even if it doesn't look like it. If it comes time to get a Wii and Wii Sports is still in the package, you might as well get it. Just hope the console won't be as in demand then as it has been this holiday!

Hello NintendoWorldReport,

I have a question for you about receiving updates or messages through wiiconnect24. I know you can send a receive messages through the Wii and even Nindento said that those connected around Christmas will receive a present from them. My question is what happens when someone sends you something durring a period where you momentarily loose power or internet service? Will the message wait in Nintenod's server until you reconnect or will you just never receive it? This bothers me every time I come home to my Wii and see that I have lost power since the yellow light it red (apparently you must power up the unit for it to reconnect). I fear that Nintendo might have sent me a free virtual console game and I missed it. Thanks very much and happy holidays.

- Matthew
Long Island, New York

Don't worry, Nintendo keeps your mail on its servers until you get on the Internet and download it. The Wii essentially acts like a webmail client with its own email address. Like a Yahoo Mail or Gmail account, you can log in any time to read your email. It'll stay on there indefinitely between logins. You won't miss anything!

There won't be any free Virtual Console games, though. That's pretty much a given.

Good job with evrything, you guys rock!

my question is do you think nintendo will ever release a hand held smash bros (or more specifically for the DS). Surely there is a huge demand for it and the system should be able to handle a fairly full featured game (considering the success of the N64 Smash Bros) Am i asking for too much with this one or is there a chance my wish will be granted?

- SmashBro
Australia

I think the DS and Smash Bros. would be a perfect fit. There are more than enough buttons on the DS to facilitate the kind of moves one would need to do, and the touch screen could be used for special moves, secondary items or DS-specific features. Any single player mode included would need to be custom-designed for the DS and its portable nature, but you could probably take the multiplayer levels straight out of the N64 game, add in some more characters and include some exclusive DS content and make everyone would be happy. I sure would be!

1. I recently heard that Red Steel has been dumped using the GOD/WOD unscrambler. What does this mean for Nintendo in terms of piracy problems and what does this mean for gamers in terms of hacks for future games?

2. Some people have been complaining about the bounding box controls on Wii FPS where you have to point the wiimote all the way to the edge of the screen in order to turn. Why can't developers just make it so you can hold down a button and move the wiimote for turning and when you release the button the pointer goes back to aiming?

- silkylove
New York

1. Nothing. In the realm of piracy, getting dumps off of game discs can be done with both hands tied behind one's back. Once they have the data from the disc, they really can't do anything with it other than burn it to a DVD disc and look at it. Until the pirate community can start getting an unmodified game console top run unsigned code, that's when a game company should worry. Even if a modchip or laser lens comes out that can enable copied games to be played, such a small percentage of people will ever have access to it that it's just a bother to a giant like Nintendo.

2. I believe Ubisoft applied a similar method of control in the Wii version of Far Cry: Vengeance. (Hold down the button for aiming, let go for turning.) We'll have our review of the game up eventually, but early reports are showing that it doesn't look like it works very well. I guess developers will get it right eventually.

Now, I know that the Wii isn't trying to become know for superb graphics, but why are the graphics barely better than the Gamecube? I think there would be a notable improvement in graphics over the GC, but I haven't seen anything to make me think the Wii is any more powerful than the GC. Granted, I haven't played/seen every game, but most of the reviews I've read put the graphics at a 7-7.5 out of 10. For that matter, which game do you think looks the best from those released so far? Raving Rabids might be my choice, but I think in a lot of ways Zelda looks the best which is odd seeing as it's a gamecube game.

- trueruppe
San Francisco Bay Area

There are two reasons behind Wii games not looking that much better than GC games. The first is that most of the Wii launch games are ports of GameCube/PS2/Xbox versions. Rather than taking time to take advantage of the improved hardware power, developers just made sure things worked and released the games on the Wii pretty much as they were on the older platforms. There are some games that are worse than others, obviously. This explains why the games on the lower end of the graphical spectrum don't look so hot.

So what about good looking games? I think Zelda and Rayman are the best-looking ones of the bunch, but they still aren't that much better than what's possible on the GameCube. The Wii should be capable of more, so why don't we see it in the launch titles?

Six months ago during an investor's meeting Shigeru Miyamoto stated that he hasn't yet used 100% of the GameCube's power. Even though Nintendo released some mighty good looking games, there was still juice left in the juice box. If Nintendo still had more to squeeze out of it, that must mean other developers haven't even come close to realizing the GameCube's full potential.

That's the other reason Wii launch games don't look as good as they should. If the Wii is two or three times as powerful as the GameCube, that doesn't mean that the games on the Wii will automatically look two or three times better. Even though it's architecturally identical to the GameCube, the Wii is still a new piece of hardware, and developers will need some time to find its limits. Developers still haven't found the GameCube's after five years, so one can't assume they'll unlock the Wii this quickly. It shouldn't be long until all Wii games look better than the GameCube, but it will probably be while until we see that Wii game that turned heads toward the system like Resident Evil 4 did for the GameCube.

Hey hey bag!

After waiting 17 hours in line on launch day at Best Buy for the Wii, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that it was totally worth it (the experience as well as the console itself). So, I've had the Wii since release, and just recently I noticed that it gets warm - very warm - if it's just left idling. I'll turn it off for they day and come back the next to find one side as hot as a hot plate. The other consoles I won never exhibited this kind of phenomena. Is this normal? Should I unplug the Wii from time to time in order to avoid any potential risk to the console?

Thanks much

- Wolfen

It's normal. All electronic devices generate heat in one form or another. I leave mine on all the time, and it also gets a little warm. That's the nature of electronics, so you have nothing to fear. Leave it on all day so you can see when that blue light turns on!

Hi there. I'm currently looking to purchase a new TV. The one I have is old and the picture's going, and whatnot. It's time. What I'm looking for, though, is the recommendation of what kind of TV would be best. I need something for me Wii, but something that could go HD, because I really, REALLY want to get a 360. Dead Rising is gonna make me drop money. >.<

What do you suggest? Is the lag really bad with a Wii, as was mentioned earlier? Is HD the wrong way to go? I don't really want a super-expensive TV. Can't afford it. I'd like something HD, maybe in the 20s in terms of diagonal inches, widescreen would be nice ... I just don't know. What do you guys have, what do you suggest? I want something that'll last, look gorgeous, and not kill my wallet.

Thanks.

- Tir

If you plan to get a 360, an HD set is a must. You can have a lag-free HD experience if you get a CRT HDTV. I have one, and it's wonderful. The only drawback to them is that the smallest ones they make have 26" screens and are very, very deep. If space is an issue, you may have no other option but to get a smaller LCD.

Better LCDs have less lag. If you find a good one, you can play the majority of games without many problems. It only really becomes a major issue when you play games that require strict timing (music games) or have a television with a very, very slow response time. You'll want to look at sets that have a high refresh rate (low ms). Newer TVs also have a special mode for gaming, where the signal processing is cut to a minimum to get the picture on the screen as fast as possible. Try to find an LCD/plasma display with that option if you can.

I hope that helps.

My DS Lite has not once connected to my Belkin Pre-N wireless router. I have to use the Wi-Fi-USB adapter to play te DS online. However, the Wii connects successfully every single time to the same router, and stays connected without a problem. Why is this? Arent the DS and Wii using the same Wi-Fi hardware?

- Big N Player
Bangor

No, actually. The Wii has a more capable wireless transmitter inside, allowing it to connect with a wider variety of security protocols (like WPA) and deal with different wireless networks. The DS's wireless networking guts are fairly limited. Newer technology means the Wii can do more stuff than the older tech in the DS. That's what it boils down to.

Your readers in Australia are probably aware of this but it looks like Australia is not going to get any of the Turbographics games. The reasoning behind it is that we here in Australia did not get the system and therefore will not miss playing any of the games for the system.

