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Print 35 comment(s) - last by Ichinisan.. on Aug 13 at 11:20 PM

The new digital Wii clock as of firmware version 3  (Source: Wii Fanboy)
New Wii Firmware turns Nintendo system into a fancy digital clock

For those who haven’t yet noticed the glowing blue light on their Wii consoles, Nintendo has quietly released version 3 of its system software. Much of the improvements are to the Wii’s “Channel” interface, which help usability.

The full changes from version 2 to 3 are:

Wii Menu

  • The weather forecast will now be displayed on the Forecast Channel icon in the Wii Menu.
  • Headline news will now be displayed on the News Channel icon in the Wii Menu.
  • The current time will now be displayed in the Wii Menu.
  • The area around the Wii Message Board button will now flash when a message arrives.

Wii Message Board

  • You're now able to rearrange the order of your Wii Friends in the address book.
  • You're now able to go into the Wii Friends registration screen by pressing the A Button on a blank spot in the address book.
  • Envelope message icons will now appear on the calendar only on the dates when a message is received.
  • Your message sending history will now be displayed in Today's Accomplishments.
  • You can now scroll the message text by pressing the B button on the message screen.

Wii Shop Channel

  • The search function on Virtual Console has been enhanced.

One can instantly tell whether or not the firmware was properly installed by inspecting the brand new digital clock that displays the time on the main screen. Currently, the only way to obtain the new system software is through the Wii's Wi-Fi Internet connection, as games have yet to ship with the firmware update included.

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eh
By afkrotch on 8/8/2007 10:11:22 AM , Rating: 5
I'd probably be more interested, if they actually provided more non-useless features.




RE: eh
By FITCamaro on 8/8/2007 10:15:49 AM , Rating: 2
I kind of agree. Who cares if the Wii has a digital clock?

Nintendo, you've done fabulous with Wii sales. But come on. If you're going to add functionality, make it functionality people care about.


RE: eh
By omnicronx on 8/8/2007 10:20:13 AM , Rating: 1
quote:
Who cares if the Wii has a digital clock?

Those Japanese kids who play Wii for 48 hours straight sure as hell do haha. I always laugh every time i see a video game related death in the news.


RE: eh
By CZroe on 8/8/2007 10:55:50 AM , Rating: 3
I've only seen Korean deaths reported.


RE: eh
By daftrok on 8/8/07, Rating: 0
RE: eh
By omnicronx on 8/8/2007 4:03:52 PM , Rating: 5
how am i a dick? are you telling me you don't find it a tad bit funny when you hear on the news that someone died of a video game overdose again? Everyones thinking it, i am just saying it. I am no racist, i probably have more friends from different places/cultures than most people here. No matter where you live/color of your skin/language you speak, I will laugh at your funeral if you die playing video games haha. Of course i still send my condolences ;)


RE: eh
By Yongsta on 8/9/2007 11:55:41 AM , Rating: 2
Considering how many pale nerds play world of warcraft non stop I'm surprised there hasn't been any deaths reported over here in the states.


RE: eh
By h0kiez on 8/8/2007 2:03:36 PM , Rating: 1
Even more concerned...are the Chinese kids who the government says have to stop playing after "x" number of hours.


RE: eh
By drebo on 8/8/2007 10:41:27 AM , Rating: 5
What, exactly, would you have upgraded, then?

Unlike with the PS3, Nintendo didn't completely fuck up with the Wii and rush it to market before it was finished, so they don't really need to release firmware updates that actually change the functionality of the device. They can release firmware updates that do what they're supposed to: enhance the functionality already present.


RE: eh
By Polynikes on 8/8/2007 11:02:02 AM , Rating: 2
So wait, Sony's releasing a DVR capability later on is something you would consider should be a standard feature in a video game console? I'll agree that Sony didn't do well with the PS3, but not all firmware updates have to be minor touch-ups.


RE: eh
By omnicronx on 8/8/2007 11:17:15 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
So wait, Sony's releasing a DVR capability later on is something you would consider should be a standard feature in a video game console?

um yes? when your main competitor (Microsoft) has their own PVR essentially bundled with the 360 (through MCE), Sony has some major shoes to fill. They are obviously playing catchup, and sony would not have even thought of adding DVR capabilities like that of the xbox360 via MCE if it was non existent.

not all firmware updates have to be minor touch ups, but it seems the DVR was barely even a thought in Sony's mind, before they realized their ALL IN ONE MEDIA CENTER, was being beat by a less powerful console ;) So i consider this more of a major console update, rather than a firmware update to fix or improve the existing features.


