Nintendo Surprises Keep Coming

[B1u3]

The Nintendo controller will feature a microphone and will store a user phonebook/address book while it will be used as a VoIP phone and will help gamers communicate while online without the need for a headset. All this comes thanks to a few Nintendo patents unveiled by nrevolutiona which demonstrate exactly how the microphone will be implemented.

Nintendo's controller surprises keep coming in and as the details are revealed so is an underlying theme to the company's plan for the device. The new details mention a microphone built-in to the headset which will allow the controller to be used as a straight-forward VoIP phone. The news also mentions that users will be able to use the phone for video calls although it does not clarify exactly how a camera will come into play in the setup. The interesting news however, relates to the phone/address book details which will be stored on the controller suggesting that Nintendo expects each user of the Wii in the household to own their own Wiimote.

The inclusion of a microphone built-into the controller, along with the speaker announced at E3, will also offer gamers more freedom during online play as they will be able to communicate with fellow gamers without the need for a headset. This makes sense as most images we have of people playing with the infamous device, show them standing up and at some distance from the console.

Just when you think Nintendo has no more Wii related mysteries the company hits you with another one and this time it is the addition of Wiichannel.com to the list of Nintendo owned domains. Rumors of a Wii dedicated interactive channel that will carry animations, games and game trailers, TV shows and other audio/visual content have already started doing the rounds but as most of us have found the hard way, Nintendo is not playing by the book on this one; so expect nothing and anticipate everything.

i wouldnt mind having a Wii..

[GG Hendrix]

Cant wait.

[gagaman]

Next they'll be telling us that the Wiimote has an unlimited stock of Tic-tacs hidden inside it, so whenever you get peckish while gaming you can just tap em in your mouth. Or not.

[GG Hendrix]

I'm just waiting for official comfirmation that this computer will cure cancer.

Why not? we already have factual evidence it was constructed by God!

[Pinkie Pie]

Next they'll be telling us that the Wiimote has an unlimited stock of Tic-tacs hidden inside it, so whenever you get peckish while gaming you can just tap em in your mouth. Or not.
Now that WOULD be an awesome feature, :g-laugh:

[BlueSonnet]

Now that WOULD be an awesome feature, :g-laugh:

Yeah but it can make you wonder why though. Nothing like some num-nums and chewing gum while gaming though.

[GG Hendrix]

My ideal Wii joypad

Wii: *sparkle sound*
Me: Ace.
Wii: *compartment opens, tube flies out, sprays Jack Daniels down my gob*
me: *after drinking* Ace
Wii: (compartment opens, an LSD tab with a Chu Chu Rocket character is on it)
Me: Ace.


Oh yeah, the games will rock too.

[Perks]

IT GETS BETTER


Nintendo has revealed its next-generation console, the Wii, will retail in the US for $250 or less, and no more than ¥25,000 ($220/£119/€174) in Japan. It also expects to have shipped more than 6m of the machines by March 2007, the company said today.

That's as many machines as the total number of PlayStation 3 consoles Sony is expecting to ship in the same period. Sony's box is more than twice the price of the Wii. Both Sony and Microsoft have suggested consumers will buy a Wii alongside each company's more advanced console because the Nintendo machine is relatively so cheap.

Nintendo made the announcement in Osaka this morning after reporting a 12.5 per cent rise in full-year net profits to ¥98.38bn ($876.7m) but a 19 per cent drop in operating profits. The gain arose from the relative strengths of the Yen and the Dollar during the 12-month period, which ended 31 March 2006. Annual sales were down 1.2 per cent to ¥509.25bn ($4.54bn).

For the current fiscal year, due to end on 31 March 2007, Nintendo said it expects to announce an operating profit of ¥110bn ($980.19m). The boost will come largely from sales of the Wii and ongoing demand for the DS, particularly now the redesigned DS Lite will soon ship in Europe and the US. ®

Source: http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/05/25/nintendo_wii_pricing_revealed/


Giant enemy crab. OOH and this, which interests me at least:


The executive vice president of Opera for Devices, Scott Hedrick, has revealed that Nintendo Wii owners will be using the console's unique remote controller to surf the web.

In an interview with IGN, Hedrick said: "The remote control is an extremely advanced tool. Opera plans to use this to its full advantage and it will provide an intuitive way to surf the Web."

"Imagine the possibilities in terms of surfing with a motion sensitive remote control."

Hedrick declined to give details of how the control system will work, stating only: "I cannot specifically comment on the lack of keyboard, but many devices running Opera don't have keyboards, such as the Nintendo DS, and feature on-screen keyboards to solve this problem."

He went on to say that Opera won't be sold separately from the Wii - but stopped short of confirming whether or not it'll come with the console as standard. However, it's clear that Hedrick believes online gaming will play a key part in the success of Nintendo's new console: "As Nintendo touts Wii as always connected it is natural that a browser should be a part of their strategy, as a gateway to the Web."

"I believe that Web technology will increasingly be a part of the gaming experience, whether it's live content being pushed onto games or you're just checking your Web mail while playing Mario Kart."

