Wii FAQ: answers to your Wii questions
by Ryan Block, posted Nov 19th 2006 at 4:19PM
We've had our Wii kicking around the office for a little while now, but we had to
hold off on answering your
many questions about it until last night when they rolled out their launch update. Trust us, it definitely changed some answers, so let's get to the FAQ. Oh, and thanks for the questions. Feel free to leave your followups in the comments.
- How loud is the Wii?
We'd say of the next gen consoles, the order of loudness goes: Wii, PS3, and Xbox 360. Though that's not necessarily fair since the Wii and the PS3 are both pretty much completely silent from more than a foot away. To put it in perspective, the only console we can tell whether it was left on is the Xbox.
- Can you connect and play media from a USB hard drive?
Our USB drive turns on when we plug it in -- it's obviously USB -- but nothing happens. Right now there's no support for USB storage, including playback of photos, music, or movies, nor saving channels or games to the device. Bummer.
- Is it possible to attach an external keyboard, mouse, etc. to the USB ports on the back of the Wii?
Yeah, you can attach them, but they don't actually do anything. Kind of a bummer, too, since using that on-screen keyboard of theirs is kind of a pain -- we often aim off our letter when pressing the A button to type.
- Does the Wii upconvert non-Wii games?
If you've got the component cables you can "upscale" old games to 480p / EDTV. Not that it's going to look any better, but the display doesn't change back 480i or anything.
- Which audio / video / image formats work with the Wii?
The manual states it works only with JPEG images, MP3 audio, and motion JPEG movies. We found it worked with all of the above, and unfortunately nothing but. We tested pretty much everything, including BMP, GIF, TIF, PSD, and PNG images; OGG, AAC, AAC lossless, WMA, WMA lossless, MP3, FLAC, AIF, and WAV audio; and XviD, WMA, H.264, and every other variety of movie could think of to throw at it.
- When you insert an SD card into Wii with photos and videos on, do they need to be converted to display/save onto Wii?
Nope, but it does only read JPEG, MP3, and motion JPEG (MOV) files.
- What are the load times for the games?
Nothing at all unusual for a disc-based console. Considering it's loading less data than the PS3 or Xbox 360, we might've liked to see those load times shaved down a bit. But it's nothing unreasonable, and doesn't clock into the minutes territory.
- Is the sensor bar setup tough (does it require a level or anything like that)?
Not at all. Just rest it on top of or below your TV. If it keeps falling off (like ours did) you can use the double-sided tape on the bottom and stick it into place.
- How does the Wii work on a smaller TV?
Very well; we hooked it up to the smallest TV we could possibly find, a 13-incher, and even put the sensor bar way off to the side and it worked beautifully.
- Is it hard to aim on the smaller TV?
Not at all. It's like playing any games on a smaller screen: you're never going to be able to pick up the same level of detail and accuracy as on a larger display, but it still works great.
- How decent is the callibration for the Wii?
Very decent, and extremely easy. In fact, there's no calibration at all, just put the sensor bar on or below your TV, set the option for its location, and you're off.
- Is the sensor bar really that distracting?
Huh? Not really, it's pretty benign; we didn't even notice it. You might pay more attention to it if it's mounted on a wall (if you're using a projector), but it's very low profile and unobtrusive.
- What happens if you put a disc in upside down?
Nothing in the channel page; in the Disc channel, however, you get a simple cannot read disc error message. Our discs came out fine and unscratched.
- In the unboxing video, what were those "decals" plastic things?
That's actually a sensor bar stand and a clear Wii stand support.
- How long do the Wii batteries last? Are they rechargeable? Nunchuck change the battery life much?
They just take AA batteries, so your mileage may vary. They're not rechargeable out of the box, and the nunchuck feeds off the Wiimote's power. We've been playing for a week or more now on the stock batteries with no problems, but who knows if they'll die today, tomorrow, or two months from now.
- What does the Sync button do?
It allows you to sync wireless peripherals (Wiimote, etc.) to your system, like an Xbox 360. Nothing more or less.
- Is the Wii controller REALLY Bluetooth-compliant, or is it simply RF? What happens if you try to pair it with a Bluetooth 2.0EDR capable PC?
It is indeed. And unlike the PS3, since it has that sync button you can make it go into discoverable mode. We tried and found the Wiimote, but we were unable to pair with the device. For those curious, its Bluetooth device name was Nintendo RVL-CNT-01 -- different from its official model number RVL-003.
- Was there a "Wii Startup Disk" included in the box?
Nope. It works right out of box -- for us. We actually got an email this morning from reader Mitch, who says: "I got a Wii this morning. Waited 32 hours in a 24-hour Wal-Mart to do it, but I did it. I get it home, set it up, and it asks me for a setup disc. But there wasn't a setup disc in the box. [As with ours. -Ed.] When I called Nintendo, they said it was something they'd been contacted about on a small number of units, and are shipping new ones for free to those who call in. Like me." Ouch, that sucks.
- How long are the standard composite AV cables? Component cables? Sensor bar cable?
Composite: 94-inches
Component: 94-inches
Sensor bar: 138-inches
Wii to power brick: 38-inches
Power brick to wall: 62-inches (power cable length total: 100-inches)
- Does the Wii's sensor bar limit you from what kind of TV you can hook it up to? For example, a 60" projection TV that sits on a pedastal -- can you put the sensor bar above the TV or does it have to go below? How about for setups where the gamer does not sit directly in front of the TV but perhaps off to the side?
Not as far as we know, no. You don't have to be dead on with your TV (of course it helps), but you do have to be within a reasonable angle of it. We'd estimate it was about a 145-155 degree angle on both sides that you could play within -- more than enough for getting four people going on the system. It is IR though, so if there are any obstructions the Wiimote won't cursor properly (although the motion control will still work).
- How steep is the learning curve on the Wii? Is it worth the time investment to learn a new way of gaming?
Not very steep, most of the motions and gestures come naturally. Which is kind of the point -- they wanted to make gaming less about button combos on a 20-button controller, and more about natural, intuitive movements that people of all ages can understand and play with.
- Is the blue light always on during gameplay?
Nope, only when loading games into the drive.
- Are there any screws outside of the Wii allowing you to open the unit?
The screws are all well concealed, but no doubt about it, the Wii can be opened one way or another.
- Does the sensor bar not function properly when it is exposed to sunlight from outside or from many reports, when somebody points a laser pointer on it?
We can't possibly imagine why anyone would be shining a laser pointer at the Wii sensor bar. But since you asked, we did just that and saw absolutely no problems with cursor movement. As you might imagine, we've also had no problem playing in a well lit room.
- Does cursor speed change when playing in a totally dark vs a well lit room?
No, not that we can tell. Although the Wii does have a cursor sensitivity setting in options
- Does the Wii support WPA?
Yes. The Wii supports WEP, WPA-PSK (TKIP), WPA-PSK (AES), and WPA2-PSK (AES). Pretty surprising!
- How do the graphics of the games for the Wii compare to that of the previous generation consoles?
Previous generation consoles? Well, it's better than the GameCube. Just not by as much as we'd have liked. Compared to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 it's kind of pathetic. But if you're a GameCuber and haven't really dabbled with Microsoft's and Sony's latest offerings, you'll probably be happy.
- Can you use Wii game save slots for GC games?
We don't see why not. We didn't see any messages in the system that would lead us to believe we couldn't save our games to SD or internal memory, but we couldn't confirm for sure. Why? Good question. Our copy of Wind Waker started ok, but it wouldn't even let us get to the main menu without a classic controller. We really wished they'd have prompted us to plug one in (like the way it prompts you to plug in a nunchuck for some games) before we had to shut down the looping Zelda title and restart the system.
- When you save Wii game save data, do you get a choice of saving it to the internal memory or SD card, or can game save data only be saved to the internal memory?
