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Questions about Wii

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First off, I recently read there will be a new Wii released 3rd quarter 2010. So I'm doing a little research now. I'm not a serious gamer by any means. Don't really care for the run around and shoot everybody stuff. I actually own an original NES with all the Mario Bros games. That's more my style. So that is why I'm leaning towards the Wii. Plus the controller (nunchuck) is really awesome. Did someone say "Bowling"? :D

So, I'm wondering what sort of internal storage does the current Wii system come stock with? I.E. how many GB?

Also, what is the typical price of games that you can purchase from the online store? I know you prepay for "points" to purchase games.

Is every game available in a store also available for purchase directly to the Wii (or SD card)?

Can you purchase or rent movies too? How much do these generally cost? Are there a lot of titles available?

Is it very easy for your modems/routers to detect the Wii? I own an older modem but a fairly recent D-Link router. Works flawlessly with my MBP.

If I was to purchase a game or movie and store it on an SD card, could I take that card to my brother's house and use it on his Wii? Or are they system-specific?

Any comments on using the web browser via Opera on the Wii?

Thanks for reading all my questions!
 
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The Wii has 512 MB of internal storage. Only option for expansion (outside of modding) is adding an SD or SDHC card

Virtual console and WiiWare games that are purchased online typically cost in the $5 to $8 range. These games are available from the Wii Shop Channel and are separate from the $40 to $60 games purchased on disc.

The Wii does not support playing movies (again, modding aside)

I know you can purchase WiiWare or Virtual Console games and store them on an SD card, but I'm unsure if those games are then playable on other consoles...

The browser... fairly typical. Supports Flash and Java now which is nice but I find I don't ever use it.
 
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Did someone say "Bowling"? :D
Yes. It's on the little fun pack that comes with every new Wii purchased. This funpack mind you is not a fully fleged game but something fun for a few hours. Better than nothing I guess.

So, I'm wondering what sort of internal storage does the current Wii system come stock with? I.E. how many GB?
As said above. "The Wii has 512 MB of internal storage. Only option for expansion (outside of modding) is adding an SD or SDHC card". But as far as I know the external storage is storage only. You have to transfer bought games from the online shop and channels to the Wii before you can use them.

But the Wii uses blocks instead on MB to say it's space left. But still it's an ok way to know how much space you have left.

Also, what is the typical price of games that you can purchase from the online store? I know you prepay for "points" to purchase games.
In Australia the points sell for 2000 points for $30 roughly. Varies from store to store or if you buy directly on the Wii with a credit card. And retro games (N64, SNES and NES + sone old sgea ones) range in price from 200-1000 points each. And original games (made especially for the online Wii shop) sell 500-1500 points approx.

Is every game available in a store also available for purchase directly to the Wii (or SD card)?
No. You have the Wii games you buy in store as you know and come on a DVD. They you have to buy on disc as with other gaming machines. The content on it's online store is different and only available there.

Can you purchase or rent movies too? How much do these generally cost? Are there a lot of titles available?
No. The Wii does not play movies. You need your Mac or dvd player for that.

Is it very easy for your modems/routers to detect the Wii?
Yes. It is a little tricky at first but if you look online for a guide it is rather straight forward to set it up. And I think the best day is to use the Mac's wireless airport to link to the Mac. So your internet signal goes through your router/moden into your computer as usual. Then from your computer using airport (when set up) to send it to your Wii wirelessly. It works very well for me. I would suggest you don't do any other downloading when connected to the Wii this way. It's not the fastest connection in the world. And yes you can encrypt this airport signal to your Wii too so no one can steal your bandwidth while you are suring the Wii.


If I was to purchase a game or movie and store it on an SD card, could I take that card to my brother's house and use it on his Wii? Or are they system-specific?
No. Thay are individual machine specific.

Any comments on using the web browser via Opera on the Wii?
It works well. And is good enough for doing basic things like reading web pages. But it's hampered because the keyboard you use is just like the iphone one. It pops up on screen when you need it. And you have to zap each letter on the screen with the wiimote. So it's a really slow process to type anything in bar a few letters. So it's not bad overall but best stick to web surfing on your Mac.

Thanks for reading all my questions!
Thank you for asking them.

And yes the new WiiHD (the rumoured name) is to be released in 2010 or 2011 depending on who you ask.

