Author Topic: I got a Wii (Read 44903 times)

Mr. Greenjeans · « **Reply #120 on:** December 06, 2006, 06:02:11 pm »

No dice at Wal-Mart today

I got there at 5 a.m. and when I got to the electronics dept there was no line but when I asked the employee she told me they were all spoken for. Turns out they only got 12 and the people getting them had been there since 6 p.m. yesterday. I just don't understand all the promotion they went through for 12 units .... they had signs up all over the place saying they would have them today at 8 a.m.

ChadTower · « **Reply #121 on:** December 06, 2006, 07:11:36 pm »

They don't usually know exactly how many are coming in on any given day. The truck shows up, they unload them, look at the line, and say "oh, crap".

markrvp · « **Reply #122 on:** December 06, 2006, 07:46:37 pm »

I heard of a Target where there were 40 people in line and they only had 1 Wii (Sunday's ad). I know it's true 'cause I read about it on the innernets.

MustardTent · « **Reply #123 on:** December 12, 2006, 03:51:53 pm »

Loaded a bunch of songs on my Wii (using an SD card). It looks like there is no place in the Wii menu to actually play them. Is it only for playing music in game?

What games support using your own music library that people have found?

AtomSmasher · « **Reply #124 on:** December 12, 2006, 04:03:09 pm »

Quote from: MustardTent on December 12, 2006, 03:51:53 pm

Loaded a bunch of songs on my Wii (using an SD card). It looks like there is no place in the Wii menu to actually play them. Is it only for playing music in game?

What games support using your own music library that people have found?

I could be wrong, but seems like I remember a review for excite truck saying it plays music off the sd card.

shmokes · « **Reply #125 on:** December 12, 2006, 04:49:18 pm »

MP3 Support is exclusive to the Photo channel for use in slide shows and such. Don't even ask me why Nintendo made that decision. And yes, games can also support custom soundtracks and ExciteTruck is one of those games.

AlanS17 · « **Reply #126 on:** December 12, 2006, 11:09:23 pm »

Quote from: shmokes on December 12, 2006, 04:49:18 pm

MP3 Support is exclusive to the Photo channel for use in slide shows and such. Don't even ask me why Nintendo made that decision.

Why did Nintendo make that decision? J/K

I just don't see a Wii being useful for media. The lack of a hard drive makes it a pain in the butt. Plus when I think PS3 or XBOX360 I think "media center", but when I think of the Wii I just think "video game console". Does it even play DVD's? Can it read image files from a disk or are they relegated to the SD card?

shmokes · « **Reply #127 on:** December 12, 2006, 11:16:26 pm »

Who knows, though, with the rate that flash memory is dropping in price. A year into the Wii's life and an 8 GB SD card will probably be $50. Three or four years out you'll probably be able to pop a 40 GB card into the Wii.

AlanS17 · « **Reply #128 on:** December 13, 2006, 12:19:09 am »

There are going to be space limitations on as SD card, redgardless of price. The reason you can squeeze so much into a CP card is that it's just big enough to fit an actual spinning disk in there (ie. MicroDrive). The same doesn't hold true for SD cards with any current technology I'm aware of.

Even still, I consider that a far cry from "integrated".

boykster · « **Reply #129 on:** December 13, 2006, 01:02:27 am »

Sandisk and Sony just announced their new high capacity memory stick pro HG with capacity of 32gig...

a 40gig SD in 3-4 years doesn't sound so implausible now does it?

shmokes · « **Reply #130 on:** December 13, 2006, 03:58:06 am »

Quote from: AlanS17 on December 13, 2006, 12:19:09 am

Even still, I consider that a far cry from "integrated".

Oh, I'm with you on the media. There are a bunch of things making the Wii a poor choice for a media center. Even if the expansion of SD capacity skyrockets, you've still got a system that is incapable of Dolby Digital or DTS, lacks an ethernet port, has virtually no codec support, cannot play DVD movies (and I'm unsure whether it can read DVD blanks), and exists in the same world as Xbox Media Center which, frankly, puts the media capabilities of the Xbox 360 and PS3 to shame as well.

AlanS17 · « **Reply #131 on:** December 13, 2006, 07:58:38 am »

Quote from: boykster on December 13, 2006, 01:02:27 am

Sandisk and Sony just announced their new high capacity memory stick pro HG with capacity of 32gig...

a 40gig SD in 3-4 years doesn't sound so implausible now does it?