You can save your game data and even downloaded games to your inserted SD card. The files are stored in \private\wii\title\FAKE and RSPE folders as either content.bin (ours was 2.7MB) or data.bin (80-200KB) files. We weren't really able to do anything with those files, although it stands to reason you could back those up (or hack them to pieces).
- Does the sensor bar have to be in the exact center of the display, or can it still be accurate if its a little bit off.
Not at all. We put ours completely off to the side and it was still totally accurate. We have a feeling when you've got a bunch of people around you'll want to try to keep it centered, but you definitely don't have to bust out the measuring tape during the install.
- Does Excite Truck indeed support custom soundtracks off of the SD card?
Yep, and it worked perfectly -- as long as they're MP3s. You can play in order, or set to shuffle.
- Does Wii support SDHC cards? MMC?
Actually, MMC didn't work. We can't 100% confirm it won't take SDHC cards, but given the fact that we're seeing 2GB Wii cards -- and not 4GB+ cards -- we're assuming that SDHC isn't supported right now.
- Are the battery contacts coiled springs, or bent metal?
They're spring-engaged bent metal, actually. Some of the nicest battery contacts we've ever seen in a came console, to be honest.
- After playing with the Wii for a few days, do you feel that your interest in the Wii will last? Or is it a gimmick?
We'll save that for a full review, but basically that's up to the game developers. If they can make the games feel right with the motion sensing and continue to come up with new, interesting ways of using it, then no, not gimmicky at all. But if all these games are just going to be use your Wiimote to aim an onscreen cursor like the new Mario and Zelda, that might get old after a while. Still, for now it's all very fresh and fun.
- What input does the power brick take, just 120v, or right up to 40v? Also how many watts?
Our adapter reads 120V only, not 120-240v; it's rated at 53 watts, and 3.7 amps.
- Is the Wii multi region?
It stands to reason that because of the power supply, you probably won't be able to (easily) import your Wii. Even still, Wiis are supposedly quite certainly region-locked. Sorry, gamers.
- How do you put the mini Gamecube discs into the slot-loader?
Like so.
- Does the Wii have HD capabilities?
If you define HD as being 720p or higher, then no. The best we could do was get ours going with extended def, 480p.
- Can you turn it on and off remotely with the controller like you can with the Xbox 360?
Yep, absolutely.
- Can I put DVDs in the Wii?
You can, but it won't read them. Watch out for a DVD-reading Wii next year.
- Do I have to sync the Wiimote every time I want to play?
No way. But you do have to sync it if you bring your Wiimote to a pal's house. Also, your Mii can be saved to your Wiimote, so when you play at a friend's place you don't have to do anything weird to transport it.
- Is the Wii's sound similar to some GameCube games in the sense that they are MIDIs on steroids (think: Metroid Prime)?
No, for the most part our Wii audio experience has been pretty good. Excite Truck has real, honest to goodness lame rock music. The sound coming out of the Wiimote, however, is another story entirely. It's pretty awful. We're not sure if that's due to Bluetooth bandwidth restrictions or a really awful speaker, but man does it remind us of a Game Boy trying to make real audio sound effects.
- Is there a hard switch to turn off the WiFi on the Wii?
Nope, not that we can tell.
- How does the Wii's browser do on the ACID2 test? Have you seen any problems with page rendering?
Sorry, as we wrote last night, the Wii browser isn't available yet. However, since it's Opera based, and Opera performs well on the ACID2 test, it stands to reason that it will render it properly.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Kev50027 @ Nov 19th 2006 4:26PM
Why is there no PS3 FAQ? Can you guys do that as well? Please?
Ryan Block @ Nov 19th 2006 4:36PM
It's linked right there at the top!
http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/16/ps3-faq-answers-to-your-playstation-3-questions/
Darren @ Nov 19th 2006 4:36PM
Actually, our PS3 FAQ is already posted, see it here:
http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/16/ps3-faq-answers-to-your-playstation-3-questions/
Enjoy!
abigsmurf @ Nov 19th 2006 4:37PM
Other questions : does the sensor bar work behind glass?
