Hey, I'm a loyal reader based in Mexico and I was wondering if you have any info on what the MSRP is for the Wii around here. Usually we get the goods at insane markups, mostly from stores importing from the US. Since now it seems that Nintendo admits we exist by giving us our very own badly translated Wii.com section I was wondering if we might get some semblance of a standard price. Any info would be greatly apreciated.

Unfortunately for you guys, Nintendo hasn't yet announced price or release information to Mexico. It should be coming soon, since Nintendo seems hell-bent on releasing Wii to the entire world before the end of the year. I mean, if Brazil is getting it in December, Mexico will surely get it then, or sooner. All I can suggest to you is to keep checking the Wii site for more information, and keep checking back here. We'll pass along any other region launch details if they cross our news desk.

When PGC transitions into its new form following the release of the Wii, will the staff remain mostly the same? Part of what makes this site so great is its staff.

- Spooky Skeptic

Of course we will! It wouldn't make much sense to fire people just because we change our name and our coverage's primary console. I should say that there will be a small shakeup of the staff once that happens (details on that will come soon, hopefully), but everyone will still be here. You can't report on Nintendo's worldwide happenings without the staff to do it, after all.

Hey Mailbag,

Question 1: Nintendo has me really pumped about all Wii's cool online features within the WiiConnect24 service, but something I have really been looking for info on, is Wii Only Wi-Fi?

What I want to know is since I do not have a Wi-Fi Internet Connection and the Wii does not seem to have a Ethernet Connection on it (based on the screen shot's I have seen of it anyway), will I even be able to connect to WiiConnect24 without switching to Wi-Fi?

I saw you say a little something last mailbag about a possible Wii Ethernet adapter from Nintendo, probably like the one they made (and I own) for the Nintendo DS. However, I have never seen Nintendo talk about this adapter in any form. Have they told you about or announced this adapter and it's announcement has just not gotten a lot of coverage, and if so will it be available on Nov. 19th and for how much?

I don't want to have to change my whole Internet set-up if I don't have too, so I really need all of this sorted out before Nov. 19th so I can enjoy the Wii to it's fullest.

Question 2: You said last mailbag that people will not have to buy a memory card with the console, but I thought I needed to buy a SD memory card at launch?

Does the console use it's internal memory for game saves also, or will I have to buy some sort of SD memory card at launch?

Also, any word on how big game saves are going to be, so that if I do buy a card I know how big of one to get?

Thanks in advance for taking your time to answer my question's!

-Andrew (Miami, FL)

Answer One: Nintendo has confirmed that there will be a USB adapter that will accept an Ethernet-Internet connection. I can't find the news story about it on our site at the moment, but I know that it's a fact. So you're just going to need to take my word for it!

But still, there's the question of why Nintendo has gone with a wireless connection as standard. Why didn't they just put the Ethernet plug on the back of the console? It should have been cheap and easy enough to do, and it probably wouldn't have made the Wii any larger. I think it may have something to do with Nintendo's stance on the console being any “anywhere" device. That is, you can put it anywhere you have space for it without it getting in the way. Being Wi-Fi enabled allows the console to do that, but it would still be convenient for an online-capable system to have the standard broadband port.

Answer Two: I don't understand why there's so much confusion over this. A lot of people have been asking how much memory they should buy at the Wii launch, and how much Nintendo's memory cards will be cost at retail. Here's the answer to all of your questions: You don't need extra memory at launch! The system comes with 512MB of it internally. That's equivalent to 64 GC -sized memory cards worth of room to save games, photos, virtual console games and all the rest, built right into the console. (Think of it like a hard drive, actually.) The only thing that would fill up that amount quickly are multiple N64 games (that is, buying more than 5 or 6 of them); all the other VC games, size of game saves and anything else you'd normally need to save to a memory card take up a scant amount of storage space.

To put 512MB in perspective, the GC Memory Card 251 is only 4MB (16Mb) large, and the Memory Card 59 is only a ½MB (4Mb)! That should have been more than enough storage for most of your GameCube games. Wii game saves won't take up much more space than GameCube saves did, and you'll have upwards of 200 times the storage. That's a lot of room!

Okay, I have a couple of questions for the mailbag about Wii: What are the launch titles besides Twilight Princess and Excite Truck? And is Nintendo releasing any other first party games besides those two?

-PAUL

Nintendo, for whatever reason, has not given a definitive list for games that will be available on November 19, 2006. The known list so far is just made up of titles in where individual publishers have confirmed they'll be there for launch, like Ubisoft announcing Far Cry Vengance for the Wii launch on Thursday. As the launch date gets closer, the list of games should be more clear. But for now, Nintendo has just official given a list of games that will be made available between launch and the end of their fiscal year in March.

But we do know that only Excite Truck and Twilight Princess will be the only Nintendo games there at launch. Oh, and WiiSports, too (the Wii pack-in game). It's strange that there will only be that many there, but this time around Nintendo has a massive third-party following, albeit heavy on the ports. Too, Nintendo will be following up their launch games with stuff like Wario Ware, Metroid Prime 3, Mario Galaxy and all the other Wii games they showed off at E3. It may be a slow start for Nintendo games, but it's more important that they keep it going after that. Stretching out the releases is a good idea on Nintendo's part.

