Nintendo Wii to Launch November 19

The Nintendo Wii will be hitting stores on November 19, at the cheap price of $249.99 (US). The bundle includes the wireless Wii Remote controller, the Nunchuk Controller, and the compilation of the five sports games, Wii Sports (Baseball, Bowling, Boxing, Tennis, and Golf). Not only is this a good deal, Nintendo spilled some new info about some new features that have been hidden to the public up until now. The following was taken from IGN:

"In a surprise announcement, Nintendo said that it wanted to make Wii a living room centerpiece by shipping the system with features outside of the videogame realm. Wii will include a photo channel, enabling users to display their digital photos through the console. It will also boast regularly updated news and weather channels. In addition, the Opera browser will be available for the system, enabling users to access the web with the console."

If your interested in seeing this interface in action, click on the following LINK. Those videos were posted up on Nintendo JP recently, and they showcase all the following features in action.

Also another interesting tidbit, is that first-party Nintendo Wii titles will be completely region-free. Although third-party developers are not completely expected to hold this feature in there games; however, hopefully they will follow the good example that is Nintendo. Wired got the chance to squeeze this and some more useful information out of Nintendo Vice-President -- Perrin Kaplan. The following was extracting from a post over at Wired:

Will the Wii be region-free?

Yes. Like the Nintendo DS, the Wii will be able to play games from other regions, such as Japan, without any restriction. Kaplan implied there might be a region lock that publishers would be able to flip on, but it doesn't sound like the first-party titles from Nintendo will be restricted.

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On the negative side of the spectrum, the Wii will not contain support for DVD playback. It really doesn't bother me, at all, and I barly see it worth even mentioning, but I guess others are concerned about it. Yip, no DVD playback, so guess you'll have to use another device for playing your DVD's.

Well, thats generally what I have found to be the most important info concerning the Wii, that has released recently.

Sega's Virtual Console Lineup [Wii]

Recently I posted a general list of what was being brought to the Virtual Console for Wii; however, on the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) forums, a SEGA list has been compiled. The list is as follows:

• Ecco the Dolphin
• Altered Beast
• Toe Jam & Earl
• Golden Axe
• Columns
• Sonic the Hedgehog
• Ristar

This is great news, and I always like seeing SEGA pushing there content, because I love there games.

Via IGN

Wii's Broadway chip production process

I came across this video when I was snooping around dig, and its fairly interesting. The video showcases the steps that are taken to produce the Broadway chip for the Nintendo Wii. The footage is taken inside of IBM headquarters. Enjoy.

Virtual console launch list [Wii]

Play-Nintendo has recently got there hands on a copy of Wii's virtual console launch list, from a "trustworthy source". The list is comprised of 26 classic titles, and is subject to change. Titles could be added at any time. The list is as follows:

1. Bonk's Adventure
2. Castlevania
3. Duck Hunt
4. Excitebike
5. F-Zero
6. Kid Icarus
7. Legend of Zelda, The
8. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
9. Mario Kart 64
10. Metroid
11. Mortal Kombat
12. New Adventure Island
13. Ninja Gaiden
14. OutRun
15. Pac-Man
16. Prince of Persia
17. Punch-Out!!
18. R-Type
19. Rayman 2
20. Sonic the Hedgehog
21. Star Fox
22. Super Mario 64
23. Super Mario Bros
24. Super Mario Kart
25. Super Mario World
26. Tecmo Bowl

According to the source, there are at least five more titles in development for the virtual console. There were no specifics supplied at the time of submission of the news, but hopefully we will see some surface in the coming days. Nostalgia here we come!

Via Play-Nintendo

Splinter Cell hits the Wii launch list

Yesterday, Ubisoft announced that the very anticipated Splinter Cell: Double Agent, would be releasing with Nintendo's Wii. With seven Ubi titles already launching with the Wii, this is another nice addition. Some of the content will be missing according to Ubi. Some misson's present in the Xbox 360 version, and the online gameplay are going to excluding from the Wii version. The Wii version, be based on the PS2 and GCN versions; however, it will indeed utilize the unqiue Wiimote. The following was posted on IGN:

"Double Agent will make use of both the Wii-mote and nunchuck attachment. Ubisoft Montreal is still play-testing the controls in order to further refine everything and therefore was unwilling to describe in detail the exact control methods in place. However, it did cite one example, which is that players will be able to shake the Wii-mote to and from in order to make Sam Fisher pick locks in the game."

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