Wiifit

A top Nintendo Co. executive said holiday sales of the Wii game consoles have gotten off to a “fantastic start” but warned Tuesday that Wiis would be scarce through the end of the year. Nintendo sold 350,000 Wiis in the U.S. last week, when many stores were closed for the Thanksgiving holiday, compared with 300,000 the previous week in the U.S.

It was unclear if last week’s sales broke a Nintendo record. During one eight-day period in late November 2006, when the Wii debuted, consumers throughout the U.S., Canada and Latin America purchased more than 600,000 units sold.

The company is on track to sell 17.5 million Wiis in the fiscal year ending March 31. Last fall, Nintendo executives predicted they would sell 14.5 million Wiis.

They were producing roughly 1.2 million units per month at the time.

Nintendo has ramped up production to about 1.8 million per month, but its manufacturers cannot increase production again, said Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime, who spent Friday and Saturday spot-checking Wii supplies at Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Best Buy Co., GameStop Corp., Target Corp. and Toys “R” Us Inc. stores in Erie, Pa., and Redmond, Wash.

“I couldn’t find a single Wii system on the shelves - literally as I was walking into a Wal-Mart at 11 a.m., someone was walking out with the last one,” Fils-Aime said in an interview at the company’s new Redwood City office. “Consumers are buying every game we can put into the system.”

Fils-Aime predicted a new sales record the week before Christmas, despite being “very concerned” about the U.S. economy and the rising price of gasoline. About 40 percent of Wii sales have been in North America and Latin America, while 35 percent were in Asia, primarily Japan, and the rest came from Europe and the Middle East.

He dismissed speculation online that the Kyoto, Japan-based company - maker of Pokemon and Super Mario games - is deliberately constraining supply of the $250 console to generate buzz.

“A shortage benefits no one,” he said. “We’re disappointed. This was all about how we didn’t accurately estimate demand. We need to be more bullish about the potential for the Wii.”

Unlike consoles with joysticks that players operate with their thumbs, the Wii responds to the user moving a wand-like wireless controller strapped to a wrist.

Wii games including tennis and bowling appeal to children, parents, hardcore gamers and even senior citizens.

Sony Corp.’s top-line PlayStation model, with an 80-gigabyte hard drive, costs $499 in the U.S., down from the original price of $599. A new low-end model with a 40-gigabyte drive will go on sale Nov. 2 for $399.

Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360 costs $350 in the U.S.

The Wii has been a tremendous boost for Nintendo.

In the quarter ended Sept. 30, it more than doubled its sales to $6.1 billion from a year earlier, when the Wii had not yet launched.

Nintendo has sold 5.5 million Wiis in the U.S. since the console went on sale.

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You may not be able to get one here, but Nintendo have managed to shift 350,000 Wii’s in the first week of what the Americans call “the 2007 holiday shopping season”.

As impressive as those Wii figures are, Nintendo managed to almost double that with DS sales, which topped more than 653,000 sales. Add to that the millions of games and accessories sold throughout the United States during that first week, and it’s clear that Nintendo are serious contenders to be console king this Christmas.

As far as the DS goes, Nintendo set a new all-time sales record for Thanksgiving week, eclipsing the previous mark of 600,000 Game Boy Advance systems sold during the same period in the United States in 2005. The DS DS remains on track to be the top-selling video game system of 2007.

The 350,000 Wii systems sold represent the highest one-week U.S. sales total outside of its launch week one year ago. The Wii is the must-have gift of Christmas 2007, both here and in the States. In spite of Nintendo repeatedly increasing its shipments, it’s doubtful that the company can meet the soaring demand.

The Wii has thus far notched up 5 million units sold in the United States - faster than any video game system in history - after only 12 months of availability there.

“As shoppers look for ways to maximize their limited holiday spending money, they turn to gifts that can be used by the entire family,” says George Harrison, Nintendo of America’s senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. “Wii and Nintendo DS offer something for every member of the family. They’re the most fun video game experiences at the most affordable price.”

SOURCE :  http://www.joo-see.com/wiisellout2.html

Pirating has become so popular nowadays; I mean everybody is doing it!  Although many people know its illegal there are many people who aren’t quite sure of the legality of copying games, especially older games.  The fact is that there are companies and websites out there willing to help you modify your game console by selling you mod-chips or create emulators to help you play old games.   I’m certainly not a lawyer, I don’t have all the answers but I’ve done some research and hopefully I can better inform you and possibly keep you out of trouble.

Every once in a while I get questions from people asking if copying Wii games are legal?  Or how can I make a backup copy of a Wii game?  Sometimes the questions are much more forward, I want to make a copy of a Wii game, Can you help?   I want to copy Wii Games!?!?

So let’s start with some basics.  Copying of any game and sharing the game with another person is illegal.  You can make a copy of a game for personal back up but the manufacturer, in this case Nintendo, does not need to make available the technology to play the game or instructions on how to copy the game. 

Downloading a game (ROM) from the internet and playing it through a Video Game Emulator, regardless of whether you own an authentic copy is illegal.  What is an Emulator?  Basically its software written by someone that allows your game to work on a platform other than it was originally intended.

