Get the blow-by-blow account of what went down at the U.S. Wii Preview event!
10:10AM Strange in game advertising question. Nintendo is looking into it but it doesn't really follow what Reggie thinks they are going for.
10:09AM Pokemon Battle Revolution first Online title IN JAPAN at Japanese launch. US launch to follow sometime later.
10:07AM I asked about Metroid Prime 3. Officially an 07 title. Adam Sessler followed up asking about strategy. Reggie insists there will be no GameCube-like dead spot right after launch.
10:05AM Widescreen capable question - all first party titles are. Graphical power question - You'll say wow. Normal vague talk.
10:03AM Capabilities of connecting through a wire if you don't have WiFi. Very vague though.
10:00AM Conclusion. QA Time. Wii Remote - 40 bucks. Nunchuck - 20 bucks. Majority of storage on SD card. Zelda gamecube launches December 11th.
9:58AM No long bootup process for Wii channels. Concluding now.
9:57AM Internet channel. Opera browser must be downloaded with Wii points!
9:55AM Back to Reggie to show us a few more channels. When connected to the Internet, users can get a news channel and a weather channel. (Not THE Weather Channel). Wii Message board also available. Send messages and photos to other Wii owners, family members, internet users, or cell phones. Wii has a calendar to help organize the family.
9:52AM Photo Channel. View your digital photos on your TV through your Wii. All transfers done with the SD cards. Really cool view of all your photos at once. They are really tiny. Slideshow of NOA shown. Pictures of people with Mario. Slide show animations are very cool. Perrin with a Mario mustache. Shot of secret Zelda pictures (a joke). Reggie playing DS. Movies also playable. You can use the Wii remote to make them puzzles, and draw on them.
9:50AM Transportation next. Miis can be transferred to your Wii remote. All of your favorite Miis can be on your Wii Remote. You can populate your own Wii console with Miis. Your Miis can go to your friends' consoles. Your Miis go into Wii Sports, Wario Ware, and other Wii software compatible with the Mii channel.
9:48AM Mii channel. Digital 3D charicature of anyone you want to create. Create by either choosing a look alike or starting from scratch. He's creating Samuel L Jackson. Head shape first, then hair. Eyebrows next. He looks angry. Eyes next. Hah, he gave him eye shadow. Now that's gone. Weird half circle eyes were chosen. Nose next. Then lips. Finishes it off with a Pulp Fiction mustache.
9:44AM Downloads stored locally and can be played forever after purchase. Other channels later. (Sorry about the formatting, he's jumping all over the place.)
9:43AM Wii console is connected to the TV and left in standby mode. User will see an initial page of 12 Wii Channels but it is expandable.
9:41AM Wii Channels. Not just virtual console but a total effort to redefine who will use video games in the future.
9:40AM Third Party talk. No surprises. Trauma Center is a launch title. All the UbiSoft titles still be advertised as launch titles. Third party quotes from EA, Activision, Sega, and Ubisoft. "Approximately 30 Wii games this year, half of those at launch." First party titles - $49.99
9:37AM If we played Zelda all day for the entire 6 hours we wouldn't scratch the surface of Zelda. Zelda and Excite Truck ONLY first party launch titles it seems.
9:36AM "Widest range of launch titles in the history of video games." Legend of Zelda: TP launch title. Excite Truck launch title. First time ever to have a Zelda title available on launch day. Reggies is trying to kiss butt by talking about the Yankees. ;)
9:35AM Wii Sports includes Tennis, Golf, Baseball, Bowling, and Boxing. Wii SPORTS INCLUDED!
9:33AM Bowling is "simple and intuitive." You can put spin on the ball. Back to Reggie.
9:31AM Package comes with just one Wii remote and one Nunchuck attachment. 40 Demo units on hand with more than two dozen playable games Some are brand new, some are completely different. Eric Peterson to demonstrate Wii Bowling.
9:30AM November 19th is the launch date. (Who guessed that? ;) ) $249.99 retail price. Only white. Four million Wii consoles shipped world wide. "Americas will receive the largest share of that total."
9:27AM Touch Generations sold more than New Super Mario Bros. Nintendo WiFi Connection - More than 2 million unique users. Wii Remote will change everything.... nothing new yet.
9:25AM Reggie wants to bring gaming back to the masses. Touch Generations talk...
9:22AM "We will reveal all relavent information."
9:21AM Here comes Reggie.
9:19AM Perrin is on stage starting.