Ok, Wii points. Whats the skinny? They mentioned we could buy cards with Wii points on them at retail, but what do we do with those cards? Swipe them through the Wii? If so, that would be a great option for those of us who don't have credit cards, and those of us who are tired of bugging our parents to use THEIR credit cards to buy us stuff online.

Cheers

Just to remind everyone, the Wii Points program hasn't been official announced for America yet. But it's going to work the same way here as it does in Japan, Europe and the rest of the world.

The Wii Points cards should work the same way as the Xbox Live pre-paid cards do. Each will have a redemption code under a scratch-off area on the back, and there should be an area within the shopping Wii channel to input the code and redeem the points. These types of cards don't have any value until they are activated upon purchase (they are mag swiped when you buy them to do just that), and after they are used once, they are worthless again.

You mentioned credit cards. You know, I can't imagine Nintendo ever making an option available for people to input their credit card information into the system, like how Microsoft allows people to do for Xbox Live. If someone stole my Xbox 360, they've essentially stolen my credit card. Even if would mean easy dollars for Nintendo...no, I can't see them doing it. That would be good for me, since it would be way too easy to download too many VC games and ruin my credit. But you never know.

Yo Mailbag,

What do you think the probability of someone walking into a Wal-mart on November 19th, and picking up a Wii would be? I don't think Wal-mart usually reserves so they should be up for grabs. Maybe even go in around midnight Saturday night to see if they were out on shelves yet.

Also, do you think that a regular, Pro Skater style Tony Hawk game will be made for the Wii? I think Downhill Jam looks cool and have no doubt it will be fun, but being a huge fan of the Hawk games I would love to play a game similar to Project 8 that's being developed for the Xbox 360 and PS3. Do you have any thoughts on a control scheme for such a game using the Wii controller?

Thanks,

Hakkerjak from Channelview, TX (East of Houston)

The availability of consoles for launch is going to vary from location to location, and retailer to retailer. A Wal-Mart in Texas is going to get a lot more consoles than will a mom-and-pop in Oregon, obviously. Your Wal-Mart will probably get the largest shipment in your immediate area, actually. However, everyone else is going to be aware of this, so more people will go to that particular location to get one, and the lines and wait times will be longer because of it. What I'm saying is that a giant store with a large shipment is just as likely to sell out as is a smaller store with a smaller shipment. Waiting in line is really your only best bet to get one on launch day (even if you have a console pre-ordered), because even if they don't sell out after the initial line goes away, what's left over will likely be gone soon after. Wii should still sell out in places, even with the massive quantities promised for the first two months.

So then, let's talk a little Tony Hawk. You're right that Downhill Jam looks like it'll be fun. I'm a big fan of the SSX series, and a combination of that and skateboarding with the proven Tony Hawk system sounds like a winning one. The last two real Tony Hawk games I've played were THPS4 of the original series, and American Sk8Land on the DS, both of which are traditional Tony Hawk games. After Downhill Jam, I would very much like to see Activision take the series to its roots and come out with another string of games that are classic Tony Hawk, for every system. Having something different available for the Wii Launch is fine, but hopefully they'll come back to old faithful with the next game.

Hello mailbag. I've got a question about the Wii compilation disc that Nintendo is calling Wii Play. There's has been no official release date for this disc for the United States, but I saw a game mag editor playing the pool game from this compilation at the latest Wii event in NY. Furthermore, my friend listened to the European Wii announcement and he said that in Europe the Wii Play disc will also come with a Wiimote. This sounds pretty exciting and I want to know if we are getting the Wii compilation disc here and if a Wiimote will be included and if so then how much? For say $60 dollars this would be a great alternative to buying the Wiimote alone, which in my opinion is overpriced, never mind how ridiculously high Xbox is selling their controllers for (There is no way that I'm putting Miyamato in the same boat with the Billy Goat.) I'm really looking forward to the Wii Play because of Duckhunt and Wii Fishing, as well as the other great looking games, so can you give me information about it?

Thanks,

Robert

I actually have a theory about that. Once I heard that Wii Play was coming with a controller (in Europe), I wondered why Nintendo didn't announce the game for America. Then it hit me. I think Nintendo of America will spring a “surprise" announcement about WiiPlay at their next press event—there will be another one, since they still need to announce the online details—by saying that WiiPlay will retail for $50 and come bundled with a controller. By doing this, they can point people in the direction of the game if they think $40 is too much for a controller, thereby making most people purchase the game if they wanted a second remote. The game is releasing everywhere else at launch, there's no reason why it's not going to show up in North America, either.

If my scenario doesn't play out, WiiPlay will still be announced for an American release one way or another. It's not like Nintendo won't publish it here.

I have a couple questions concerning the Wii. I haven't heard much information on online games. Which games are you going to be able to play with a buddy over the Internet? Could this be setup to be used with 2 player virtual console games? I was also curious to know more about the baseball game in Wii sports. Is there an actual baseball game there or is it just home run derby? Finally, will we be able to hook up a keyboard to the Wii for using the Opera Web browser? Thanks.