Many times these ROM’s (Read Only Memory, the software in the game cartridges and CD/DVD’s) are copied using game copying devices.  Guess what.. Yup, these devices are also illegal because they give you the possibility to violate copyright laws.

So let’s say you have a very old game that is no longer distributed.  You may think that the game is now public domain and can be used through emulators but in reality you need to follow copyright laws.  Copyright laws state that a game is under protection for 75 years.  Since the oldest games are only 30+ years old ALL games are still under copyright protection.

The use of mod-chips automatically void warranties and Nintendo is pretty strict about going after companies that try to manufacture these especially when they claim to lose over $700 million yearly.  It is also illegal to have a website that links information on pirating of games.

Basically if you have to ask whether or not it’s illegal to copy video games, err on the side of caution and assume that it is.   Hopefully I’ve kept saved one person from having to pay a hefty fine.

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Time to shoot some ghosts.

Wii Review: Super Mario Galaxy

Everyone knows Mario. The Nintendo mascot has been around for the last 26 years and is the most recognizable character in the medium. Everyone knows Mario and with the success of the Nintendo Entertainment System in the mid-to-late 1980s, almost everyone had probably played a game featuring Mario. However since the early 1990s Nintendo systems have never owned the market like they did back then, resulting in a whole lot of people who have either lost touch with the character or have yet to really play a traditional Mario platformer.

Mario owned the platforming genre from 1985 until the late 1990s but over the last decade Sony has kind of stolen the genre away from Nintendo with games like Ratchet & Clank, Jak and Daxter, and Sly Cooper. With the release of Super Mario Galaxy, Nintendo has eyes on reclaiming Mario’s title as King of the Platformers. The good news is that Mario is back and he has reclaimed his throne with possibly the greatest 3D platformer ever created and the best Wii game to date. There are some problems that prevent it from being perfect but they hardly ever interfere with your enjoyment of the game.

Super Mario Galaxy is a 3D platformer and like a lot of Mario’s past platforming experiences the game involves you saving Princess Peach. It seems a comet is passing by and the Mushroom Kingdom is in celebration mode. Mario sets out to visit the Princess and on his way there the evil Bowser makes his move and attacks the castle. This time around Bowser has a plan to take Princess Peach’s castle and bring it with him to his new galaxy. Mario is able to catch a ride with the castle but is soon knocked loose and awakens on a small planet where he meets three rabbits. After learning the controls a bit, Mario unlocks a Grand Star and is transported to a magical space ship where he meets Rosalina.

Rosalina, the watcher of the stars, explains what is going on to Mario and asks him for help getting the stars, which power her ship, stolen by Bowser back. Once the station is powered back up Rosalina will be able to take you to where Bowser is holding Princess Peach. There are 120 stars to be found but you will only need 60 to advance to the end game, so once you beat it there is still plenty more of Mario to be had.

From there you will gain the ability to travel to a set number of galaxies, as you gain the stars from those galaxies, you will unlock even more galaxies. Each galaxy has at least one level for you to traverse and retrieve a star, although some will have multiple levels, think Super Mario Bros. 3 or Super Mario World on a grand scale. In classic Mario fashion you will run and jump your way through the levels, stomping on goombas and koopas along the way, and all of it is controlled very easily using the Wii-mote and Nunchuck attachment.

Using the analog stick on the Nunchuck you will control Mario’s movements, pressing the A button on the Wii-mote will make him jump, and waggling the Wii-mote a little bit will make Mario spin. Everything is nice and easy and feels really comfortable. Along the way Mario will get a few special power ups (including a bee suit) and using the power ups is explained quite well and just as easy to use as the normal Mario controls. It seems like Nintendo really took the criticisms of Super Mario Sunshine’s controls to heart, making everything very simplistic in Super Mario Galaxy and in effect very fun.

The simplistic design did not stop with the control scheme though, as the level design harkens back to a simpler time. Levels in Super Mario Galaxy can be completed, on average, in less than five minutes. Every level in Super Mario Galaxy features some new gameplay aspect that keeps the game fresh. You are never doing anything for an overlong period of time, meaning you are never getting that feeling that you are grinding through the levels. The short nature of the levels also leads to prolonged gaming sessions as you will want to try to get just one more star before your end your game. Often times that one more star becomes five or six and that is the sign of a great game.

Not everything in Super Mario Galaxy is perfect though. The game has some minor camera issues that result in some cheap deaths but those deaths shouldn’t be a worry though because the ridiculous amount of lives you can amass in an hour of playtime should more than cover you. In fact while the game does get challenging in some parts, you never feel like you are in danger of losing due to the numerous 1-ups that are easily obtained. Three extra lives can be repeatedly earned on Rosalina’s space ship by entering and exiting a building. The only time you might feel remotely vulnerable is when you initially start up a saved game and realize your lives have been reset. It may seem like a silly complaint but when I faced Bowser with 53 extra lives from two hours worth of play time I felt the game was a tad bit easy.