That brings me to my question. If the premise of not bringing games to the VC is because that we didn't get them in the first place will that mean that certain games such as Earthbound and the Megaman 4, 5 and 6 NES games not be released to us as well.

I hate to think what else we will miss out on because it never originally came here as well.

- Ranma Saotome S
Australia

There are probably many legal reasons why classics can't be released to regions where they were unreleased. It's not just you guys, though, because here in the States it's looking like we'll miss out on Japanese games like Sin and Punishment for the N64. Would we like to see it available for download in North America? Absolutely. Will it happen? Nope. It's unfortunate, but it that's the way it will be.

That is, unless you try switching the country in your Wii Settings area to a different country within the PAL region. Apparently Aussies can download TG16 games by doing just that. If you connect to the Wii Shop Channel with a "British" Wii, you might still be able to download British games. I don't know if Nintendo plugged up that loophole, but it won't hurt to try.

I know the Beta was just released of the Internet Channel, but do you have any idea if the final internet channel will support tabbed browsing like Opera for PC?

- DarkLinkofHyrule
Phoenix, AZ

It would be nice for it to be officially supported. We'll need to wait to know if it is or not when the final version of the Internet Channel hits in the middle of next year. However, if you don't want to wait, someone has setup a page that emulates tabbed browsing inside of the Wii browser. (The sign up to use it is free.) It's a little buggy, and scrolling is a little less convenient, but if you want to try it out the option to do so is available to you.

Is there some legal thing that gets in the way of you folks showing screen images or box art when you post reviews of games? All that talk of graphics and playability doesn't really do much for us if we can't visually see what your talking about.

I love your site and just want it to be the best. I have a cold and don't really have the patience to write a nicer sounding letter so deal with the bluntness.

- thipomatic
New Jersey

We don't have images inline with our game articles (at least not yet), but if you'll direct your attention to the top of a review you'll see links to the goods. You can view the images we have for it in that way. We added a box art image to game articles when we re-launched the site, so we're still in the process of adding them to our game profiles. So now you know.

I have heard that the Wii has better loading times than the Gamecube's already impressive capability. Since the Wii is backwards compatible, does this mean an improvement for old Gamecube titles like the Resident Evil remake, which would benefit in quicker cut scene transitions? And would the greater horsepower available to the Wii cut down on framerate issues in Gamecube games such Resident Evil 4?

Thanks

- zombiepete
Chapel Hill, NC

Nope. I've said it before and I'll say it again: When you put a GameCube disc into your Wii, it turns into a GameCube. Same amount of memory, same clock speeds, same architecture, same loading times, same framerates, same everything. This is both good and bad; good because it's the only real way to ensure 100% compatibility with all GameCube games, but bad because it doesn't improve on the old games like PS1 backwards compatibility did on the PS2. Just be glad all your games work just the way they originally did!

I recently downloaded the Opera browser for Wii and although I know its a trial version, I have 2 questions concerning it. Firstly, sites that require passwords. I can't visit these when others are around the tv because they'll see me type my password into the onscreen keyboard. Is there an option or a way to hide your password from on lookers? Do you think this issue will be adressed in the final release of Opera Wii.

Secondly Ive found that while in Opera Wii, the top righthand corner of the screen has a black kind of border thing which curves in and cuts part of the image off. This has nothing to do with the tv (a flat screen 51cm panasonic crt tv) because the little pointer hand can still be seen in this black area. So what is this problem, is there something wrong with software and will it be fixed?

Thanks PGC, I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a happy new year.

- Paul
Sydney, Australia

Your two observations are two of the ones I made as I was poking around with the Wii browser. The unhidden password input is a major-league no-no, because it's easy for anyone to glance at your TV screen to see what your password is. (You know, your mother's name spelled backwards.) The Opera browser is a really good one, and the people behind it are really good. I'm positive that problem will be addressed for the full version of the Internet Channel, but it looks like us trial users will have to live with it for the time being.

