BIG Update: Nintendo has launched the Official Wii website, containing different regions. Only the Japan area is currently open, but that, combined with the Nintendo Japan Wii hardware page has revealed a ridiculous amount of information. We will do our best to summarize the major stuff here, with links to relevant pages and video.
More details on Virtual Console
For starters, Nintendo has a lineup of 24 publishers currently listed as supporting Virtual Console in Japan. (More details on pricing and availablity of games are at the bottom of this news story.) More importantly, the page on Nintendo's site confirms another game system has been added to the lineup: The MSX. Those unfamilar with the device (it wasn't really a standard console) can get schooled up about it at Wikipedia, but the important thing to know of it is franchises like Metal Gear, Dragon Quest, Puyo Puyo and others got their start on it. It would seem obvious that some games from those series would eventually be available on VC.
Wii Menu and Channels Revealed
The only major things up on Wii.com at the moment are videos and explanations (in Japanese) of the menu system, and the things that will be included in it. They are all controlled by pointing and clicking with the remote, and include:
- Mii Channel: The area where you can create your customizable avatar. It's not just limited to the face; body shape, hair, clothes can be changed along with every concieveable facial feature you can think of. There's more to it that just the face-making, though, as there was a part of the video where a vast field of people were lined up, and able to be selected for some purpose. The best way to understand it is to see the video for yourself...and even then, you might not get it. [Update] More videos of Mii can be seen here and here.
- News Channel and Weather Forecasting: Self explanatory, but any console connected to the Internet can see the latest news headlines and get weather information via the Wii menu. See the videos of those in action, too. [Update] More video of the weather feature can be seen on this page.
- Wii Photo Viewer [Updated!]: Videos from the presentation show off the very impressive functionality of the photo viewer. Pictures stored on SD cards can be viewed, rotated, and put into a slide show. Even more impressive than that is the Wii can edit those photos using the Wii remote as the main tool (think Photoshop). Even beyond that, the photos can be put together to form a sort of video montage. To cap it all off, these creations can apparently be shared online via WiiConnect24. Stunning. Again, videos of it in action can be had at the link heading this paragraph.
- Opera Browser: Video of it in action can be seen here. Google and Google Maps were used to demo the browsing capabilities of Wii.
Wii Games Trailer
This is the big one. Pictures speak louder than words, so just watch the video. It contains games that have not been previously announced, and new footage for games already known. The partial list of featured games include:
-WiiSports Boxing
-Deep Sea Diving
-Fire Emblem
-Trauma Center Second Opinion
-Wing Island
-Pokemon Battle Revolution
-Harvest Moon
-The Dog Island
-Resident Evil - Mansion from original RE
-New footage for Twilight Princess
Almost all of the information coming out of the Japan Wii reveal is on Nintendo's website. Here is the link to that; it's all in Japanese text, but many pages have video clips of more things not mentioned here, such as a calendar function, and confirmation of R-Type as a Virtual Console game, among other things.
Remember, all of the information in this article contains information for the Japanese launch of the Wii. Be advised details may be slightly different for the American and International versions of the presentation. For the most part, though, what Japan is getting is pretty much the same as what everyone else will get.
Come back to PGC later today for more details on Wii around the world.
Big Update by Steven Rodriguez.
UPDATE: NCL's site has updated with details on the contents of the box when you purchase:
*Main body of Wii ×1
*Wii remote control With strap ×1
*Nunchakus controller ×1
*AC adaptor only for Wii ×1
*AV cable only for Wii ×1
*Stand only for main body of Wii ×1
*Supplementary plate only for main body of Wii ×1
*Sensor bar only for Wii ×1
*Sensor bar stand ×1
*Batteries ×2
It appears that Wii Sports will be sold separately for 4800 yen.
Nintendo expects sixteen total games to be available on launch day, including Zelda for 6800 yen.
Also, prices for extra controllers were announced at:
Remote - 3800 yen
Nunchaku - 1800 yen
Classic Controller - 1800 yen
Original Story
Original Link: http://www.famitsu.com/blog/express/
With the Japanese Wii Preview underway, Famitsu and others are reporting details on the fly.
In Japan, Wii will release at 25,000 yen on December 2nd.
Prices for Virtual Console games are as follows:
Famicom -500 yen
Super Famicom - 800 yen
N64 - 1000 yen
Nintendo plans to release thirty Virtual Console titles of their own, with another thirty TurboGrafx and Genesis games coming as well, making for a total of sixty titles. After that, Nintendo anticipates adding ten titles to the service each month. Titles can be purchased either via credit card or with a pre-paid Wii card.
