As that most awaited event of finally having the Wii rest in our living rooms (not really rest...), we just simply want to get more bits of information about it. It's like getting to know someone's history and preferences right before an important meeting, just to make sure that you two don't get off on the wrong foot and that you don't embarrass yourself in front of the said important guest.

Yeah. Something like that. In any case, on with the interesting bits!
It doesn't play CDs, but it plays AVIs off your digital camera's SD card.The flaps that protect the Gamecube controllers and memory card slots are removable.Wii Sports includes training and workout modes.You can let one remote control all four players in Wii Sports: Tennis.It takes five pieces of heart to make a heart container in Zelda: Twilight Princess.The box includes two clear plastic holders: one for the sensor bar and another that acts as a stabilizer for the thick, gray console stand.When used as a pointer,...

Chris Kohler of Wired Blogs' Game Life was quite miffed that component didn't come out of the box for the Wii. Granted, not everyone in the country - let alone the world - owns a TV that could put out at least 480p. And component will come out as a separately sold accessory on Launch Day.

Not for HDTV-owning gaming journalists like Chris, though. And "Nintendo of America heard the frustrated cry of HDTV-owning journalists around the country and got component cables overnighted to us." D n if the job doesn't have perks.

Okay, so do component cables make the difference in gameplay experience? It's not like the Wii could output 720p, only 480p, right? Well, try Mr. Kohler's compare-and-contrast shot of Zelda TP. Tip: 480p on the right.


Quote the Kohler if cables make a difference in gameplay: "You bet your a it does." And one other thing:

Nintendo promises that component cables will be available at Best Buy, Gamestop, and other B&M re...

Yes, yes, we all know that we want the Wii ever so badly (well, some of us anyway... Anything for the joy that is Rayman Raving Rabbids), but then again, we have always been astounded as to what lengths some people would go through just to be able to get the Wii experience as soon and as fast as possible.

So, here we go.

Some Japanese dude couldn't wait either and from the photos that he took of his pre-Wii excursion, I think I can almost tell what games he'd be buying on launch day. If you want to see his whole day-out, better check it out at the original Nifty site via the "Read" link below. He even includes a short tutorial on how he made his Wii-piece-of-wood-mote.

Some people just really know how to have fun, don't they? And I mean that in a positive way.

Apparently Part 1 wasn't enough to cover all the ground Nintendo and CVG wanted to cover on the Virtual Console. There are a few more questions left unanswered in CVG's follow-up to their VC article (which we covered) last week. Although one of the topics they covered - sorry, nada rumble VC N64 - we already reported on as well. Still, let's see what the leftovers are...
All VC titles are faithful programming reproductions of the original solid-state cartridges they were imprinted on lo, those many years ago. Meaning:You know that multiplayer-via-internet feature that some PC Nintendo emulators had? Not gonna happen in the VC.Because "Principle programming, characters, sound etc. have not been changed," if the game had some jaggies or slowdowns (due to the limits of the original hardware and the cartridge), it's gonna be on the VC, too. Nintendo has no plans so far of manufacturing GameCube controllers as a Wii accessory. But Nintendo GameCube accessories are still available f...

Time for DaveHinkle to leave himself a message on the fridge door Wii Message Board! And thanks for making a YouTube video to show to the world what's on your fridge door Wii Message Board. Now, if we could only get a cold glass of milk - or beer - from the fridge door Wii Message Board...

Okay, the point-and-click type feature of the Wiimote is pretty dandy, and perfect if you're lounging in the sofa, far away from the TV screen. On the other hand, like D-pad-and-click typing on other consoles, it can be pretty tedious. We wonder if we could use keyboards with the Wii in the future... Menu's pretty intuitive, so no problem there.

But if you're still in school, the Wii's special feature of leaving a note in your Board saying how much game time you've invested could be troublesome - if it also leaves the note for Mum and Pops. "Son, weren't you supposed to be studying for History last night? What's this FIVE HOURS of Red Steel doing in the fridge door Message Board?" ...

So what Famitsu's saying is that Nintendo packed up all the contents of the Nintendo World Tour in lucky Nagoya, to spread the Wii wealth next in lucky Osaka (as scheduled). So residents - and out-of-towners itching to Wii, we can bet - flocked to the Osaka Intex (International Exhibit Center), and Famitsu was there to take notes and pictures.

Taking the stage were Wii Sports, which took the largest floor space in Intex, says Famitsu, and dedicated booths for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Sonic and the Secret Rings, and Need for Speed Carbon. But it was not all about the Wii in the World Tour, after all, as the DS Lite attracted just as much attention for Nintendogs Touch! Generations (complete with helpful little maids attendants to guide players) and Pokemon Diamond/Pearl, among others.

But the sight (or the pic) that drew the tears from our eyes? It was the picture we used as a banner above. And what Famitsu said (via weblator): "From...

How to pull off a funny prank in five simple steps.

Step 1: Take pre-recorded footage of Nintendo Wii games like Metroid Prime and edit them for viewing on a TV.
Step 2: Make fake peripherals, such as a fake Wiimote and a sensor bar that's actually a discarded laptop battery.
Step 3: Invite members of 1Up to try the Wii you "just picked up."
Step 4: Take video footage of them trying to use the thing and wondering why it's not working.
Step 5: Reveal the prank and upload the video to your place of employment.

Thank you Mr. Mark MacDonald, director at GameVideos.com, for pulling off one of the best game pranks we've heard of in a while. Dan Hsu kind of found out before he got his turn at the fake Wii, but it was still funny seeing the other guys messing around with it.

In any case, here's the video of the prank in action. No downloads though, so try and open up the page in a different browser if the flash video doesn't work on your current ...

We can't call it "pentathlon" because GameTrailers only had these gameplay vids for four out of the five sports in Wii Sports. (What did they do, forget about golf?) Sigh. We're this close to tee-off time for the Wii and its bundled and highly-promoted title, it's a wonder that GameTrailers is still coming out with their gameplay vids.

At least these direct-feeds feature what looks to be the English version of Wii Sports (unless the Japanese version is multilingual), and we can glean some gameplay clues out of them - not that we've seen and heard all the clues from previous previews. So, here's GameTrailers' Wiide World of Wii Sports, and a bit of gameplay commentary from us.

Baseball: Is it just us or does it look like the players are still trying to get a hang of this game? (Either that or they're more suited to TEE-ball...). "Swung too early..." "Swung too late..." It looks like swing timing's going to be your main weapon in this game.

Boxing: Perhaps th...

Filed under: Gaming, HDTV, Home Entertainment
In you haven't had enough Xbox 360 (let alone Wii and PlayStation 3) news lately, we've got one more tidbit for you. While we knew the device would sport USB connectivity, the recently released (and unboxed) HD DVD add-on drive has reportedly already been hacked to function on plain ole PCs, no Xbox 360 necessary. Utilizing Toshiba drivers, users have apparently been able to not only view the file contents of their HD DVD flicks directly within a Windows XP environment, but have been able to play back the film on PCs well-spec'd enough to handle the load. By enabling the computer to read the UDF (Universal Disc File system) v2.5 -- which is currently used by Toshiba's first generation HD DVD drives -- you can avoid throwing down the coin required for an Xbox 360 if you so choose. But as these roundabouts always go, we wouldn't count on things working out so smoothly for too much longer, especially with HDCP always lurking and waiting ...

Filed under: Gaming
It's next-gen console madness over here at Engadget. We know there's a veritable flood of information about the Wii, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, but let's make this as simple as it should be. Below you'll find a round up of our coverage; take a look, we post a lot of stuff, so you never know if you missed something good. Check it out, and remember, we'll have plenty more stuff in the coming days!

Wii
Finding a Wii where there is none
Wii hands-on, unboxing!
Wii unboxing video
Wii setup and interface walkthrough video
Wii gameplay video (Wii Sports and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess)

PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3 hands-on preview (with video!)
PlayStation 3 gameplay preview
PlayStation 3 menu / interface complete video walkthrough
Unpacking our PlayStation 3 (with video!)
Some interesting facts about the PS3
The Engadget Interview: Peter Dille, Sony Computer Entertai...