RE: eh
By afkrotch on 8/8/2007 12:05:14 PM , Rating: 1
How exactly is their own PVR essentially bundled with the Xbox 360, if it's unusable without a PC?

Shoot, the Xbox 360 isn't doing any of it. It's simply getting streaming video from the PC. The PC is the PVR. Where as the PS3 is the DVR. It requires no PC to do the work, as it's the one doing it.

If I have no PC at home. All I have is an HDTV, Xbox 360, 50 meg internet, and digital cable TV, could I record video?

Bundled my ass.


RE: eh
By omnicronx on 8/8/2007 12:50:40 PM , Rating: 2
I am sorry you happen to be one of the few people in the world without a home computer, but sorry to tell you, you are a dying bread. The reason i used the word essentially is for the reason you specified, you need a PC.

But, once MCE is setup on your computer, the only thing required to stream is a network cable. The capabilities of MCE will by far outweigh anything sony will be able to muster. Also i must note within the next year many people around the world will upgrade to vista, giving them the ability to run MCE.

I am sorry you don't have a home pc, but the way an extender works is really ingenious, my current setup allows me to record two HD OTA sources and 2 digital cable sources at the same time. I would be surprised if the PS3 DVR would be able to view 1 OTA sources or have the ability to control digital cable or satellite, or record more than one thing at a time, let alone have the ability to record HD content and play games at the same time.

So in closing, you are perfectly correct, the 360 is not a standalone PVR unit, but with a PC it can be so much more than the ps3 DVR can even hope to be.


RE: eh
By philsworth on 8/8/2007 1:33:41 PM , Rating: 2
The vast majority of the people in this world do not have PCs.

Any media recorded to any PC can be streamed to any games console (PS3, Xbox or Wii) You don't need to buy any thing extra from Microsoft like MCE or an XboX 360.

For instance on the PS3, you just set up WMP11 or Tversity on your PC and any media in the folders you are monitoring is then available from the XMB as if they were local. Tversity will even convert the file if it is of an unsupported type (I don't think MCE does that).

I am not sure what exactly a TV tuner is but Freeview was mentioned in the Sony announcement, freeview channels (30+) are broadcasted in MPEG2 format, there shouldn't be too many problems decoding multiple MPEG2 streams and writing to a hardrive for a processor like the Cell or for that matter the processor in the Xbox 360.

To close, all this talk of Sony's DVR is pure speculation and is completely useless really, we will have to see what they come up with.


RE: eh
By omnicronx on 8/8/2007 2:01:37 PM , Rating: 3
quote:
The vast majority of the people in this world do not have PCs.

ha? do you live in Ethiopia or Congo maybe? While i can agree not everyone has a pc, i think its safe to say 80% of 360 owners have a pc in their household, especially in north america, where the 360 has its fan base.

As for your streaming mumbo jumbo.. and extender is not just streaming, technically the MCE software is loaded client side, meaning there is a software layer installed on the xbox360. You are able to use the as much HD space as your want (80gigs can only fit so many HD videos), it does not hinder your ability to play on your console while recording, all the while still having my PC in a totally different room. So if you know of another device, that i can Watch Movies, Control, Play, Record, and watch live TV with multiple sources, play music, use it wherever i want in my house, and surf the net i would like to know.
quote:
I am not sure what exactly a TV tuner is but Freeview was mentioned in the Sony announcement, freeview channels (30+) are broadcasted in MPEG2 format,

Where exactly do you live? do you realize freeview is only available in europe? and not north America, what even better is they specifically said digital freeview tuner, which by no uncertain terms means it will have HD capabilities. So unless they are going to bundle OTA HD, and freeview, and analogue inputs for digital cable, this once again.. can not compare.


RE: eh
By MonkeyPaw on 8/9/2007 8:47:34 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
The vast majority of the people in this world do not have PCs.


True, but the vast majority of people with "50 meg internet" do.


