Wii's mystery flap exposed. Not so mysterious.

Sorry to disappoint, but it doesn't look like the Nintendo Wii is harboring any holographic projection or other such outlandish features speculated by the fanboy community to reside in the Wii's front flap. Nope, according to Reggie Fils-Aime there's an SD card slot there. He did reveal that there would be other memory mediums, but that's about all he's spilling so far. With the top of the console dominated by GameCube connectivity, and the back as boring as ever, rumor mongers were banking on that front flap for some hot functionality to put those Sony and Microsoft types in their place once and for all. They're now running out of surface space on the minuscule console to place their "mystery feature," or "biggest secret" as it is known to some, but we're sure they'll think of something. Meanwhile, the less interested among us will know soon enough what surprises Nintendo has planned for the Wii -- if any.

[Via Joystiq]

[Jeffrey M Foster @ Jun 26th 2006 6:42PM]

bah. whatever.

the thing looks cool enough without some stupid "mystery" feature.

fanboys = dumb. :P

[Ryan @ Jun 26th 2006 6:51PM]

I never understood why people thought it was anything different than a cover for the SD card slot. I've heard the strangest theories on the Nintendo Wii boards...

[John Doe @ Jun 26th 2006 6:52PM]

OK gotta ask. Why the hell SD? There should be a CF II slot in there. A 4GB microdrive in a WEEEEEE would rock.:- stupid decision IMHO.

[Aaron @ Jun 26th 2006 6:58PM]

SD is small and used by so much stuff. I am pretty glad that it uses that in stead of some proprietary card the size of a matchbook that only has a few megs for the price of a Gig in other forms.

[Sean @ Jun 26th 2006 7:05PM]

What, no MemoryStick?!

j/k

[amiga_tone @ Jun 26th 2006 7:15PM]

I agree with Aaron, SD cards are much cheaper and prices are dropping even more now that the mini-SD is becoming available.

[Ira @ Jun 26th 2006 7:38PM]

I know what the secret is. It's a 10-inch high robot that maneuvers little rotating disks. It pops out of the slot and interacts with you during the games.

[LongshotX @ Jun 26th 2006 7:39PM]

Somebody's going to find a way to get Nintendo roms onto SD cards or Micro Drives in a way they'll be accessible to play on the Wii. I already have over 200 SNES roms. I wonder...

[Scott @ Jun 26th 2006 7:41PM]

Who needs a mystery surprise when you'll get what is shaping up to be a fun console for a fraction of the cost of the XBox and PS3? Remember how games are supposed to be fun, and not merely technology demos? I see the Wii as the meaty indie film, to the Sony/MS summer blockbuster effects extravaganza.

[Perrey Z. @ Jun 26th 2006 7:44PM]

When is the Wii released again? It looks like the White one will be the only one released in the U.S. while "lovely" Japan get all to colors to choose from.

[Pete Avila @ Jun 26th 2006 7:46PM]

Never even noticed it until now! XD

[LongshotX @ Jun 26th 2006 7:54PM]

Scott sorry to burst you bubble but the Xbox 360 does have a plethora of fun games. You're hating only because the Wii cannot display visuals on the level of the other two NEXT GENERATION consoles. If you want to make comparisions of consoles to movies then the Wii is like Napoleon Dynamite, funny and entertaining to watch; but the Xbox 360 is like Star Wars Episode III or Lord of the Rings; visually astounding and equally entertaining. As you can see comparing those movies isn't fair because they are completely different. But I don't see a movie like Napoleon Dynamite ever winning an Oscar or getting nominated for best picture.

[Luis Antonio @ Jun 26th 2006 8:00PM]

Hey Ira, they already had that like.. ~20 years ago ?

http://www.mygenerationtoys.com/catalog/images/NES%20Max%20Robot.jpg

[david cleckley @ Jun 26th 2006 8:03PM]

reggie fils-aime? man-love?? whoooa

[Emceay @ Jun 26th 2006 8:21PM]

I remember reading something about a year ago. It was speculating that nintendo was tinkering with the idea of an external wifi unit that allowed 2 players to use separate televisions while only owning one console. The device could also allow for two 4 player split screen televisions to have an 8 way deathmatch on just one wii.
It would put them a leap ahead on the partymobile because owning two systems has always been a monkey wrench in the plans since none of us wants to unhook our consoles.
Still, this was all speculation, but it sounds feasible, it would add value to the system, and it would do what the ds does.. allows more people to play without owning the cart to entice them to get their own copy.
Besides some crazy application using the DS, I can't really think of much else that would be some giant secret at nintendo. Maybe blank DS carts that the wii can use to download new games? It better not be DS on tv because that's too easy.

[Vincent @ Jun 26th 2006 8:32PM]

About SD being a bad idea: 1) SD is small, fast, and cheap, it is used in so many things, why the heck not? Much better than expensive xD or microSD imho.. 2) What if it is an SDHC slot? Later next year we can expect what.. 16+GB SDHC cards? I'll all for that, though a CFII would be really nice, too.

Also stated before, I'm hoping for a DS-Cart I/O port. Maybe a way to put your Nintendo Wii-proprietary game ROMs onto a DS-Cart and play them on the go? You can't tell me that wouldn't be rockin'.

As for the wifi dual TV thing... that is one of the best innovations I've heard of for a home gaming console. Here's hoping for the best~

[Timbobsteve @ Jun 26th 2006 8:34PM]

I think SD was a good choice. Now I can use the SD cards I already own rather than having to go buy a N-Flavoured Memory Card.

Personally I am over the console wars. 360 is good, PS3 is amazing but not worth the money. Wii is going to be fun for the few games it has.

[blackout @ Jun 26th 2006 8:38PM]

the joystiq link doesnt work
goes to the edit thing.
id edit it, but i dont know your email address.

[x23 @ Jun 26th 2006 8:57PM]

this was never ever ever ever ever a mystery unless you were a complete idiot. the simplest of deductive reasoning told the average person *ages* ago that it was the SD card slot.

i agree with (Posted at 6:51PM on Jun 26th 2006 by Ryan) completely... i read some of the most asinine theories about the "secret flap" with 90% of them highly counter to the released specs or based on ridiculous moon-man leaps of logic sprinkled with a high dose of wishful thinking.

- - -

"Also stated before, I'm hoping for a DS-Cart I/O port. Maybe a way to put your Nintendo Wii-proprietary game ROMs onto a DS-Cart and play them on the go? You can't tell me that wouldn't be rockin'."

who says they won't allow you do that with SD? the key reason they are using SD i imagine (in addition to ubiquity) is the "S" in "SD"... as in "Secure". seems likely that the DS would have the power to play the Virtual Console games up to the N64 level. definitely the SNES/Genesis level.

an SD card itself is too big to fit in a GBA adapter that would fit in a DS Lite... but SD comes in 3 sizes.

though more likely... any Virtual Console ROMs played on the DS will involve a 2-cart system similar to the Opera release. a DS cart for the VC program/loader and a GBA sized memory cart... then ROMs downloaded via the WiFi connection in the Wii ->DS.

[Shaun B @ Jun 26th 2006 9:53PM]

uhhh. SD memory slot. thats a big surprise. ha, but looking forward to the Wii & PS3 as well. the xbox 360 is great and im waiting for "gears of war" well microsoft, sony, & nintendo keep doing your thing and people stop hating on PS3. there all great systems.

[Lazarpandar @ Jun 26th 2006 9:59PM]

Umm, Longshotx, how will you have Wii roms? there are no wiimotes for the computer

and how will the wii play DS games when theres no touch screens on it?

yall are stupid. its a slot for iPod Nanos.
Nintendo and Apple recently merged
http://www.news.com/news/search=?nintendo%20apple%20merge/vg/110241-23.html

[John Doe @ Jun 26th 2006 10:38PM]

LongshotX
Star Wars 3 is teh s4x0rs!!!
Hayden Cristhchiansen cant act!!!

[LongshotX @ Jun 26th 2006 10:52PM]

Lazarpandar you missed my point entirely. Within the World Wide Web are hundreds of websites that have Roms of old NES,SNES, Nintendo 64, Genesis games, etc. What I'm saying is someone will find a way yo bypass the Virtual Console so you can read roms on the Wii from the SD card. Do you get it now.

John Doe, Star Wars III was critically acclaimed. It ranks as being the best Star Wars perhaps second only to The Empire Strikes Back. And maybe you should learn how to spell before you post comments on Engadget. Where you able to process that?

[vrf @ Jun 26th 2006 11:11PM]

"Where you able to process that?"

I love it when assholes like LongshotX lash out at other readers for spelling mistakes... and then do the same thing in their own post. Ha!

As for his other fanboy rantings... well, what would you expect from a child?

[Jeffrey M Foster @ Jun 26th 2006 11:13PM]

"If you want to make comparisions of consoles to movies then the Wii is like Napoleon Dynamite, funny and entertaining to watch; but the Xbox 360 is like Star Wars Episode III or Lord of the Rings;" - (LongshotX)

you're a moron, but you've managed to sort of prove the original point. Star Wars 3 was a stupid, mindless summer blockbuster with flashy nonsense that amounted to little more than a blip on the film buff's radar. so yeah. (there are a few morons who liked it, and i can hardly fault them for being morons, but take a film appreciation class for goodness sake; that flick is teh suck.)

I agree with Scott's original film analogy though. (post 7) Wii = meaty indie, MS/PS3 = summer blockbuster. very nice.

and i'm glad to see SD. good choice. :)

[E4 @ Jun 26th 2006 11:25PM]

The mystery feature is that it runs on batteries.

[LongshotX @ Jun 26th 2006 11:41PM]

No I'm not a moron at all. Does the average movie goer need to take a film class in order to decide whether a film is great or not? No they don't. Does the average movie goer, go into the theater with a pen and pad trying to dissect whether a movie presented enough emotion, plot, depth, strong character development, satire, irony, important themes, or whether it positioned itself from typical archetypes? No. The average movie goer goes in a theater watches the movie and simply states whether a movie sucked or not. You might bash summer blockbuster hits because they are flashy or what not but judging from America responses , people usually tend to enjoy them. This is why they most often gross a lot of money as opposed to a indie flick. And indie flicks are great every so often but they aren't usually clamoured over by the general public. This is why the 360 and PS3 will over power the Wii. Not because they are more appealing or innovative but because they appeal to a wider audience. Those systems are your Batman Begins, Spidermans, LOTRs, Titantics, ETs, Star Wars, Matrixes, Harry Potters, etc. Now do you call America dumb because these are high grossing movies? Try getting that mass appeal from an idie flick, even if it's a truly fantastic one. So you sir are the moron, deeply naive and equally blind to the truth.

[LongshotX @ Jun 26th 2006 11:46PM]

* Not because they are more innovative but because they appeal to a wider audience.

Sorry I had to correct myself.

[starburst @ Jun 27th 2006 12:57AM]

I agree with LongshotX analogy that was pretty sweet! and what is it with the name calling from Jeffrey M Foster and VRF, why don't you girls grow up. Kids these days just want to kiss Microsoft and Sony's ass because of their pretty graphics. Look at the PS2, are their games inferior because it lacked the power of the other 2 consoles. Hell no.

[idude135 @ Jun 27th 2006 1:08AM]

Actually, "fils" is French for "son".

[Anuj @ Jun 27th 2006 2:00AM]

Its so stupid no matter what you think the reality wont change lets just hope that the controller is up to the mark. not to mention the console and who the hell is spreading these rumours!!!

[Anuj @ Jun 27th 2006 2:03AM]

Who the heck is spreading these rumours lets hope that nitendo's wii survives the competition

[Jeff S @ Jun 27th 2006 2:15AM]

I hate to burst your bubbles but this analogy between gameplaying and movie watching is totally illogical and incompatible with each other. If they were the same, why don't we all buy Blu-Ray drives and HDTVs?

I think that for gameplaying, a certain level of dissection is admissible. After all, I'd like to play my games more than once. For me and for many others, the Wii potentially offers a level of interaction that promises to engage you for many gaming sessions to come. You see, the Wii makes gaming fluid whereas other consoles give you the same experience over and over. This is because it mixes in a high level of human interaction. I guess repetition may be to some people's liking but it certainly does not appeal to me. Because the Wii experience changes every time the console is turned on, it is my favorite of the 3.

Of course this all depends on how well it is executed... We'll see.

[jipje @ Jun 27th 2006 3:52AM]

"Hey Ira, they already had that like.. ~20 years ago ?

http://www.mygenerationtoys.com/catalog/images/NES%20Max%20Robot.jpg

Posted at 8:00PM on Jun 26th 2006 by Luis Antonio"

Dude, seriously...

[McGranahanster @ Jun 27th 2006 6:11AM]

WHAT ABOUt USB THUMB DRIVES.
Duh
Lots of people use USB thumb drives to the files and documents on it. Then they could put there save files on there thumb drive and take it any where. That way people who don't have SD readers in there computer can use USB.

[get real @ Jun 27th 2006 9:39AM]

Am I the only one who pictured a shaven virgin after reading that title?

[detroityianni @ Jun 27th 2006 9:46AM]

the SD slot is for an SD mounted holographic projection system!

[vidGuy @ Jun 27th 2006 11:05AM]

Yes, the SD card goes in a slot behind the front flap. SD cards have been confirmed for a while now, but we haven't seen the slot anywhere else on the console, so by process of elimination everyone should have been able to figure this "news" out.

But saying that the SD slot is under the front flap, and that the SD slot is ALL that's under the front flap, are two way different things. That flap is three to four times wider and three times taller than an SD card slot would be. There's got to be somthing else behind the flap.

[Jason @ Jun 27th 2006 11:15AM]

He said they were going to have other memory mediums. Maybe the reason the slot is bigger is because it *will* accept CF, SM, Memory Stick and all that stuff, and then maybe they'll make Wii into a nice photo viewer. As unimpressive as that sounds I bet older users would appreciate it.

[AnyoneEB @ Jun 27th 2006 12:03PM]

It has been suggested, but not confirmed, before that the Wii's USB ports could be used for USB mass storage devices, which include USB hard drives and USB flash sticks.

[vidGuy @ Jun 27th 2006 1:05PM]

Personally, I'm more excited about the possibility of USB external harddrives. I've got a 40GB external ready and waiting for the Wii!

[Don @ Jun 27th 2006 5:29PM]

Nintendo is saying that the Wii is all about gaming, what about the SD slot actually being a slot for DS cards they are a little bigger than a regular SD cards.

SD cards and DS cards also almost identical with the exception of their shape, it wouldn't be difficult to make a dual purpose slot that would accept both types of cards.

[Sukato @ Jun 27th 2006 5:34PM]

Well, Longshot, what defined "Plethora" three games? The majority of the Xbox fun games are for the original, and 360 isn't even fully backwards compatible. So far, the 360 has Oblivion, exclusively. All it's other really fun games are either Halo, or can't be played on the 360. The Wii, however, contains a feature where one can download almost any Nintendo game ever made, as well as full GameCube compatibility. Furthermore, you can't say that any of the Star Wars prequels were decent, as they totally screwed over the whole story, introduced crappy characters and actors, and were just terrible, overall. The only thing holding those movies together (barely) was Ewan McGregor. Admittedly, III was better than the other two, but nothing compared to the originals. I don't care what the critics say. And maybe you should spellcheck your own comments before you give other people crap for their mistakes, huh? "Where you able to process that?"

[Sukato @ Jun 27th 2006 5:39PM]

Furtheremore, you can't use series movies in those analogies. The only reason they do so well is because they have other great things backing them up. That's all the 360 and PS3 have. The old systems making them look good. The old systems make the new ones look more appealing, while having no real innovation at all, just better graphics and faster processes. Nintendo is creating something totally new. It could suck, but it couldn't. It's interesting, and that is what is appealing about it. The only thing keeping the 360 on top right now is that it was the first next gen to come out, and the great reputation of the original. However, if MS and Sony keep going in the direction they are, just the same old junk with better looks, they're gonna die. We've been playing the same type of console system since the N64. It's about time something new broke the mold. Nintendo's got the right idea.

[Ulyssess @ Jun 27th 2006 6:38PM]

im REALY PISSED right now. reason being, STUPID PEOPLE.

if u seriously think all 360 has is more power better graphics and oblivion u realy need to stop talking right now. xbox is pionering in online accessabilities for next generation. its the first gaming system with a dashboard that is unique. and omg oblivion BLOWS!!! thats an insult to say thats all 360 has. it has AMAZING games that are WAY better then oblivion could ever wish to be and there are even WAY better games to come!!! just go onto xbox.com and look at all the upcoming games and their trailers. if u dont think any of those (especialy crome hounds) looks good, u shouldnt be a gammer. every system has something new coming to the market. just because they arnt coming out with wiiremotes doesnt mean it cant be on that scale. do u seriously think its going to be that good anyways? i have problems with unresponsive controlers! do u realy think these new motion sensing controlers will be amazing? yeah and oblivion thought their char creator would be good too... market place is groundbreaking to gaming and the shear power of the ps3 will be groundbreaking on its own. if no good games can utilize the new motionsensing controlers the wii has it will be a major failer. someone said that games other then wii games will be repetative.... r... u ... serious????? u think just b/c u got some remote u can wave around will make it fun to play again and again? first, thats dependent on the GAMES not the SYSTEM. secondly, if anything, the wii games would be more repetative because i doubt it will have more functionality then a 5$ lightsaber game that makes noises when u swing it. a recent article talked about ms wanting to dumb up the controler. seriously if anyone ever does that i will rip their faces off. i dont think the controlers now adays has enough buttons. u simply need more for more functions. more dynamic worlds and more interaction. i dont even want to count the buttons on the wiiremote. have fun trying to crouch down leaning up against a wall looking around a corner and aiming all the while throwing grenades and reloading on a highspeed shooter. btw longshotX has everything in perspective. i would love it if u 360 haters would actualy give and argument instead of false information like 360 doesnt have any good games besides backward compatability. on that note, they only did the games that were successful. so if u say that its not intirely backwards compat ur just a retard because ur trying to make an arguement with that.

[frank @ Jun 27th 2006 6:40PM]

http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/comic.php?d=20050205
read and learn


and shut up while your at it

[frank @ Jun 27th 2006 6:49PM]

oh and btw... incase you dont know, you cant say "OMG THS IS TEH H4XX0RZ GAME/CONSOLE" everyone likes different things. some people like racing and some like rpg. some think that shadow the headgehog was the greatest game ever while other people think oblivion was the best. some like sony, others like nintendo, and others like ms. so you cant say "this is horrible" or "this is amazing" without first realizing that it is YOUR opinion. and if you disagree with someone realize that it is THEIR opinion. so stop fighting. it is really annoying and wastes people's time.

[vidGuy @ Jun 27th 2006 6:57PM]

It's funny that everyone is comparing these things to movies... you all sound like Kojima. Oh, well, I'll jump on board!