That's pretty cool. Do you have any links? Is it going to maintain the same form factor?

MustardTent · « **Reply #132 on:** December 13, 2006, 09:00:31 am »

Quote from: shmokes on December 13, 2006, 03:58:06 am

Quote from: AlanS17 on December 13, 2006, 12:19:09 am

Even still, I consider that a far cry from "integrated".

Oh, I'm with you on the media. There are a bunch of things making the Wii a poor choice for a media center. Even if the expansion of SD capacity skyrockets, you've still got a system that is incapable of Dolby Digital or DTS, lacks an ethernet port, has virtually no codec support, cannot play DVD movies (and I'm unsure whether it can read DVD blanks), and exists in the same world as Xbox Media Center which, frankly, puts the media capabilities of the Xbox 360 and PS3 to shame as well.

Not to mention the fact that copying ~500 MB took me over 15 minutes. Writing multiple files to flash media is just slooooooow.

boykster · « **Reply #133 on:** December 13, 2006, 12:58:24 pm »

Quote from: AlanS17 on December 13, 2006, 07:58:38 am

Quote from: boykster on December 13, 2006, 01:02:27 am
Sandisk and Sony just announced their new high capacity memory stick pro HG with capacity of 32gig...

a 40gig SD in 3-4 years doesn't sound so implausible now does it?
That's pretty cool. Do you have any links? Is it going to maintain the same form factor?

Sorry, meant to put a link in here for it. From what I've read, it will be backwards compatible with MS DUO's

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0612/06121101memorystickprohg.asp

Neilyboy · « **Reply #134 on:** December 14, 2006, 07:47:40 am »

I need to take my gf by a demo of one of these at a store. She wants me to get her a ps2 so she can play that rock star game with the guitar. I would rather spend another hundred bucks or so and pickup a wii later on when they become more avial or get lucky and pick one up at a store. I would love to get some 4 player action on wii sports going on in the basement on the projection screen.

Neil

AlanS17 · « **Reply #135 on:** December 14, 2006, 08:04:56 am »

Quote from: Neilyboy on December 14, 2006, 07:47:40 am

I need to take my gf by a demo of one of these at a store. She wants me to get her a ps2 so she can play that rock star game with the guitar. I would rather spend another hundred bucks or so and pickup a wii later on when they become more avial or get lucky and pick one up at a store. I would love to get some 4 player action on wii sports going on in the basement on the projection screen.

Neil

You must be talking about Guitar Hero. It's a totally awesome game. Even girls tend to like it. It's probably not a reason to buy a console on the way out, though. Might as well buy something that'll be viable for another 5 years.

On another note, they're actually making a version of Guitar Hero 2 for XBox 360, and I think it'll be out in a few months... if you havwe an XBox 360.

I agree about getting the Wii, though. Might as well get a system that will play new games for years to come - something that hasn't been on the market for 5 years or so.

Mr. Greenjeans · « **Reply #136 on:** December 14, 2006, 10:01:54 am »

Anyone going to try and get a Wii this weekend? I'm still deciding to try Target or Toys R Us.

tommy · « **Reply #137 on:** December 17, 2006, 12:27:05 am »

It would have been cool if i could make my own Wii channels from my Gamecube games without having the disc in the drive all the time.. (Upload Gamecube games)

bleemus · « **Reply #138 on:** December 17, 2006, 01:35:08 pm »

My girlfriend and most of her family was out today trying to get a Wii.

She woke up at 6AM, and was out the door at 7AM. Way too late.

When she got to best buy, there was a line wrapped all the way around the side of the building.
Circuit City was similar.
Toys R Us had 24 confirmed Wiis, with 40+ in line.
WalMart got 4-5.
Gamestop/EBgames in the area got 5 a piece.

Most of the people she talked to said they had been in line since around midnight.

I'm wondering how many of those people were just squatting to sell on EBay.

markrvp · « **Reply #139 on:** December 17, 2006, 03:23:46 pm »

People were camped out at Gamestop in my town yesterday at 5PM. My brother-in-law was 14th in line this morning at Target: they got 13

ChadTower · « **Reply #140 on:** December 17, 2006, 06:47:54 pm »

Quote from: markrvp on December 17, 2006, 03:23:46 pm

My brother-in-law was 14th in line this morning at Target: they got 13

OUCH.

shmokes · « **Reply #141 on:** December 18, 2006, 12:35:22 pm »

My brother got one Sunday morning. This is the next best thing to getting one myself as I got him the appartment next door to mine. He got one of six that Gamestop had.

So now I've played the thing quite a bit. It is ---smurfing--- awesome. He got Zelda and rented ExciteTruck and Trauma Center. I played mostly Wii Sports and Trauma Center all day yesterday. Trauma Center is AWESOME. What a great use of the controller. Ya'll need to pick it up. ExciteTruck is pretty lame. It works well as a tech demo, to show off some of the potential for the controller in racing games, but that's all. It's not very good.

I also played about an hour of Zelda, and my wife and I made some Mii characters. Good stuff. Zelda looks like it's going to be great, but it doesn't take advantage of the controller very well, IMO. Actually a lot of the stuff is good -- like the sling shot (it's the only projectile weapon I have so far). But the sword play is really REALLY bad. They should have left the sword mapped to the A button like it was at E3. When they build a Zelda from the ground up for the Wii I'm sure they'll work the controls better, but in twilight princess the sword-swinging action was meant to be mapped to a button. At the very least they should have given Wii users the option of playing either way.

Here's my review:

Pros: The controller is inspired. We are in for some really entertaining games. It's also small, attractive, and quiet.

Cons: The graphics aren't very good. But, I do expect them to get much better. None of the games I played looked half as good as Resident Evil 4 for Gamecube, and with the much more spacious storage medium and the bump in horsepower the Wii should be capable of better than that. Graphics-wise, every game I played could have easily been done on the Gamecube. Additionally, sound is a bit of a disappointment, but mainly because I'm so used to Xbox gaming.

Overall: The system is ---smurfing--- fun. Loads and loads and loads of fun. Obviously the lack of better graphics and sound are legitimate complaints. Both of those add to the quality of a game, just like the special effects in Lord of the Rings added to the enjoyment of that film, vs. say, had they used Labrynth or Willow quality special effects. But the Wii is just so damned fun that it's easy to recommend in spite of its shortcomings. Very easy to recommend.

I'm not sure whether my brother will want me to give out the system code here. I'll ask him. Is there any reason not to, aside from the dozens of Mii Characters that he might not want walking around?

somunny · « **Reply #142 on:** December 18, 2006, 12:58:02 pm »

Quote from: shmokes on December 18, 2006, 12:35:22 pm

I'm not sure whether my brother will want me to give out the system code here. I'll ask him. Is there any reason not to, aside from the dozens of Mii Characters that he might not want walking around?

Whay makes you so sure we want a Shmokes Mii wandering around on *our* Wiis?

If you don't like the Miis that show up you can just delete them. Personally, I like to see a big fricken' crowd.

Mr. Greenjeans · « **Reply #143 on:** December 18, 2006, 08:37:02 pm »

Got to Toys R Us at 3 am ... was 11th in line ...... they only had 10!!!! No Wii For Mii

tommy · « **Reply #144 on:** December 18, 2006, 10:53:38 pm »

It's amazing how much the so called weak and child-like console is becoming a huge hard to locate hit all over the world. Wii just can't get enough of it.

shmokes · « **Reply #145 on:** December 19, 2006, 10:14:38 am »

Quote from: tommy on December 18, 2006, 10:53:38 pm

Wii just can't get enough of it.

Don't be that guy.

shmokes · « **Reply #146 on:** December 19, 2006, 12:27:51 pm »

Also, it seems strange and potentially disturbing that you think of the console as child-like. Child-oriented or family-friendly I can see. But the console is child-like? You might consider having this looked at by a professional.

ChadTower · « **Reply #147 on:** December 19, 2006, 12:55:17 pm »

He said "so called". His grammar is clear this time.

romperwomb · « **Reply #148 on:** December 19, 2006, 08:55:28 pm »

My company had it's Christmas Party this weekend. The big giveaway prize was a Wii. I didn't win.

shmokes · « **Reply #149 on:** December 20, 2006, 10:41:39 pm »

BTW, for those who don't know, the forecast channel is live. Update your Wiis and you'll have it. It's really cool.

somunny · « **Reply #150 on:** December 20, 2006, 11:16:43 pm »

Quote from: shmokes on December 20, 2006, 10:41:39 pm

BTW, for those who don't know, the forecast channel is live. Update your Wiis and you'll have it. It's really cool.