RE: eh
By deeznuts on 8/8/2007 1:43:00 PM , Rating: 1
MCE on a networked computer is not bundled PVR technology on the Xbox dude. Get a clue.

You're equating someone knowing how to use MCE on a networked computer, to a TIVO/DVR that millions of people have from their cable/sattelite provider (to which the PS3 apparently is trying to replicate).


RE: eh
By omnicronx on 8/8/2007 2:33:01 PM , Rating: 2
read you moron, if you are going to come in here talking smack, at least read all of the posts. I never said it was bundled, i said essentially, then again i said PC IS NEEDED. Don't come in here 2 hours later read one line, and start talking a bunch of none sense.

And if you are equating the TIVO PVR that accepts cable cards, HD signals and anything else you can throw at it to a ps3 with an add on tuner, you are an idiot, as MCE is much closer to TIVO than the ps3 ever will be, be it standalone or not.


RE: eh
By Nightskyre on 8/8/2007 11:17:12 AM , Rating: 4
I'll give you a perfect example.

I love my Wii, but I think the Wii Shop channel is done terribly. With Nintendo hyping up their "WiiConnect24" they've done an awful job with it in regards to the Wii Shop Channel.

There is no reason I have to wait a few minutes or more to see the list of available games for download on the Virtual Console. Why can't Nintendo upload the list of available games in the background while my Wii is connected? Obviously downloading the games should take time, but there's no reason they can't store a little bit of XML (straight text doesn't take much space) on my console and use that to download one or two small images if I indicate interest in a game and want to see more. I don't need a shot of the title screen of Legend of the Mystical Ninja to download every time I go to the VC purchase page when all I want is Zelda 2.

Here's another one - Why not have a request line? If the entire world wants to play Stunt Race FX, wouldn't it be handy to be able to click a button in the Wii Shop Channel and type in the name of a game you'd like to see made available? Nintendo is usually pretty good at catering to their gamers. Wouldn't this help them figure out what people want without costing much money? Their servers can automatically discard the entries that contain a game title that doesn't match up with anything in their archives, and based on whats left, use a simple report with sheer numbers to leverage their decisions (it's not like we'd *know* what they kept and didn't anyway.) It's a low cost high impact feature.


RE: eh
By Spivonious on 8/8/2007 11:45:04 AM , Rating: 5
Why don't you suggest that question in the Everybody Votes channel?


RE: eh
By afkrotch on 8/8/07, Rating: -1
RE: eh
By Nightskyre on 8/8/2007 12:32:09 PM , Rating: 2
Except for the fact that the VC is add only. They aren't removing games, which means there isn't a lot of rewriting, and no deleting.


RE: eh
By Netscorer on 8/8/2007 1:54:19 PM , Rating: 2
Not all consoles are space limited. PS3 is not. Xbox360 is not. Come to think of it, the Wii stands alone in the current generation of consoles that does not come bundled with HardDrive.
You want a game patch or add-on? - sorry, not on Wii.
You want to load game trailer or demo - sorry, not on Wii.
You want to keep in memory more then couple of virtual games - sorry, not on Wii.

Wii fanboys become so offended when they are told Wii is nothing more then a glorified last generation console with tacked on motion controls. But that is essentially what it is.

P.S. I have all three consoles at home and play Wii often. So this is not a baseless critique.


RE: eh
By The Sword 88 on 8/8/2007 2:04:45 PM , Rating: 2
I am with you. My little bro has a Wii and I have a 360 and man do I prefer my Xbox 360 to his Wii.

The 480 graphics do not look very good on an HD TV, the forced Wi-Fi with no ethernet support is a pain.

Sure Wii bowling and such if fun for a little while but it cannot stand up to games like Oblivion and Gears of War.


RE: eh
By Ichinisan on 8/13/2007 11:06:37 PM , Rating: 2
The Wii Shop in particular got an overhaul with this update.

Oh, and as for your question about Stunt Race FX: The game uses the SuperFX chip. Emulating it would more than double the complexity of the SNES emulator and I expect it to be one of the LAST if it is ever available. Notice that Starfox 64 is available but not Starfox? Same thing. The only reason N64 emulation is even possible is because of HLE (High Level Emulation - Translating emulated software to native commands).