Does the slot drive have a manual eject mechanism in case a disc gets stuck?
Kev50027 @ Nov 19th 2006 4:37PM
Awesome! Thanks guys. Appreciate it. Keep up the good work, and try to stay unbiased. Take care.
DaveC @ Nov 19th 2006 4:59PM
Hey, can you guys check USB keyboards, to see if they work with any on-screen keyboard on the Wii.
Matt @ Nov 19th 2006 5:03PM
Much appreciated!!!
shikhar @ Nov 19th 2006 5:04PM
what about using a projector to play your wii on, my projector sits behind me, would that be a problem?
Jeremy Paul @ Nov 19th 2006 11:47PM
I also have a projector setup 20' away from my screen. Too far for the included cables to fully. Can I set up the sensor bar behind me or should I get 25' component cables?
Brad @ Jul 24th 2007 1:47AM
You should buy a third party sensor bar. The bar does nothing but shine two sets of led IR lights, which the wiimotes camera picks up. The wiimote triangulates which way you are pointing, and sends that information to the wii. Anyways, third party sensor bar is the way to go, I had that same problem...
sanjay @ Nov 19th 2006 5:06PM
what about the wii spec?
diulei @ Nov 19th 2006 5:06PM
The disc loading mechanism is pretty cool, I have to say.
vinegar @ Nov 19th 2006 5:07PM
in case no one's reported this yet - Nintendo World in NYC are now turning away people with preorders. looks like even Nintendo's preorders are bunk, and not much better than waiting on line with the rest.
Guillermo @ Nov 19th 2006 5:07PM
Are there any restrictions for using a foreign credit card to buy points?
Eric M @ Nov 19th 2006 5:07PM
WTF is a JPEG movie? You mean MPEG? I assume it plays MPEG1 and MPEG2?
Bigtallguy @ Nov 19th 2006 5:23PM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MJPEG
graham @ Nov 19th 2006 5:08PM
if console is not on view say in a cupboard
do all controllers work
I understand sensor bar is wired and would need to be connected to console and on show.
Aerodoq @ Nov 19th 2006 5:22PM
Excellent, good news about WPA!
Cheers,
A>
Barret Newman @ Nov 19th 2006 5:23PM
Okay, my mom and I just picked up one today for my bro's Christmas Gift but because he doesn't know about it so I can't open it up and try it out until Christmas (Yes, It's killing me).
My question is with the "Wii Classic Controller". What exactly is it used for (Like which games and features)? And can I just connect one of my Gamecube Controllers (Wireless or Wired) to the Wii and use it with games that you need the "Wii Classic Controller" for?
kurtis.kaskiw @ Apr 15th 2009 3:58PM
Can you use the classic controller for NHL 2K9?
jack @ Nov 19th 2006 5:24PM
Thanks guys for the Q&A. If there was any doubt that this console wasnt for me, you guys put that to rest. Jumping and swinging your arms just to play a game may be fun for a minute but after a while you sorta feel like.... I dont know, pathetic?
I really wanna give this console a chance but no 1080p, sub-par game-engine, no dvd playback plus a name gotten from women/kids jumping and screaming weeeeeeeeee when they discovered that their weeemote can move stuff on there tv. "look when I swing, the ball moves, weeeeeee, its magic!
But what do I know.
Igor @ Nov 19th 2006 5:33PM
Well this wasn't asked, but if you have some import titles and an Action Replay, you can use it to launch them just as you did on the game cube. All of the imports that I've tried worked fine.
Robert @ Nov 19th 2006 5:43PM
Minor correction: the circular plastic stand is actually a base for the Wii stand to give it more stability (prevent it from falling over side-to-side). A welcome addition in earthquake country here in Southern California, though hardly required. But not an alternate stand as this post suggests.
chip chanko @ Nov 19th 2006 5:46PM
So can you use the Classic controller for Gamecube games...i.e. if you don't have gamecube controllers do you need them? I thought you would only be able to play GC games with GC controllers but when you talk about windwaker you mention using the classic controller.