And also you can play old Gamecube games on your Wii too. Or buy them if you want. As there is quite a few good Gamecube games in my opinion. But you need a Gamecube controller to play them. And a Gamecube memory card to same anything for most Gamecube games. And these memory cards come in 59, 215 and 1019 block versions. All this is official nintendo products. And for me 1 x the 251 card is enough for most of your needs. It fits my needs jsut fine with room to spare. And as usual if the official Nintendo stock is hard to get a hold of, there is 3rd party stuff that works also. How good it works I dunno, pot luck I guess.

Just remember to check every so often for a new system update for the Wii if you ever get one. I know one release included an update to allow SDHC cards to work. So best to check. But all game bought Wii game discs have a version of the system software on it and it will install it when you try to play the game if you need to. It might not be the latest but it'll be enough to play the game you just bought. This I think is for the folk who do not have an internet connection at home.

And with the Wii store you can buy new and old games including all the old Mario Bros games too. But the only catch is the internal HD in the wii is pretty small. The only negative thing I have to say about the Wii. Otherwise I love it. Sure it will not be filled overnight but Wii game saves from quite a few games and purchased download content and it'll eventually fill up. Took me a couple of years but mileage varies between each person. And you'll get to a point where you'll run out of free space. But I think the WiiHD (or Wii1.5 or Wii2 all different rumoured names) will fix the issue with a larger HD.
 
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As said above. "The Wii has 512 MB of internal storage. Only option for expansion (outside of modding) is adding an SD or SDHC card". But as far as I know the external storage is storage only. You have to transfer bought games from the online shop and channels to the Wii before you can use them.

So, you can buy games from the Wii shop or online channels(not clear on the differences) and store them on your SD card. But to play them, you'd have to transfer the game to the Wii's internal storage. Right? And if you need to free up space, you can always transfer the game back off the Wii and onto the SD card?

But the Wii uses blocks instead on MB to say it's space left. But still it's an ok way to know how much space you have left.
Roughly, how many games will the internal storage hold? I ask because I would DEFINITELY be purchasing Super Mario Bros. 1-3 and at least a few other older games.


And I think the best day is to use the Mac's wireless airport to link to the Mac. So your internet signal goes through your router/moden into your computer as usual. Then from your computer using airport (when set up) to send it to your Wii wirelessly. It works very well for me. I would suggest you don't do any other downloading when connected to the Wii this way. It's not the fastest connection in the world. And yes you can encrypt this airport signal to your Wii too so no one can steal your bandwidth while you are suring the Wii.

What if I just use the built-in wireless feature of the Wii to connect to my router when using the channels and store? Is that any better or faster than using my MBP? Seems like it would be less complicated and fewer steps.

No. Thay are individual machine specific.

Well, that sucks! :[

Doesn't sound like the web browsing feature is very appealing so I prob wouldn't use the Wii for that.
 
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So, you can buy games from the Wii shop or online channels(not clear on the differences) and store them on your SD card. But to play them, you'd have to transfer the game to the Wii's internal storage. Right? And if you need to free up space, you can always transfer the game back off the Wii and onto the SD card?
Yes. The same for game saves too. As they are a seperate file to the games themselves.

Wait a second I just am on the Nintendo Australia website and it says this:

"Wii System Menu 3.4 or earlier: When you're ready to use that program at a later time, you can copy it back from the SD Card to your Wii. Be sure to copy the Wii Channel back over to the Wii when you wish to use it again; simply having the SD Card inserted will not allow it to be used.

Wii System Menu 4.0: Adds the ability to download Virtual Console and WiiWare games directly to the SD card from the Wii Shop Channel, and play them directly from the card. Though the Wii doesn't actually play it directly from SD-card. It rather copies it to the internal 512MB NAND-Flash before execution and deletes it automatically when loading a different game from the SD card"

Roughly, how many games will the internal storage hold? I ask because I would DEFINITELY be purchasing Super Mario Bros. 1-3 and at least a few other older games.
Well here are soem calculations for you in number of blocks.

Fresh wii (only inital system and channels on it from Wii purchase) - 2100 blocks roughly

Vurtial Console (or classic system games)

NES, Master System, and C64 games: between 10 and 40 blocks each
SNES, Genesis, and TG-16 games: between 30 and 90 blocks each
Neo Geo games: between 100 and 200 blocks each
N64 and TG-16-CD games: between 200 and 300 blocks each

This is not including the game save files. Just the games themselves. But the save files are usually really small. Just a few blocks each save file.

