Wii Rally

Remember the TLC shows ‘A Baby Story’ and ‘A Wedding Story’? I always enjoyed those programs, getting a glimpse into a momentous occasion in someone’s lives. While it may not be as riveting as television, Wii owners can share their Wii stories on the webpage My Wii Story.com.

Stories are add to the front page and can be browsed right from there. It’s kind of fun to read just how the Wii has affected their lives or why they bought one. There’s the story of the husband who after 20 years of marriage can finally get his wife to play video games thanks to the Wii. Or the woman whose friends just assume that her Wii belongs to her kids when in fact she is the one who loves to play. Another woman was having a Wii party to introduce her friends to Wii gaming.

My Wii Story is filled with short and sweet stories about playing the Wii. You can share you own or just read about other’s experiences with Wii gaming.

Since Nintendo and Opera released the final version of the Wii Internet Channel I have been asked many questions regarding the software and how it works. So I decided to take today’s Feature Friday and turn it into a FAQ sheet. If you have any questions that you would like answered please feel free to email them to me and I will track down an answer for you and post it here. I’ll do my best to keep this FAQ updated as new questions come in.

Question: What is the Wii Internet Channel?

Answer: The Wii Internet Channel is a web browser that you can use on your Nintendo Wii console.

Q: Who made the Internet Channel?

A: The Wii Internet channel was made by developers from both Nintendo and Opera software.

Q:What can I do with Internet Channel?

A: Almost anything you can do with a regular PC/Mac/Linux based browser you can do with the Wii Internet Channel. Check email, get the latest news, visit your favorite website, and of course read Wii Rally.

Q: How many versions are there?

A: As of right now there are two versions of the Internet Channel. The first version was the “trial version” which was released in December 2006. The second version was the “full version” of the software and was released in April 2007

Q:How much does the Internet Channel cost?

A: As of right now the software is totally free. Once you buy a Wii that is. It is available from the Wii Shop Channel free of charge until June when it will cost you 400 Wii points.

Q: Does the Internet Channel support Flash?

A: Yes the browser supports Flash 8 and lower. So far there have been no plans announced to include support for Flash 9

Q: Can I restrict what websites the young gamers in my family can access?

A: Kind of. The Wii does have parental controls but they only allow you to enable or disable the Internet Channel itself. The Wii does not allow you to block individual websites.

Q: Can someone use the Internet Channel to access pornographic material?

A: Again kind of. The Internet is full of porn but to get access to most sites you require a valid credit card number. I would say that it is no easier to access porn on the Wii than it is on a computer. Still there is no substitute for parents visually monitoring what their children do online.

Q: Is the Internet Channel secure?

A: Yes. The browser has built in security by McAfee. There was a vulnerability in the trail version which has been fixed in the full version. Seeing as how the Wii OS is very different from the Mac/Linux/Windows I know of no viruses that exist.

Q: Can I play my favorite Flash games using the Internet Channel?

A: Yes! the browser supports Flash 8 and lower. Websites which offer games and other content specifically designed for the Internet Channel are pooping up all over the net.

Q: Where can I get more information about the Wii and the Internet Channel?

A: You can visit www.wii.com , www.opera.com or www.nintendo.com for more info.

Have a question not answered here? Send me an email (mephistar@gmail.com) or by clicking on the Contact Me link located on the Wii Rally sidebar.

In the interest of covering my own butt I’m gonna file this one under rumour but I’m getting word that Wii owners will soon have an easier time sending messages and surfing the web using the Internet Channel. This easier time is brought to you buy a novel idea for an input device; a keyboard.

Word on the street is that Logitech is stepping up to manufacture some keyboards which will work with the USB ports located on the rear of the console. But wait…. there’s more! The May issue of Game Informer says that even though they haven’t announced anything official yet Nintendo may jump into the peripheral market with a keyboard of their own.

To be honest I was a little surprised when I tried to plug a regular USB keyboard in to my Wii and it failed to work. This news however seems to be a step in right direction and definitely could get more people using the Wii message system and Internet Channel which to be honest doesn’t get a lot of play ’round my house but that could change.

So I am relaxing watching The Simpsons when out of the corner of my eye I see my Wii starts to glow that familiar and hypnotic blue indicating that I have a message. So I start her up thinking it’s just some random message from one of my friends but it’s from my best friend Nintendo. A new version of the Wii Internet Channel is available today.

If you already have the trial version of the software than you are just quick system update and a download away from full browser goodness. What’s new? You ask why I already told you that so lets dig into the Wii Rally archives and find that post. Here ya go!

You know you have to hand it to the Wii a whole new piece of software and I had it up and running in less than 10 minutes with a 3 MB/Sec connection. Probably would have been quicker if I had an ethernet connection but still only WiFi for now which is fine because I hate wires.

Something small I noticed right off the bat was that there were some new additions to my favorites list aside from the obvious Wii Rally Viidelectrix and WiiCade I noticed that Google and Yahoo were now among my favorite web pages. Very sneaky guys I knew I should have called Nintendo and asked them to put Wii Rally in every one’s favs. I guess hindsight is always 20/20

I can only assume that a good percentage of Wii owners out there in Nintendo land have taken the time to download the “free trial” version of the Wii Opera browser. The application has been available since December and web hounds have been itching to get their hands on the full version of the Opera software. That time is fast approaching.