I disagree with this statement.
By Golgatha on 8/8/2007 11:18:30 AM , Rating: 1
"Currently, the only way to obtain the new system software is through the Wii's Wi-Fi Internet connection, as games have yet to ship with the firmware update included."

My wired LAN adapter worked just fine receiving this update. That's the first time I saw the blue neon flashing on my Wii and I was praying it hadn't bitten the dust. Thankfully it was just this update installing.




RE: I disagree with this statement.
By FITCamaro on 8/8/2007 11:55:52 AM , Rating: 1
While the Wi-Fi part was being a bit specific, what he was saying is that you can only get the updates over the net. They don't come on any game discs.

That being said, do the 360 or PS3 even have the updates available in disc form?


RE: I disagree with this statement.
By afkrotch on 8/8/2007 12:14:28 PM , Rating: 1
PS3 has updates in disc form. Also via the built-in update or simply get on a computer and download it from their website.

I think 360 only has it over Xbox Live.


By aos007 on 8/8/2007 12:22:36 PM , Rating: 2
PS3 can be updated via USB memory stick or a memory card on 60G model (firmware can be downloaded from the Sony website). I don't believe you can use an actual burned disc to update firmware, but that would be more inconvenient anyway.


RE: I disagree with this statement.
By Netscorer on 8/8/2007 1:59:38 PM , Rating: 2
For Xbox 360 you can download system update and burn it on disk (at work, at your friend's or relatives house) and then apply to your console at home if you are one of the million who has Xbox but does not have Internet connection.


By omnicronx on 8/8/2007 2:13:41 PM , Rating: 2
link? i am tired of my friend playing in 1080i on his 1080p tv haha


RE: I disagree with this statement.
By Moishe on 8/8/2007 11:57:07 AM , Rating: 2
LOL I guess the moral of the story is...

blue glow != RROD


RE: I disagree with this statement.
By nekobawt on 8/8/2007 1:01:30 PM , Rating: 3
Correct, though it isn't exactly news, depending on how long one has owned a Wii. After all, this is version 3. Wii owners saw the same eery blue glow for the update to version 2. :)


By Golgatha on 8/8/2007 2:25:51 PM , Rating: 2
Yeah, I just got my Wii a couple of weeks ago, so I've never seen the eerie blue glow before yesterday.


Update vs. ModChips
By Ichinisan on 8/13/2007 11:20:47 PM , Rating: 3
While you may see a notice that this update could disable your Wii if you have any modifications, this is FALSE. It will stop booting any Gamecube disc with a disc label that does not start with "G" (like any official GCN game). That means no Action Replay, Freeloader, SD Load, etc, however, GCOS continues to function just fine and it just so happens that GCOS is able to load these other discs that otherwise would not have worked.

What do you need to load GCOS? A modchip. ;) Well, it would have loaded with SD Load or an Action Replay before (with a special SD memory card or one with a special save loaded on it), but now it will only load with a modchip. Good going Nintendo! You broke legitimate products and now the only way to use them is a piracy tool. If someone has to go mod their Wii to play imported GCN games, they very well may just stop buying games!

Another silent update is that a USB keyboard is now supported in some channels (sorry, the Internet channel needs an update). It does work in the message board.

Now, as far as disabled consoles go, there is ONE scenario that I can point out where that would appear to be the case at first glance:
A fresh install of a WiiKey clone (not a genuine WiiKey) on a system that already has version 3.

WiiKey clones do not ship initialized. In their initial state after installation, they require you to run the WiiKey setup disc (burned) and then "Save Settings" before they will read anything other than burned GCN discs (homebrew only?). The WiiKey setup disc is from the genuine WiiKey people, but it just conveniently sounds like part of the installation process. As it stands, people following the official WiiKey install guides often think that their Wii or WiiKey is broken because the setup disc is not part of the installation instructions. Now that even the WiiKey setup disc will not boot (for the same reason that others won't with version 3), this is likely to cause even more to believe that the chip does not work. The workaround is simple: Use GCOS to boot the WiiKey setup disc. It will require a Gamecube controller to navigate the GCOS menu until GCOS updates with functionality similar to the WiiKey setup disc (pressing Reset to navigate without a controller).

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