Wiiware (or new games made specifically for the Wii online store)
50-300 blocks per game. It just depends oneach one as the games themselves are all quite different in size and quality.

Wii Channels
Various between 1-300 blocks each. But most are like less than 50 each.

But with the Wii System Menu 4.0 it seems best to keep all you channels and game saves on the Wii itself and all you virtual console and wiiware games in the SD card and run them from there.

And if you do end up getting a Wii just have a look at the wiishop online the Wii before you even buy any Wiipoints (or whatever they are called) so you can get a feel for the prices of the games you want and their exact sizes.

What if I just use the built-in wireless feature of the Wii to connect to my router when using the channels and store? Is that any better or faster than using my MBP? Seems like it would be less complicated and fewer steps.
Yes you can do that. But then you have to make sure the wireless router connects to the Wii itself. Is it easier/better? I dunno. My router is a wired one and I had to use my imac's airport to connect to the Wii. But a wireless router directly should be just fine too.

Doesn't sound like the web browsing feature is very appealing so I prob wouldn't use the Wii for that.
It's not. Stick to the Mac for your surfing :)

And last note. You can play NES games with the wiimote. But for other games bought from the wii online shop you need a wii classic controller or a gamecube controller to play them. I would have a look at both to bee which is better for you cost wise and the feel in your hand. The classic controller still uses wiimote batteries as it plugs into the wiimote. But the Gamecube controller plugs directly into the wii and needs no batteries while in use.

Personally if you are looking for playing Gamecube games on the Wii too, just get a gamecube controller and it with the included wiimote/nunchuck will play everything. And no need for any extra expence.

*******************

And to explain something you were not too sure about.

"Wii shop or online channels(not clear on the differences)"
The Wii shop is just one of the many wii channels. For all sorts of verious things. They are each channel like a mini app for the wii that does a different thing. And yes you use the Wiishop channel to buy the online games.
 
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the Wii is cool but i think nintendo needs to come out with a gaming system that keeps up with 360 nd PS3
 
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the Wii is cool but i think nintendo needs to come out with a gaming system that keeps up with 360 nd PS3

The Wii does keep up very well with the PS3 and Xbox 360. Just it has a main focus on fun rather then having mucho processing power or super high resolutions. And there is a reason why the Wii outsells the PS3 and Xbox 360. This is not a flaming thread. But each to their own preference on which of the 3 is better.
 
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Well Wii sells better because it is a cheaper system. it also targets everybody more girls will play/have a Wii system then go out and buy a xbox or playstation. to me Wii is more of a party system when u have a bunch of buddies over or if you're at a party nd everybody can just play with it and mess around. I'm not bashing on the Wii at all, i'm just saying i wish Nintendo comes out with a gaming system that can keep up with an XBOX or PS3 gaming wise. not selling wise.
 

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The Wii does keep up very well with the PS3 and Xbox 360. Just it has a main focus on fun rather then having mucho processing power or super high resolutions. And there is a reason why the Wii outsells the PS3 and Xbox 360. This is not a flaming thread. But each to their own preference on which of the 3 is better.

I have all three systems, and I can tell you I didn't buy a Wii because I thought it was better than any other system.

I bought it mainly because of the novel features and it's something that you can have fun with friends and family.
 
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i have all three systems, and i can tell you i didn't buy a wii because i thought it was better than any other system.

I bought it mainly because of the novel features and it's something that you can have fun with friends and family.


exactly.
 
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To idirtbike: Fair enough. I can see your point. You want a WiiHD. And your wish might just come true in a year or two. But for me it's in a different league then the other 2 systems. Cause each best features are on the opposite sides of the spectrum.

To CrimsonRequiem: You bought it for the reasons you said. I bought it cause I thought it would be the most fun for single player. As I never multiplayer on consoles. And for me it is the best not graphically but in the fun/innovative departments. Each of us is different. But mind you not that nintendo care at all about this. A sale is a sale no matter how it is gotten.
 
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Ahhh, it's becoming much clearer.

Much thanks for everyone's help!
I may have more questions in the future. I'm definitely holding out for the next WiiHD or whatever it'll be called. I have to sell all my other game systems first anyways. Wife wouldn't let me get it any other way. :(
 

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