Maybe you saw something I didn't. It tells what the weather is in a given location. How this is intriguing is beyond me. Now, having that weather incorporated into different games is interesting, but simply being able to check the weather? Not so much. Am I missing something here?

versapak · « **Reply #151 on:** December 21, 2006, 02:09:13 am »

Quote from: somunny on December 20, 2006, 11:16:43 pm

Quote from: shmokes on December 20, 2006, 10:41:39 pm
BTW, for those who don't know, the forecast channel is live. Update your Wiis and you'll have it. It's really cool.

Maybe you saw something I didn't. It tells what the weather is in a given location. How this is intriguing is beyond me. Now, having that weather incorporated into different games is interesting, but simply being able to check the weather? Not so much. Am I missing something here?

I found it to be pretty fun spinning the globe around checking the weather all over the world.

I guess I am just easy to please.

I have used my Xbox for a long time now to check the weather, but it has been put to a secondary switchbox with no remote, so I am glad to have one of my primary systems now able to give me the weather in the morning.

AlanS17 · « **Reply #152 on:** December 21, 2006, 08:13:50 am »

I just use weather.com. More specifically, the Weather Channel a free program that sits in your system tray and tells your the currnet local temperature. Clicking on it gives a detailed outlook with radar and forceasts. Of course, it's free. News and weatheer are two things people always want, though. I think it's good the Wii offers them. I'm ready to pop that sucker open already!

ChadTower · « **Reply #153 on:** December 21, 2006, 09:02:51 am »

I just look out the window.

If something has ice on it, it's cold. Otherwise, it's not.
If it's raining, it's raining. Otherwise, it's not.

shmokes · « **Reply #154 on:** December 21, 2006, 09:05:37 am »

Quote from: versapak on December 21, 2006, 02:09:13 am

I found it to be pretty fun spinning the globe around checking the weather all over the world.

Exactly. It is usefull. One of my brothers was leaving to drive to San Francisco yesterday morning and he was able to easily check the weather all the way between Utah and San Francisco. But it is the interface that makes it so cool. Spinning the globe and zooming in and out with the + and - buttons is cool.

versapak · « **Reply #155 on:** December 21, 2006, 09:39:51 am »

Quote from: shmokes on December 21, 2006, 09:05:37 am

Quote from: versapak on December 21, 2006, 02:09:13 am

I found it to be pretty fun spinning the globe around checking the weather all over the world.

Exactly. It is usefull. One of my brothers was leaving to drive to San Francisco yesterday morning and he was able to easily check the weather all the way between Utah and San Francisco. But it is the interface that makes it so cool. Spinning the globe and zooming in and out with the + and - buttons is cool.

One thing I found to be weird, is that you can only get 5 day forcasts in the US.

Also...

There was no North Pole.

I was hoping they'd have something like NORAD, where I could let the kids track Santa.

somunny · « **Reply #156 on:** December 21, 2006, 10:13:11 am »

Well, I guess that weather forecasts are just not my thing. I'm in Chad's camp on this one.

At least the browser is coming out tomorrow.

shmokes · « **Reply #157 on:** December 21, 2006, 10:44:16 am »

Quote from: somunny on December 21, 2006, 10:13:11 am

Well, I guess that weather forecasts are just not my thing. I'm in Chad's camp on this one.

At least the browser is coming out tomorrow.

Really? I didn't know that. As cool as I think the forecast channel is, the browser is potentially a lot cooler.

somunny · « **Reply #158 on:** December 21, 2006, 11:12:54 am »

You've probably looked it up by now, but here's a small article.

ChadTower · « **Reply #159 on:** December 21, 2006, 12:01:03 pm »

Well, for where I live and have mostly lived (New England, Maritime Canada), any forecast beyond about 60 hours is useless. Most forecasts of 48+ hours are considered 50% reliable at most. The weather changes way too fast without warning. Technology has improved that somewhat in the past decade but it's still not unheard of for an experienced New England weather forecaster to say stuff like "uh, we just can't tell for sure what it's really going to do the day after tomorrow".


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