Jagster @ Nov 19th 2006 5:51PM
Can you guys tape the laser pointer onto the Wii controller and report how accurate the controller is relative to where you're actually pointing? Is there any lag between the laser moving and the on-screen cursor moving?
steve @ Nov 19th 2006 6:04PM
wow the wii sounds awesome
now all i need is a job....
i hope that someone makes a useful program for the wii since you can save the vc games to the sd card
ROMs -> VC
because i dont want to pay anything extra for games i own on a cartridge and on my hard drive
BrotherEstapol @ Nov 19th 2006 6:15PM
What resolution does the Wii spit out when in 16:9 480p?
854x480, or 640x480 with it streched to widescreen aspect?
I ask cause my monitor is 16:10, and I don't want to play with a streched image, and if the Wii only supports the latter resolution, it looks like I will be. :(
Cheeers
Steve @ Nov 19th 2006 6:18PM
Hi,
does anybody know if the whole thing workes on a projector? I know the questions has been
raised before but no answers yet...
thanks.
Karen @ Dec 18th 2007 2:19PM
I know I can hook it uo to a projecter, But how do i get sound?
A @ Nov 19th 2006 6:44PM
actually, there is a screen somewhere ( i forget where) that shows how the batteries are in each of the controllers.
They just take AA batteries, so your mileage may vary. They're not rechargeable out of the box, and the nunchuck feeds off the Wiimote's power. We've been playing for a week or more now on the stock batteries with no problems, but who knows if they'll die today, tomorrow, or two months from now.
Ian @ Nov 19th 2006 6:50PM
Jesus, I think you just killed the exclamation point (!). But nice FAQ ;)
Grant @ Nov 19th 2006 7:03PM
yes, the sensor bar works behind glass, think of it like how you DVD player remote still works with the DVD player in there.
and it does work with a projector, the whole reason for the sensor bar, instead of technology of the days of old(ex. light gun games), is so it works with projectors and HD tvs which don't work with the old method.
and the wiimote pointing isn't so relative to the screen as to where your pointing, but that also depends on the proximity to the screen you set up the sensor bar, the closer to the screen, the closer to the actual pointing location it is.
VideoFlying @ Nov 19th 2006 7:22PM
One question remains unanswered: I'm planning to use my Wii with a projector. I could use a longer sensor cable (138" isn't that long). Is that cable in your opinion changeable?
Thanks a lot for the Wii Q&A guys!
Mrfreezie @ Nov 19th 2006 7:23PM
Ahh, I want a Wii so much I can barely stand it.. That mystery flap, ahh, I am turned on.
Anonymous @ Nov 19th 2006 7:37PM
Are the Wii disks DVDs, CDs, or some proprietary format?
Josh @ Nov 19th 2006 8:01PM
I've got a question: does the classic controller work with gamecube games? Where does the classic controller plug in?
A @ Nov 19th 2006 8:18PM
1.Not sure
2.DVD.
rv65 @ Nov 19th 2006 8:37PM
VideoFlying,
Pelican is releasing an extension cable. NYKO is working on a wireless one that works with your projector setup.
Mitch @ Nov 19th 2006 8:37PM
I'm actually the same person who wrote about 18.
I'm somewhat pissed off about it, too.
As it turns out, my replacement console... is backordered.
boardndave @ Nov 19th 2006 9:04PM
What's the music playing in the background of the video showing the use of GameCube mini discs?
Sean @ Nov 19th 2006 9:07PM
my wii's blue drive light doesn't stay on at all; it just flickers momentarily when the console is powered up - disc or no disc. nothing happens with the blue light when a disc is inserted. is something wrong with my wii (everything else works fine, just being nitpicky)?
