WiiPoints
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Nintendo Points won't make the leap between Wii and DSi
While it's not exactly a huge surprise given that Nintendo doesn't have an overarching account system for the Wii and DS, plenty of folks will no doubt still be disappointed to learn that the company's new Nintendo Points won't be transferable between the two consoles. Instead, when you buy a points card (available in 1000, 3000 and 5000 points versions), you'll have to pick a console and spend all the points in that one place. Not exactly an ideal option, to be sure, but it seems like it's one that we'll be stuck with -- unless Nintendo has some plans to make some major changes to the way the Wii and DSi do business.[Via gamesindustry.biz]
Nintendo now accepting stars for Wii Points
It's taken some time, but Nintendo Europe is finally rewarding its 'star' collectors with an opportunity to exchange celestial tokens for Wii Points, at a rate of 4 stars to 1 point. If you've been a diligent Club Nintendo member (200 stars), registering codes packaged in first-party games and hardware (250-1,000 stars), recommending aliases "friends" (250 stars), and of course, hitting the website each and every day (5 stars), why not save the 8 euros and treat yourself to that Wonder Boy in Monster World download you've been pining after for all these months? Take it from us: you've earned it.
Wii Warm Up: What do you hate about the Wii?
Surely, such a post title is hard to read, quite possibly causing a massive heart attack in our older readers. But, we all must face the fact that, although we love it, the Wii is in no way perfect. It has its issues, which we've talked about before. Some are more like little pet peeves, while others are full-blown deal breakers.For us, our biggest nuisance is the fact that we have to enter our credit card information every time we go to purchase some Wii Points (outside world, be damned!). It's caused us to be the unwitting recipient of memorization, as we no longer need to grab our wallet and extract the card to input its long chain of numbers. How do you know we haven't reserved that space for some other, more useful, knowledge, Nintendo? Like ... how long is the perfect time to cook a burrito in the microwave. That's knowledge that was fought for, and won! Many burritos gave their lives to provide us with that information ...Take those two cents of yours and toss 'em right in! What bugs you about the Wii?
Reminder: Wii Opera browser grace period ends tomorrow
The best things in life are free. The Wii's internet channel isn't one of them, but it's free, and time is running out on that part. Wii owners have been able to download the final version of the browser for their Wii free since April 11; however, beginning July 1, the application will cost 500 Wii points ($5) to download. Wii owners who download the Opera powered browser before the July 1 deadline will "retain the application at no cost for the life of the system." So even if you aren't going to use it -- get it. When a global corporation gives you an item for free, even if you're just going to pocket it, unless it's some vast conspiracy to take over our minds, we aren't going to say no. Who knows, we fear we may be stuck in bed some day soon and not be able to make it to our computers with a desperate need to watch a YouTube video or something else important. When that time comes -- if it comes -- we'll be happy to have our free Wii browser.[Via Press Release]
Wii Warm Up: But what about five dollars?
Do you ever get the urge to put, say, just outright buy an NES game on the Virtual Console without leaving extra money lying around on your Wii in the form of points? If so, too bad. Suffer.There's a lot to love about the Virtual Console (we've downloaded several of the reasons), but the system for adding points is not one of them. Does it bother you that you must add funds in set increments? Is it time for everyone to get away from these point systems and buying blocks and just let us perform direct dollar-for-dollar transactions? It's not like they're fooling us. Even if converting points-to-dollars required a complex mathematical formula, we'd be able to perform it lightning fast. After all, we're serious fans here. Or do you feel it's a non-issue? It's likely that we'll spend the points anyway. We did mention that we're serious fans, right?
Sony to offer pre-paid PSN vouchers in Japan
Those dying to download Marl Oukoku no Ningyou Hime (and who isn't?) from the Japanese PlayStation Network will now find another payment option nestled in the aisles of the nearest convenience store. IGN reports that PlayStation Network Tickets will soon be procurable from convenience stores and post office ATMs across Japan, allowing those without a means of direct electronic payment to enjoy and more importantly, pay for the wares of the PS3's virtual marketplace. The tickets will function in a similar fashion to Nintendo Wii Point cards and Xbox Live MS Point vouchers, with the exception that they'll be grouped in a non-bogus currency. Available in units of ¥1,000, ¥3,000, ¥5,000 and ¥10,000, the cards will contain a 12-digit code recognized by the PSN as a command to fill up your virtual wallet with the corresponding amount. As for the possibility of PSN Tickets becoming available elsewhere, Sony offers, "We have no announcement regarding any changes to the electronic payment options on the PlayStation Store in North America at this time."
Turtle power envy
Seeing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game on the ESRB's list of upcoming Virtual Console titles should bring joy to our nostalgia-ruled hearts, but we're finding it hard to not be pessimistic about this particular release. We've put more hours into Konami's beat'em up than you can shake a bo staff at, so it's not the actual game that we have problems with. No, it's just outright jealousy over the XBLA port of the arcade version. While we're stuck with 8-bit graphics and support for only two players, the 360's turtle fans have the original cut scenes, arcade graphics, and online co-op for up to four players! Inconceivable! To add insult to injury, we might have to shell out 600 Wii points for the NES game instead of the usual 500 because of licensing issues. If that'll be the case, we would actually be spending more than what 360 gamers are paying! We can at least find solace in the NES version's extended levels, extra stages, and Pizza Hut advertising. Also, TMNT II wasn't the only new ninja release spotted on the ESRB's Virtual Console catalog. Ninja Gaiden, Tecmo's 1989 platformer, will also be stabbing its way onto the Wii. Let's see the Xbox try to top us with a game like that! Oh wait...
Five TG-16 games coming to VC next month
Not to be outdone by Capcom's Virtual Console plans revealed earlier this week, Hudson has announced five TurboGrafx-16 games coming to the the North American shopping channel this April: Battle Lode Runner, Bonk's Revenge, Bravoman, Dragon's Curse, and Shockman.Bonk's Revenge builds upon the original adventure's headbutting formula, adding more complex levels and tightened graphics. Battle Lode Runner gets a similar visual upgrade from its Commodore 64 trappings, and it even features multiplayer action.Dragon's Curse, or Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap in Japan, should be available to purchase by next Monday. Players will be able to take on the forms and powers of five different creatures in this side-scrolling RPG, questing to regain their original human body. Bravoman and Shockman sound like Mega Man spin-offs, and you wouldn't be too far off with that assumption! They're both action-platformers overloaded with robots and larger-than-life bosses.All five of the Virtual Console games will be priced at 600 Wii points.
New videos and updates for the Internet Channel
We spent the morning crying into our pillows and refusing to come out of our rooms after we heard about the final version of Opera's Wii browser being delayed. Nintendo eventually called to console us though, directing our puffy eyes to an interview with the company's Internet Channel development team at its Japanese site. We had a really good talk.There are several videos and screenshots scattered around the Japanese transcript, demonstrating the changes with the Wii browser's final build. It's clear that Nintendo and Opera Software addressed a lot of common complaints users had with the trial version, making sure to implement variable zooming, improved starting times, and faster scrolling. Here's a list of all the other things we spotted on the page, mixed in with Nintendo's announced updates:
