What up NWR Mailbag? Does Nintendo and Opera have plans to offer upgrades to the Internet Channel? I've already run into a few sites that require newer versions of Flash and following the link to the Adobe site to upgrade doesn't work. So do you know if they'll offer flash upgrades in the future, or will the Wii web browser be worthless in 6 months?

- Shawn
Maryland

I don't think the Internet Channel will be worthless in the future. Opera is charging $5 for it (aside from the early Wii owners who got it for free) and I don't believe it would make good business sense to stop supporting a product once it's made available. Opera needs to make the browser an attractive purchase to new Wii owners, and that means it needs to keep with the times. I think it will, and soon.

It's not as if a potential update would need to include much. A new version of Adobe Flash would be nice. (It doesn't even properly display the top story images on our front page!) It would also make sense to include USB keyboard support, the same support that currently resides in the Wii Menu as a result of the console update Nintendo pushed to consoles a few weeks ago.

I can't really think of much else the browser needs to stay current. As long as we'll always be able to watch YouTube videos on a television through the Wii, I think it'll stick around for a long time. But it could be better!

I apologize for the Pokemon trading question, but I really didn't know where else to go that would actually provide an answer. Anyway..why do so many people want a Level 9 and under Mew? Is there something I'm missing? And not only that, does a level 9 Mew even exist? I have a Mew that I got from a Nintendo event and I got it at level 10. What is the deal with Level 9 and under Mews?

- dug
ct

The Mew you got started at Level 10. In fact, everyone who gets a new Mew gets theirs at Level 10. The people who want a Mew at lower levels ask themselves this question: Why don't Mews start at Level 1? Maybe there's a different evolution branch. Maybe the Mew gets a certain ability at a lower level that doesn't start with the Lv10 Mew. Maybe some TMs and HMs work on a lower level Mew that normally wouldn't on a higher level one. Maybe a Mew trained from scratch becomes more powerful than a Lv10 starting Mew. I don't know. They don't know. No one knows. Which is why people are curious about it.

Mews under Level 10 probably don't exist, but that's not going to stop some people from wanting them. Curiosity drives a lot of things in this world.

Hey

I don't know whether its just me, but I believe that the Weather Channel on the Wii is incredibly inaccurate.

For example, today the forecast from all Internet weather forecasts for my city of Melbourne (Australia) is 16 degrees (Celsius). However according to the Weather channel, the forecast is 11 degrees. The channel seems to always be off by about 5 degrees, and sometimes more. I hate saying this, but I don't think there is any point in nintendo bothering with the weather channel if it is not going to be correct. What are your thoughts?

- JaViN
Melbourne, Australia.

One important note about the Forecast Channel: It does what it's named. It forecasts the weather. It doesn't tell the current weather. It's very bad at doing that actually, since it only bothers to wet the tip of its finger and stick it in the air once a day to see what the weather's like. It does it at the most inappropriate times, too, like in the early morning or late at night when it's not as hot as it's going to be.

I really don't see the point of the Forecast Channel, especially when the Internet Channel trumps it. You can just as easily set The Weather Channel as a favorite web page and instantly get the current temps and better forecasting services. Or better still: Go outside!

The recent Wii upgrade was reported to have disabled all unlicensed discs. Nintendo World Report specifically mentioned Datel's products--Freeloader, Action Replay and Max Drive--adding that upgraded consoles would no longer have a means of playing GameCube discs from other regions through a software solution. Now, what about using the discs as cheating devices?

I have an Action Replay Max for my GameCube. It uses a memory-card like device in conjunction with a loading disc. I would hate for it to instantly become obsolete if I purchase a Wii. I don't use it often, but it's handy when stuck here or there in a game, even if cheats are almost impossible to find for it nowadays.