JPBOSS @ Nov 20th 2006 12:17AM
Yep, mine does the same thing. Hopefully Nintendo will fix these issues in a Firmware update. What they need to do is upgrade their bandwidth to their Internet servers for the Shop and for the Channel updates. They should have know what to design for by the numbers they are going to release. Mine downloaded two updates today and were extremely slow. I purchased 2000 points via the Wii Store thru the Wii interface but when I now try to access the store I keep getting error codes: 209600 and 209601. These are probably time out codes waiting on Nintendo's overwhelmed servers.
d8 @ Nov 19th 2006 9:09PM
On Bluetooth sync with WiiRemote that you've showed us (FAQ no. 17), could you please click on 'PassKey Option' Button (on 1st pic) and see if we put all common keys (i.e.: 0000, 1234, 123456, 000000) may allow you to connect with WiiRemote?
zelda ftw @ Nov 19th 2006 9:21PM
My Wii doesn't like my wireless security AT ALL. I've got a great linksys cable modem + wifi router, and even my PSP handles the WPA TKIP just fine, but with the Wii it's been a no go so far. I type in the password, and when it tests the connection, it just hangs there and locks up, forcing me to either unplug the system or hold down the power button. Anyone else having these problems? By the way, my Wii is less than 5 feet away from the linksys.
010111 @ Nov 19th 2006 9:23PM
"28. Can you use Wii game save slots for GC games?
We don't see why not! We didn't see any messages in the system that would lead us to believe we couldn't save our games to SD or internal memory, but we couldn't confirm for sure."
it does not work. RE4 will not start even as it looks for a GC card in the Slot... and i had none. there is no where in any options menu that i saw to create a 'virtual save slot' on the Wii memory.
and you don't need a Classic Controller to test this out. am i seriously to believe you didn't even have a GC controller laying around?
seriously... if you don't know the answer to a question don't just assume 'we don't see why not!' ... incredibly sloppy. would've been better to not even have the question listed at all. a FAQ normally includes... you know. actual answers.
lysernix @ Nov 19th 2006 11:23PM
Are there any reports - or based on the technology available on the console - is there any chance for a 'classic' controller that is wireless, other than a third party offering w/ receiver? The few shots I've seen of the classic controller certainly make it look like it has a cord.
Evan @ Dec 9th 2006 1:47AM
The classic controller plugs into the Wiimote so it is semi-wireless.
Michael @ Nov 19th 2006 9:24PM
So where's the "is there lag in the remote?" question? I am returning my Wii first thing tomorrow morning (I preordered) because the control is absolutely horrible. The only good thing was Wii Sports - Tennis. Zelda was ok and didn't even look all that bad ... but the controls annoyed me playing as a Wolf. I spent an hour trying to jump a gap ... You have to aim your jump just right and it pissed me off to no end. Red Steel, as the reviews have stated, is a piece of crap, and I'm offended I actually purchased it. The remote sometimes drifts, so my character keeps turning when I've recentered the image to the screen. Also, it's nearly impossible to have a good shot because of the mechanics. This is no better way to play a first person shooter than using the regular controllers.
I was a believer ... Real disappointed. I can't wait for the real reviews to get in when the novelty wears off. The buttons are fine, so it's not bluetooth that's the problem ... It's totally the sensor bar's delay. I can't wait to see the Nintendo World's staff when I demand my money back for such a pile of sh*t. Going back to the PC.
I do apologize for the tone of this post. You don't have any idea how pissed I am at the Wii.
jason @ Nov 20th 2006 3:07PM
You have to "aim...just right"? Are you seriously complaining about having to aim or push the right buttons in a game? That is part of the essence of gaming - video or real life.
If John Elway didn't pass to the right spot on the field, then the intended receiver isn't likely to catch it. If Michael Jordan didn't shoot just right he'd miss the free throw.
dnm @ Apr 7th 2008 4:53PM
Heh. Eating your words yet? So much for novelty, eh?