I see Longshot's list of "Batman Begins, Spidermans, LOTRs, Titantics, ETs, Star Wars, Matrixes, Harry Potters... as representing the XBOX360 and PS3. But I wonder why? Is it because of the visual/special effects these movies had, which you are equating to the nextgen systems' supposed advantage?

Do you think story could have anything to do with these movies' success? Let's see, Batman, Spiderman, LOTR, Star Wars, Harry Potter... all have amazing literary backing and cult followings. Titantic - historic event, and aided by then girl-swooner Leo D; Matrix - based on a philosophic debate that has been around for thousands of years.

I see you didn't mention Terminator 3? XMEN 3? Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift? Various other movies that are high on visual effects but low on story?

You see, movies can't sell out again and again based on visual effects. You don't have a summer blockbuster that is just a two-hour montage of explosions, do you?

What movies lack in story they make up for in marketing. Terminator 3 did well in the box office because of the anticipation for a follow up to the great T2. Yet T3 isn't in our memories like T2 is.

Who, in your opinion, is winning the marketing battle?
Who, in your opinion, is offering more story-driven, interesting, and fun games?
Will top-notch visual effects be able to counteract losing the first two battles?

[Ulyssess @ Jun 27th 2006 7:39PM]

in my opinion its all about the consoles because i have yet to find a game that uses its system to its limits and yet doesnt do anything wrong. i like playing h2 and im good at it but i realy do despise bungie for the lack of customization in gametype options. along with a list that i made that includes over 50 faults of h2. this is y i im going to try and get into the business. because no one knows how to do it right.

[LongshotX @ Jun 27th 2006 11:10PM]

vidGuy, You would make a valid point if you were correct. You seem to have lost perspective in what is happening in the real world. Case in point, the Gamecube promised a diverse portofolio of games, instead we got a countless number of first party titles starring Mario, Link, Donkey Kong, Star Fox, Samus, and many other Nintendo franchises. The limited support from 3rd parties doomed it from the start. Another key point that spelled the ultimate demise of the Gamecube was it's approach on additional functionality. I understand playing games is great; but if it doesn't do anything else I don't see why it would appeal to many people. (The Nintendo DS is another story, however there are after market adapters that expand it's capabiliteis beyond gaming) This is why the Gamecube came in last place this generation. Now I want you to tell me just how many first party games from Nintendo actually had an engaging story. If you exclude the Metroid Prime and Zelda series I'd say many of those games skipped on the story lines. Second of all I never said that the one advantage the True next generation consoles is updated visuals. The advantage of the Xbox 360 and PS3 is that they have better hardware, more expandibility, more functionality. Developers are not limited to what they can do because of optical disk size, whether or not a system has a hard drive or not, accessible memory, bandwidth, or graphical or central processing. These systems have many many times over the potential of the Wii. While the Wii is no more than a small upgrade to the Gamecube, the Xbox 360 and PS3 surpass the previous generation in many ways. I don't know why everyone is clamouring over the Wii like it is indeed a Revolution as it's previous code name claimed it to be. The Wii is only an incremental upgrade of the Gamecube, with motion sensing controller,WiiConnect24 and the Virtual Console. Another thing I would like to add is I can't understand why on earth people are saying the Xbox 360 doesn't have games with good stories, and compelling gameplay. I dont see why it can't have these and equally good next generation visuals. I can list several that do (I will list the average score from Gamespot): Oblivion 9.6, GRAW 9.2, Perfect Dark Zero 9, view the others here: http://www.gamespot.com/reviews.html?type=reviews&platform=1029&mode=all&sort=score&dlx_type=all&sortdir=asc

The fact is, Wii fanboys are in denial because the PS3 and Xbox 360 can do everything it can but on another much higher level. So you have the Virtual Console games, and the Wiimote, we all know it's going to "revolutionize gaming" just like the 64 and the Cube did. But don't think Sony and Microsoft aren't trying to come correct and wipe the floor up with Nintendo. This is a War. It's Nuclear Warheads vs. Machine guns. Whose side are you on?

Wii=DualCube