- AlexisTV

Any game disc that's not been previously certified by Nintendo isn't going to play in the Wii now, including those useful, but shady, Datel products. It makes sense for Nintendo to do this, as there's nothing from stopping Datel from making their own line of games or other kinds of discs (like it has been doing for some time now) for Nintendo consoles without Nintendo's permission. Datel could, intentionally or unintentionally, release something that would paint Nintendo and the Wii in a bad light. Especially with wahoos like Jack Thompson running around.

Anyway, this means your GameCube Action Replay won't work on the Wii. The codes on an Action Replay aren't going to work if you can't load them off the disc and onto the memory card. Similarly, you can't swap discs if the Wii doesn't recognize the Freeloader in the first place. The only thing you can do is keep your GameCube for GameCube games and the Datel discs, where they will work just fine.

You should probably forget about similar unauthorized third party discs showing up on Wii. Datel can try to make new versions of the GameCube discs or Wii versions of its products, but Nintendo can just as soon release a system update to quash it. The Internet connectivity of consoles allows for companies to stamp out stuff like this. However, that's not to say Datel won't stop trying. It could perhaps release SD cards that are loaded with cheat codes. I'm sure it'll figure out something using that.

Hey yall. I know this is kinda a dumb question but ya see, the other day my Wii was stolen. Sucks right. Right before this Month of Metroid stuff starts goin on none the less. But anyway, my question is, seein as i had purchased around twenty games on the virtual console, do you think Nintendo could some how give me my games back if i were to buy a new system.

- Phatcat8975
Pennsylvania

If you registered your Wii through Nintendo and you have a My Nintendo account that kept track of your purchases, you should be able to recover your games. You might want to call up Nintendo's customer service hot line and explain the situation to them. I bet they'll be a lot more help than I can be!

hey all, i love your podcast all the way in Australia. here's my question,

Do you think that with high expectations, nintendo is trying to fit too many things and please everyone until there's a lot of junk added into Super Smash Bros Brawl? I think there is a lot of nonsense and unneeded items, and petty add-ons that could be discarded to enhance BETTER STAGES and more ...

Also, with new characters being introduced, will nintendo place so much emphasis on these new characters that they will dumb down the others such as kirby?!

I love the wii and smash bros to death, but i can't help that i'm a bit of a conservative player.

- Bryan lim
Melbourne, Australia

I think you're worrying too much. There is going to be a ridiculous amount of content in Super Smash Bros. Brawl when it's all ready to go on December 3, so you're basing your fears on just a sliver of information that the Dojo has provided to us thus far. Things like new characters and new items will be criticized more than usual because long time players are more comfortable with what they already know. But know this: Masahiro Sakurai, the same guy who made Melee for GameCube, is making Brawl for Wii. The least he'll do with Brawl is make a game that's just as good as Melee. It's probably going to be a lot better, though. So why worry?

Hi NWR this isn't as much a question but a complement. I love your reviews. I feel you are brutally honest on the games themselves and I enjoy hearing your views on them. You guys are going to be extremely busy this holiday season. I also had some questions.

1)When do you get games to review them and how do you split your team up to review them? (Surely one person doesn't get 2 or more games at once.) :-)

2) Also as Nintendo fans yourselves can you believe the success the Wii is having! My Walmart today had a shelf and a half of Wii games! Also there were no Wiis in sight (I am glad I got mine at launch a 12 hour wait 1PM-1AM and proud of it!)I am also glad for the simple control format and that Brawl supports 4 different controller methods so I am going to get my family into the action. :-)

Have fun reviewing all those games and if Brawl still has Wifi could you guys do Wifi battles as you did with the launch of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl? :-)

- Brandy
Orange City,FL

1) It's quite simple, really. Staffers can request to review a game leading up to its release. Jonny Metts, our resident Reviews Editor and sexy beast, assigns games based on who requested them, who has done preview coverage of them previously, who would be best suited for doing the review, and other factors (like who has the higher Brain Age). We have a big enough staff where we don't need to worry about doubling up on assignments, but you're right about it getting busy around the holidays!