About your questions about Wii online: We don't know. No one knows. Like I said last week (and like how I'll probably say next week), Nintendo has decided to not yet release information on how WiiConnect24, Virtual Console or any other online gaming feature of the console. Every other part of the world got the info, but not America. We just need to wait until they give it to us.

Now to your other question pair. WiiSports Baseball is essentially a home run derby. You swing, and all the fielding and base running are “automatic." So while there is baseball on the field, the only thing that's happening is you swinging the bat and trying to hit it out of the park. I will answer your keyboard question in the question after the question below. (He worded his question better.)

So what's the deal with the Wii and wireless LAN connection for games? Does it still allow that function and if so are there any launch games that are planning on using it? I could personally care less about no launch games being online if there is at least wireless LAN to soften the blow. Please inform me of what you know.

Travis

We know for a fact that the wireless functions of the Wii are able to support a wireless LAN. That's actually going to be a very handy feature, because you can get a bunch of Wiis and TVs in the same room without the need for the maze of cable between all the systems. I'm looking forward to trying out some games that use that feature.

Unfortunately, I think I'm going to need to wait until the second wave of Wii games before that happens. You see, the tools developers need to set up LAN games are the same ones used to get online games running...and apparently, developers don't have those tools yet. If they don't know how to get an online game working, they can't get LAN games working. To a developer, they are essentially the same thing. I don't know of any current Wii game that will support the feature, but we may hear more about it in the future.

Right now at least, it seems as if the only way to play with a bunch of friends right after launch is on one TV screen and with $180 worth of extra controllers. Just like the good old days!

Hey PGC!

It's ol' me again with yet another question list for ya!

1. There have a been a few quips lately about the wiimote's accuracy in some games. While i totally believe its an issue on the developer side ( i hear nintendo games work great) i was wondering on your thoughts on how big the potential really is with the wiimote. I mean i know the wiimote is one impressive piece of technology but i wonder if some of the high concept ideas for games in the works could exceed the limits of the device. What are some of the controller limits you have seen and how do you think devs will deal with it in order to make it the real deal and not just some gimmick?

2. I have been seeing lots of pics of the new DS headset pop up over the net. I love the idea of VoIP in DS games! I hope its continues to be incorporated. My question is how will nintendo handle this on the Wii? So far im not sure what they plan on doing though i hear nintendo still has a ways to go before the Wii online info is totally set in stone. Have any info?

3. I hear that Wii will not support an external HDD with the USB ports. What about other plug and play USB devices? Keyboards, mice, cardreaders, cameras. etc... I imagine they want to be very specific with what kind of peripherals they want to support. Is it possible these things may be supported in the future?

Well thats all the big Q's i have for now. The only other thing that hit my head was how awesome it would be to have a Wii Puchout game. I mean after seeing Wii boxing i think it would be totally time for a new edition!

Thanks.

Rob

1. I think the Wiimote is accurate under most circumstances. The only real issue I've seen so far is what happens when you're playing a game that requires the pointer to be aimed at the sensor bar, and the remote is moved so it can no longer see the sensor bar. Screwy things happen until the bar comes back into view and the game recalibrates. Other than that, Nintendo has proven the controller to be a versatile device. Developers are going to need a year or two to fully understand how it works, and get the best out of it. For developers, it's not just a matter of making the controller work in the way want it to for a given situation, but there's also the factor of people playing the game not always doing what the developers thought they would in the same situation. Game makers hadn't had to deal with that before.

2. There are two possible ways Nintendo can handle voice communication on Wii. A wired headset could plug into the Wii remote's extension port, and the nunchuk could plug into that, producing what is essentially the same setup as an Xbox 360 controller. Too much controller movement could pull the thing off your head, though. The more practical solution would be to just have the headset completely wireless and connect it directly to the console. Headsets could then be associated to each player with one. That would be the most elegant way to do it without needing to be tethered down to one of the remotes. “What about the microphone in the speaker," you're asking? I don't want to hear the sound effects of other people in my ear when I play them online, so why would Nintendo?

3. Nintendo probably didn't put the USB ports on the Wii just for looks. It would be good to assume they could be used for anything. Keyboards, cameras, USB hard drives (eventually), or any other general USB device. Specialized accessories could also be connected via USB. All that would need to happen is for Nintendo to allow such devices to work. To answer the question of the guy two questions previous, a USB keyboard seems like something that would help out a lot with the Opera browser, even if the remote makes for a decent on-screen hunt-and-pecker for a software keyboard. I would assume simple stuff like that will be supported, but you never know with Nintendo.

That's it for this Wii-packed mailbag edition. As you read this, I will be on vacation in beautiful Mexico, far away from the world of videogames... except for my DS, GBA and PSP. Bless you handheld gaming, bless you.

Just because I'm not here doesn't mean you can't keep sending in those questions! The email is below, and don't forget your name and location! I can provide some additional insight to your answers if you tell me where you're asking them from. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone where you live. Your secret is safe with me...

Hasta luego.

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