"We're seeing access to the Web in more and more places and in more and more ways, it was simply a matter of time before it spread to game consoles."

Source: http://gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=17269


i.e. - Post on the CGIMBT by waving around the controller! Actually, having Opera on board is good news, in that it's a good browser and they know how to make mini versions (they're making a version for the DS that may be rather sweet as well...)

and to repeat excitedly - IT WILL BE LESS THAN HALF THE PRICE OF A PS3 and will probably provide infinite amounts of joy. YES

GO WII GO

[Aki-at]

The Wii is shaping up to be grand. Indeed anyone who already has a Xbox 360 or who is going to buy a PS3 would get the Wii to complement the console they already have since it'll be far cheaper (or at least far cheaper then the PS3!) for all the niffty games and gizmos.

Hmmm I wonder if Sony is going to add this to the PS3 and go on to say they had planned it all along.

[T3h_Waffleman]

Kaz Hirai: *reads this topic* "DAMN! The giant enermy crabs and Ridge Racer aren't working! Looks like we need to bring out the big guns...or should I say, big ball..."

DUM DUM DUUUUUUMMMM!!!!

[GG Hendrix]

I'm gonna end up owning all three at some point, but I am looking forwards to the Wii immensely.
I need the Wii like Bobby Brown needs cocaine.

[gagaman]

Thanks to the Wii, the PS3 is turning out to be somewhat a laughing stock, if you ask me. Lanuch price of around £120? Sweet~

[Aki-at]

Thanks to the Wii, the PS3 is turning out to be somewhat a laughing stock, if you ask me. Lanuch price of around £120? Sweet~

Only £120? thats cheaper then the PSP! (or at least at some of the shops I've been too) gosh Nintendo aren't really leaving many options for people not to buy a Wii.

[Perks]

Just to confirm the price!


UK to pay about the same for Wii as US, Japan

When Sony announced that $600 price point for the PlayStation 3, it was a spicy meatball, but their €499 / 599 European price was an even tougher sell, and their eventual supposed £425 (~$800 US) UK sticker was the icing on a very vexatious cake -- the more we found out about their launch prices, the more it pained us. Looks like Nintendo's not gonna be following in Sony's footsteps though, at least not in Europe. They let GamesIndustry know that the "UK pricing will be in line with Japan and the US," for the Wii, which GI took to mean that with VAT, the UK might expect to pay about £150 (about $279 US). Yeah, it's a little higher than the US and Japan -- and it usually is -- but it's certainly not the multi-hundred-dollar price penalty for living on the Soggy Isles Sony's apparently intending to excise, that's for sure.


http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/26/uk-to-pay-about-the-same-for-wii-as-us-japan/

Any company that doesn't overcharge in the UK needs love!

[Hobo]

Can't.Wait.To.Buy. Seriously, what next? A mini Video Game in the Controler?

[Blitz Mage]

Jesus...... I've become a Nintendo fan all over again.....

I'm confused....? Since when has Nintendo, much less any company, been this on the ball? They're freaking doing everything right...... except that name. Wii's still a little stupid, if you asked me...... besides that though, golden.

EDIT: huh? 72 posts? Last time I checked I had over a hundred...... was there a purge that I'm not aware of or something?

[GG Hendrix]

Despite the fact it isn't even out, I love the Wii as much as

- Punching Nazi's
- Music

And almost as much as

- Sex
- Men Without Hats

[BlueSonnet]

I gotta say my family over here haven't always been so enthusiastic towards Nintendo. When the time comes for replacing the PS2 maybe i'll put in a good word to op for Nintendo's next gen offerings. I'll also consider a DS this x-mas as well, that is if i ever get back into console gaming.

EDIT: huh? 72 posts? Last time I checked I had over a hundred...... was there a purge that I'm not aware of or something?

I curbed oneliner threads in smeghead by moving them to spudnik where posts don't go towards the final count.

Any ideas what they can call this console instead of Wii?

[Haukura]

Well I think Nintendo RevoLution was A good Name. But Not I was thin Nintedo Blue Flame but nah that sounded stupid.

[gagaman]

The problem with the name "Revolution" was it suffered the same problem all console names seem of got stuck in: It was rather stuffy and pretentious. After it's been out for a couple years, it won't be "revolutionary" then, will it?

[BlueSonnet]

Here's hoping that they don't take the mass media celeb approach and give their consoles further daft names.

"Sony Wednesday is in competition with Microsoft's Ravioli in the console market but it looks like Nintendo's Pavement Slab will be the best seller this fall."

As the saying goes, don't name your kids when you're pissed.

[GG Hendrix]

I'd call a console "Vomit Swan" if I could.

[gagaman]

I'd call mine the "Dreamcast 2" =P

*kicked*

Actaully, for some reason I've always thought the name Kusuragi (as in Major Kusuragi from Ghost in the shell) would make a great console name. I'm not sure why, but I designed a Sega fan console once called that, and it was a Dreamcast/Saturn/Mega Drive combo =D

[T3h_Waffleman]

I'd call mine the "OMFGerz LOL videro gehms!"

But that's just me.