Nintendo Channel debuts on the Wii

[RTSDaddy2]

Might be the first truly useful channel since Wii Shop came about.  Videos of upcoming games for all systems, as well as the option to download demos of upcoming DS games.

I like it - got to see Wii Ski in action, as well as Deca Sports...I definitely want Wii Ski....looks like fun, but hey, what do I know?     Deca Sports by Hudson still looks promising also...I've said it before, will say it again, this might be the two games that launch third party success on this system.  Maybe - only time will tell, but maybe.

This also in conjunction with the upcoming launch (FINALLY) of Wii Ware on May 12th.  I am really interested to see what goodies that brings both initially and in the days to come.  The video of it on Nintendo Channel made it seem as if we may have the opportunity to have fun with our Wiis (sorry, I just could NOT help it nor avoid it) with this channel.

Gonna be an interesting summer - our family still loves this little system, we'll see what the future does hold in the coming months.

[DaveMMR]

I just saw it was available for download.  Can't wait to check it out.

EDIT: Downloaded it.   Looks pretty cool, and since I "opted in", I was able to get the DS Download service.   I quickly downloaded the Ninja Gaiden Demo and spent a good chunk of time with that.

[shmokes]

Yeah, my system's been blinking at me.  I don't really have time to check it out for a week or two, though. 

[lcddream]

Yeah, my system's been blinking at me.  I don't really have time to check it out for a week or two, though. 

I turn off the wii to a red light now ever since I heard some people were possibly frying their wii video chips because of heat in standby mode....the fan doesn't go on in standby mode.

anyone else know anything about this?

[HaRuMaN]

Yeah, my system's been blinking at me.  I don't really have time to check it out for a week or two, though. 

I turn off the wii to a red light now ever since I heard some people were possibly frying their wii video chips because of heat in standby mode....the fan doesn't go on in standby mode.

anyone else know anything about this?

It gets very hot in standby mode...  so I turned it off.

[fjl]

Heat, what? I've left mines in Standby mode since the first day it came out. I haven't checked it for heat though. The other day I got a power surge in my house. Fried my Wii. Or so I thought. I disconnected and reconnected a few times and the power simply did not want to come on I even tried different outlets. So I left it disconnected for a few minutes so those capacitors and coils can completely discharge. Plugged it back and now it works fine. 

[Dazz]

Heat, what? I've left mines in Standby mode since the first day it came out. I haven't checked it for heat though. The other day I got a power surge in my house. Fried my Wii. Or so I thought. I disconnected and reconnected a few times and the power simply did not want to come on I even tried different outlets. So I left it disconnected for a few minutes so those capacitors and coils can completely discharge. Plugged it back and now it works fine. 

Same here.... My Wii has been on Standby mode since within an hour it was released.  My Wii is also enclosed inside of a wooden entertainment center and I've never had an issue with heat. 

I too, thought my Wii had died during a power surge eventhough I had it on a really beefy surge protection that I use on all of my electronics.  I tested a friends powersupply and my Wii worked just fine.  I called up Nintendo and they shipped me a new powersupply and I got it a couple days after.  Before I received it I tried my old powersupply again and everything worked perfectly.  Called Nintendo back up and told them that I did not need the powersupply they were shipping, they told me to keep it as a backup incase I needed one again. 

[AtomSmasher]

My Wii died a while back (the menu would open fine, but the screen would turn black when starting any game, including virtual console ones) and while I have no idea what caused it, I now leave connect24 off just in case.  It does get pretty warm when in standby, but I don't know if it gets hot enough to damage itself.

[shmokes]

Hmm . . . if it's getting hot, that means it's wasting a good deal of electricity.  Maybe I'll go turn it off.

[HaRuMaN]

Hmm . . . if it's getting hot, that means it's wasting a good deal of electricity.  Maybe I'll go turn it off.

Yet another reason I turned mine off. 

[patrickl]

Yeah I switched mine off too. It's all pointless anyway. The whole news station, weather channel thing is not really something I need.

[patrickl]

Yeah I switched mine off too. It's all pointless anyway. The whole news station, weather channel thing is not really something I need.

I spend more time checking the news and weather on my wii than I do actually playing games.

Actually me too during the first 6 months after I got the Wii. But then there really were hardly any games worth playing back then. I even used the utterly silly polls channel quite a few times.

[RTSDaddy2]

Was just looking at the Wiki page for Wii Ware and the relases expected here from launch date through the next several months.  I think it's interesting that Hudson Soft, Konami, and Square Enix (sp?), all have titles, with Hudson really leading the way.

My point, though I doubt it is altogether valid - again, I really don't know how any of this truly works, but I'll throw this out anyway:  this, coupled with hoped success for Wii Ski and Decca Sports, could possibly sell people on third party software.

(edit): The rather inexpensive cost may help too on Wii Ski and Decca Sports - both will sell for $29.99 out of the gate (as I understand it from my internet readings), instead of $49.99.

[AtomSmasher]

(edit): The rather inexpensive cost may help too on Wii Ski and Decca Sports - both will sell for $29.99 out of the gate (as I understand it from my internet readings), instead of $49.99.