2) I think the Wii's success is dumbfounding. No console I've ever seen has sold as fast as, nor for as long as, the Wii has. Then again, no major console was as cheap ($250) at launch and as loaded (free game, no need for memory cards). The scary thing about it is that the July NPD hardware figures could be a sign of things to come. If Nintendo has really ramped up production like it said it would be doing—remember that it upped its annual shipment forecast by over two million units—we could very well be seeing months where the Wii sells over a half a million. Those are DS-like numbers, which are normally insane. But can you imagine a home console selling that well? Bonkers.

Aside: You said "if Brawl still has wifi." Hey, Nintendo ... why is it that we're still wondering "if" about your biggest multiplayer game when your president promised us it would online? Could it be that we've lost all confidence in your ability to deliver to your hardcore audience?

Just got MP3 and I have to say its great, but I have been reading many sites reviews and seen big variances in their opinions of the game. All say its good but when it comes to scores they all differ greatly, so since you guys haven't scored or reviewed it yet what is your process for doing it. How many people involved, comparing it to games just on the Wii itself, comparing it to other systems, comparing to previous versions etc. To me there is no one way to review a game and thats why I think that all these sites scores vary greatly. One reviewer might love Metroid to death while another cant stand the game and then obviously we know who will score it better. Same goes for people who love Halo or Bioshock, or compare graphics with Ps3 or 360.I think games should be scored by a group of people, based on the system its on, compared to other games from that system alone,and if there are other games in the series on older systems they should be compared. As for lack or inclusion of multiplayer or online play I am undecided if these should actually affect game scores.....but again thats just how I see things.....

Next whats your take on this AO situation on games, do you guys think its worth having a rating if it really cant be used on 90 percent of the games and systems their on. Besides computers all the home consoles dont allow such games. But arent these the same companies that helped make the game ratings what they are today? And I for one am especially mad that Nintendo didnt let an AO game come out for Wii, because it always claims it makes games for everyone, but when an 18 yr old wants an 18yr old game(AO)sorry your not allowed to play it... but if its M(17)it is cool, so do you guys think 365 days make a difference when playing a videogame? Manhunt 2 should have been released months ago and even though I havent played an adult game and im 26 mind you, I want that option, well lets hope the M version doesnt lose to much content. If Nintendo wasnt afraid of tarnishing its good boy appeal it finally would of got rid of the sterotype that Nintendo systems are for kids. They dropped the ball on this one no matter how many Wii's their selling in my opinion...

- N/A
Brooklyn N.Y.

Well, you're wrong about the Metroid Prime 3 review. We just put that up today. As for our reviews, one of our staffers plays the game and then judges it with his or her individual opinion. They play the game for as long as they need to get an idea of what's it's all about and then write the review. We look at every game based on what we feel the system (Wii or DS) should be capable of at the time of release, from both a technological and game design standpoint. If a game meets or exceeds these expectations, it will score high. If it doesn't, we'll let you know why. We don't compare Wii games to those on the other platforms as we're not a multiplatform site. To combat any potential bias, we sometimes have multiple reviews of major titles—look for one of those coming sooner or later for Prime 3.

Now, onto the ESRB ratings. All age ratings, except for M and AO, are just recommendations. If you are 12 and your parents think you're mature enough to play the T-rated Metroid Prime 3, there's nothing wrong with that or the ratings system. It's there to make sure people understand what's in the game they are playing before they play it. It's not like retailers will card you if you try to buy a T-rated game and you appear to be 14 or 15. However, you must be 17 to buy or rent M-rated games in North America. That's absolute. AO means you must be 18 to buy or rent a game with such a rating.

Ah yes, the AO rating. The death sentence of a video game. Retailers won't carry games with the rating and console companies won't certify games with the rating. And yet, the rating exists. Why? If no console game is going to have it, it would be better to just drop it altogether and simply not rate any game that's too violent or too sexual for an M rating. Either that, or split the M rating so that it's not as broad as it currently is. There are tame M-rated games and then there are the not-so-tame ones; kind of like how the R rating for films is too broad nowadays.