The black border at the top of the screen is also an annoyance. (So is the very large and annoying menu bar at the bottom.) I think it might be there because of a video output limitation of some sort, wherein the Wii may only be capable of outputting a signal in that shape. If it's at all possible for Opera to get rid of it, they should totally do so. I want to use my entire television screen when viewing webpages and YouTube videos.

Hi Bag,

I've been liking the wii's opera browser, but i'd like to know, how high a risk am I at when it comes to viruses? And is there any way to download applications to the Wii's hard drive? Thanks.

- Talon_jade
PA

The risk of a Wii virus infection is low. Viruses are almost exclusively written to mess up Windows-based systems, so unless someone codes a special Wii-only virus, it won't do anything. The Wii is incapable of opening or running any kind of executable file anyways, where most viruses come from. I have yet to come across a webpage on my computer where I become infected with something by simply pointing my browser to it. That's all the Wii Opera browser does, so there shouldn't be any problems while surfing the Internet with your Wiimote.

Do you guys know of anywhere I can get some good reviews of VC games? I bought Altered Beast on the advice of a friend and frankly...I wasted my 8 bucks.

- Farmer-Johnson
maryland

We can't help you undo your purchase, but we can help you make purchasing decisions in the future. Check out our weekly Virtual Console Mondays roundup, where we detail what new games are available for download every week, and which ones you may want to check out. Our recommendations may save you from getting a crappy old Nintendo or Sega game that you might regret purchasing!

Hello,

I'm an avid reader and viewer of Nintendo World Report, and I have always been impressed with the consistency of quality from this site and it's dedicated workers. I have a question that I have yet to see asked since the arrival of the Wii no longer than a month ago, and that is the reviews of it's games that are currently on the market right now.

I have six games for Wii right now, Red Steel, Zelda, DBZ, Ultimate Alliance, Madden 07, and Call of Duty 3. So far I think all of them have been outstanding, and in most cases lived up to their individual hype. My problem are the harsh reviews that have been dealt out to certain games like Red Steel in particular and I question the accuracy. While it seems fair for an individual to dislike the game, but shouldn't there be disclaimer of sorts to state that this is one individual's opinion. Because people like myself enjoy Red Steel and I find it to be an excellent game. So do you think your review is the law, or just your own personal opinion about a game or any game for that matter?

- Smithers2.0

I will direct you to the review portion of our editorial policy page to answer your last question. Yes, all of our reviews are merely an opinion (and our policy pages states that). Any review should be seen as an opinion. Everyone's entitled to one in this world, our reviewers included. It's just that we provide evidence and give explanations to back up our opinions. That's why our reviews are much more than the score.

Everyone is also entitled to disagree with an opinion. Do you like Red Steel? That's great. Did I like Red Steel? Somewhat I said in my review. the gun controls were great, which I'm sure you'll agree on me with. But most every other part of the game wasn't to my liking. I explain why I felt that way in my review. I also scored it a 6.0, which by our definition is a game that's worth playing (because it's above 5.0). Red Steel is definitely worth playing, but it wasn't the game that I thought it was going to be. I think a lot of people felt the same way, which is why so many people feel the same way about the game that I do.

No one's word is absolute when discussing the quality level of a video game. If there was, there wouldn't be dozens of reviews from different outlets on the same game. Our opinions are just another one of those dozens, but we're glad that so many of you respect our opinions over those from other sites. That means a lot to us. We mean that!

So ends this super-jumbo sized Christmas Eve edition of the Nintendo World Report mailbag. Thanks again to everyone who sent in questions, there were some pretty good ones this week. I love answering good questions!

Although tonight is Christmas Eve and tomorrow is Christmas, that doesn't mean we're taking the holiday off. We're still playing through games for review and planning all of our regular features for the week ahead, like a Virtual Console Mondays update and another edition of Radio Free Nintendo coming later this week. We're also preparing a few more massive specials that will sure to get people talking. Keep checking back to Nintendo World Report this week and through the new year to see the goods.

As always, I'll be back with another thrilling edition of the 'bag. How thrilling it will be depends on how many questions I get, so send some in!