That lowered price is the reason I think those titles will probably be more shovelware.  Theres a reason they don't think they will sell for full price.  I hope they're good titles, but I wouldn't count on it.

[shmokes]

Yeah . . . look at the third party software that does well on other systems:  Metal Gear, Grand Theft Auto, Gears of War, Orange Box, Prince of Persia, Call of Duty . . . 

IMO, third party software does really well, when it's really good -- especially if it's got really high production values (read: great visuals and sound).  I don't see these third party titles taking off especially on the Wii.  Especially anything made by Hudson . . . when was the last time they made anything spectacular?  I think one thing that lends credence to my theory is that there is one non-Nintendo game that has had lots of success on the Wii: Resident Evil 4.  Wii Ski and the various WiiWare titles might make for fun little distractions . . . but they ain't gonna be blockbusters.

[AtomSmasher]

Well the Wii does have No More Heroes and Zack and Wiki, both of which should of been big sellers, but weren't.  I think part of the problem is that every really good third party game on the Wii (the few thats theres been) have been complete surprises that their actually good, so theres been little to no hype surrounding their releases.  Add in the small marketing budget compared to most big sellers, and the really good games hardly sell at all.

[DaveMMR]

Especially anything made by Hudson . . . when was the last time they made anything spectacular?

People seem to like the Mario Party series, but that hardly counts and that's all I can think of right now. 

But 3rd-party software and Nintendo haven't been cozy the past couple of generations.  Not to mention that 3rd party launch software for the Wii was rushed out the door in anticipation of another Nintendo "also-ran".  The Wii's success took many 3rd parties by surprise and where they formerly had no intention of porting their games, they now find themselves putting aside more attention to a Nintendo port.  So I'm [cautiously] optimistic about the 3rd party games being worked on. 

I think one thing that lends credence to my theory is that there is one non-Nintendo game that has had lots of success on the Wii: Resident Evil 4.

I don't know if Top 10, but Rayman: Raving Rabbids and Guitar Hero 3 have done pretty well too.

[shmokes]

People seem to like the Mario Party series, but that hardly counts

A perfect example, actually.  I put that firmly in the same category of, "People seem to like Britney Spears."  IGN gave it a 5.4 and 1up gave it a C.  The original Mario Party may have been good when it was published like a decade ago (just as Bomberman used to be great), but Hudson (like Sega) seems to have become a generator of shovelware.

[AtomSmasher]

The fighting in No More Heroes was fairly repetative, but it was still extremely fun and never boring (both in my opinion and in the opinion of most reviewers since it reviewed fairly well, I even started to play through the game a second time (which I've only done with 2 other games with storylines), but another game caught my eye before I got too far).  Did you actually play through the game, because it had great jokes throughout (such as the fast forwarding scene near the end or the one boss that gets killed before you fight him).  Virtually every game has loading screens, and they weren't excessively long or happened too often in NMH, so I don't know where that complaint is coming from.

[AtomSmasher]

Don't be one of those "well, the *reviewers* liked it" guys.  Who cares?

Did you not understand that I played through the game and liked it a lot?  The reason I mentioned the reviews is to show that I am not alone in my opinion.

Not everyone likes every game, so I'm not saying your wrong for not liking the game, I'm just saying your wrong about the game lacking polish.

[patrickl]

I completely agree with pinbaljim.

BTW just to quote from the IGN review (78 score):

it’s obvious that open world designs aren’t Grasshopper’s strong suit, and while you wont be actually fighting or experiencing any “pure action” moments in the world, it’s a pain to trek through, and a painfully low-tech visual offering. Pop-in is everywhere, control is irritating at best, and the frame rate is all over the charts. It’s an absolute mess.

or more to the point:

If you can put up with a lack of polish ...

I didn't get far in the game. The "lack of polish" had me out after 2 bosses and collecting some coconuts.

[AtomSmasher]

Fair enough, the complaints from the IGN review would definately be from lack of polish (while most of the complaints pinballjim gave would not).

The open world part was definately the weak point in the game, and I mainly just gave that a pass because it was basically just filler between the levels and I enjoyed the missions and bosses a whole lot.

[AtomSmasher]

Well the complaints you gave were boring gameplay, repetative jokes, load screens, and tedious tasks, the complaints they gave were restricts to the openworld part of the game and were pop-in's, poor controls, low-tech graphics, and frame rate issues.  Their complaints could of been corrected through better QA and polish, while your complaints would of taken a rewrite of the gameplay and script and somehow eliminating load screens.

How about we replace No More Heroes and Zack and Wiki from my first post with games that have much less debate about how good they are, such as Beyond Good and Evil, Psychonauts, Okami, and Ico.  The point is great games are not always big sellers.  Pre-release hype and marketing budget have a large impact on sales numbers.

[shmokes]

Funny, I hadn't read the IGN review and I agree with their statements 100%.  They described the problems better than I did, but the complaints are the same.

Don't be one of those "well, the *reviewers* didn't like it" guys.  Who cares?