I’ve spent the majority of the review talking about the gameplay aspects of the game, as well I should have because that is where the fun lies, however we need to look at the technical aspect for a short bit. Graphically Super Mario Galaxy is great looking, for a Wii game. The art direction of the game is what really brings it home, as everything is very bright and cartoony looking. However if you are a graphics whore, Super Mario Galaxy may very well disappoint you as it doesn’t hold a candle to Insomniac Games’ Ratchet & Clank Future. On the sound front Super Mario Galaxy is a treat. The music is all orchestrated and hearing the classic Mario themes mixed with some great new tracks is something any fan, young or old, will enjoy.

Overall Super Mario Galaxy is a great game, the best game on the Wii and arguably the best Mario game in the series. If Nintendo wants to continue to expand their lead over the other consoles they need to release more games of this quality. If you own a Wii, you need to own this game.

Graphics: 9
Sound: 10
Interface: 9
Gameplay: 10
Replay: 10

Overall: 9.6

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We imagine the GameCube isn’t all that fond of the Wii, as the Wii managed to do everything the GameCube wished to do, only better. And, with the Wii having a year under its belt now, we figured it would be interesting to go back and look at the GameCube’s first year and see how the two stacked up.

Hardware sales
Now, it doesn’t take a team of rocket scientists to know that the Wii did a much better job from a sales standpoint in its first year. Selling 13.87 million units worldwide, the Wii is the hottest item this side of bread in slices. The GameCube, which launched in September 2001 in Japan, only sold around 4.7 million units. A lot of different things played into the sales of each console, including buzz in both the mainstream press and gaming community (the Wii was a hit at E306, undoubtedly fueling demand come time for launch), target audience and, of course, launch line-up.

The console is its games
Between the Wii and GameCube, both consoles came to launch with several friends in the form of first and third-party releases. For the GameCube, titles releasing in the launch window ranged from third-party ports like Batman Vengeance to first-party titles such as Wave Race: Blue Storm and Luigi’s Mansion. By the end of 2001, Pikmin and Super Smash Bros. Melee would help ease the drought of games on the system, but would not be enough. Criticized for its lack of games, the GameCube did not have a very good launch window in the eyes of most.

The Wii, however, did things differently. Nintendo made sure that the console had more third-party support, as it launched with over double the amount of games available during the GameCube’s launch window. Also, Nintendo made sure they came out swinging by launching the system with one of its most-anticipated games in one of its biggest franchises, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Other third-party gems such as Elebits and Rayman Raving Rabbids would ensure that gamers had plenty to play on their Wii.

Throughout each console’s first year, they each had their fair share of big first-party (and second-party) titles, which are essential to the life of a Nintendo system. The GameCube saw the release of Metroid Prime (a little over its first year, but close enough for us), Super Mario Sunshine, Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem and Japan received The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. Combined with the exclusivity deal to have all of the Resident Evil action you could want, on paper it seemed like the GameCube might be set up to do right by us and by itself. While big titles in their own right, they wouldn’t be enough to keep gamers playing as the periods between releases were just too long.

For the Wii, big releases in its first year have been more plentiful. We got Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, WarioWare: Smooth Moves, Super Paper Mario, Mario Party 8, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, Battalion Wars 2 and the bundled Wii Sports game, which has been the driving force behind a lot of the console’s success. Let’s not forget everyone’s drug of choice right now, Super Mario Galaxy.Did Nintendo learn their lesson? You bet they did!

The emergence of online gaming
During the GameCube’s generation, online gaming on consoles was starting to be a big deal, thanks to Sony and Microsoft’s support through their own systems. The GameCube, which could allow the player to take the game online in a select number of titles through an adapter (sold separately), hardly supported the feature. Some say this is just another reason why the console had the least amount of market share during its generation.

The Wii, which is doing a bit better in allowing gamers to get online and does so through built-in wireless (or an adapter for a hard line connection), is still not where the company needs to be in order to actively compete in the online arena, however. The convoluted Friend Code system that Nintendo employs is disliked widespread throughout the community, but still does what the GameCube did not: allow gamers to actively enjoy games online.

What other features does my console have?
Outside of the realm of games, the Wii and GameCube are very different. More technologically advanced, the Wii can do more than the GameCube’s measly ability to play your games and … uh, well the GameCube can only do that. So, aside from playing games, the GameCube makes for a good paperweight.

The Wii utterly crushes the GameCube in this area, allowing gamers to download older titles through the Virtual Console service (which helps ease the pain during the weeks between anticipated retail releases), access the internet through a built-in Opera web browser and check the news and weather. The Wii can also utilize SD cards to check out photos (which can be shared through a built-in messaging feature).

GameCube and Wii: Endgame
As you can see, the GameCube and Wii are two very different systems, focusing on different things and succeeding in different areas. The Wii took a lot of the same ideas and improved them, delivering an experience that everyone and their mother is into. From a first-year analysis, the Wii has destroyed all expectations and succeeded to heights not imaginable by us and, we’re pretty sure, even Nintendo. One thing is for certain: the Wii isn’t going to die the slow, horrible death the GameCube did and it certainly looks like 2007 (and, hopefully, 2008) was the year of the Wii.

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