In a press release last week Nintendo announced that the full version is coming sometime in April and will remain free until June when Nintendo will slap a 500 Wii Points price tag on the software. My understanding is that if you have taken the time to use the “free trial” version then you will be able to update to the full version without asking your girlfriend for her credit card number to snag some Wii Points.

Nintendo is promising the following features will be integrated into the full version of the Opera browser.

From the Nintendo Press Release

improved zooming and scrolling

an improved zoomed font

shortened startup times

quicker access to “favorites”

an ability to hide the toolbar

buttons that will instantly type common preset letters, such as “www” or “.com”

Although any kind of info on new software is important this latest press release fails to address some of my specific concerns specifically what kind of Flash players will be compatible with the full version. With the “free trail” version you can view or use any website that supports Flash 8 or lower but as the more and more sites upgrade to Flash 9 you’ll start finding more and more websites failing to display. Don’t worry I think YouTube and GameTrailers are still safe but I have had a couple problems with GameVideos but then again I get problems every time with GameVideos even on my PC.

I don’t know about the rest of you but the Wii Internet Channel gets a fair amount of play on my Wii. I’m of course a fan of the Viidelectrix and other flash based sites. Gmail works just fine and as always Wii Rally is fully functional when viewed with the Wii browser.

Source: Nintendo
Comic from Opera

The lads at HomeStar Runner have finally updated their web based Wii console the Viidelectrix. They have put a new game featuring everyone’s favorite dragon ummm I mean man I mean dragon-man baah who cares it’s TROGDOR!!!! The classic flash game comes to the Wii in a way that is unique from all the other Viidelectrix games. Instead of using the Wii Remote as a pointer you are to turn it sideways and then use the D-pad and the 1 and 2 buttons to control Trogdor as he stomps across the countryside burninating the peasants. There is still one more empty spot on the Viidelectrix’s game selection page who knows what we will get next? I’m hoping for a fighting game where you can beat up Strong Sad. Now that would be awesome.

Your local Best Buy is sold out of Wii points cards or maybe you can’t scrape together the 24.99 required to buy one. If you’re a variety whore like me you bounce from game to game how are you supposed to get you fix without dropping your life savings on the Virtual Console? WiiCade to the rescue.

I happened across this site some time ago and I figured it was time to share it with you. Start up your Wii Opera browser and head on over to www.wiicade.com you will be pleasantly surprised.

WiiCade is a flash games website where all the games can be played using the WiiMote either by pointing or using the buttons on the WiiMote itself. There are games for every taste action, shooters, puzzle even platformers. The site is completely fan run and is totally free so enjoy.

You’ve speant hours searching for that elusive Wii now you can put it to good use. Heavy.com is holding a contest called the “Wii Would Like to Play” contest, prizes include 2000$ USD and a Wii prize pack to set you up right. To enter you need to film a video of you and your friends playing with a Wii. That’s all, just point, shoot, play, submit, sounds easy enough. Entries will be judged on creativity among many other factors. The contest deadline is February 28th and entries must be submitted by that time. Winners will be announced some time after March 5th. Go to heavy.com to submit a video or you can view all the official rules. Oh and an apology to my Canadian readers this contest is only for residents of the US……sorry eh?

From Heavy.com

With Wii, you’ve got a whole new way to play. Round up your friends, dog, neighbors, grandma and make a video of yourself playing Wii… Get creative! You have until February 28th to upload your video entry.
We’ll pick our favorite videos. If your video is selected, you get a $250 cash prize.
Then, tell your friends to watch between Monday, March 5 and Sunday, March 18 because the most watched video will not only become the featured Wii commercial on Heavy.com, but will also win the
$2000 Grand Prize and a Wii prize package.
What are you waiting for? Get playing already!

Click for—>Official Rules
Click for—>Contest page

If you have spent any time on the internet chances are you have heard of Home Star Runner, or at least one of their mascots, the cheat, Strong Bad or the infamous TROGDOR! The Burninator. The boys at Home Star Runner have always been a huge fan of video games and tech in general, littering their cartoons with Visual Basic and Atari 2600 jokes. So it comes as no surprise that they have developed a couple of flash games specifically for the Nintendo Wii.

The games are played using the Wii’s Opera powered browser and make great use of the WiiMote. The games are also great classic throwbacks invoking memories of brown coloured basements with the Atari “Adventure� like “Secret Collect�, and one of gaming’s worst blunders the Virtual Boy with the red vector graphics of “STRONGBADZONE�.

The big surprise is, that the games are actually really good, simple as they are they still provide good times at a price that can’t be beat. The pixilated foot racing game “Kid Speedy� even has online play. (Although it may be a joke, at Nintendo’s expense of course) My favourite is the mysterious “Population: Tire� which takes place in an empty yard populated by… um well….a tire. It reminds me of summer camp when I was young where I would spend hours keeping a balloon aloft while the other kids were playing some game with foot balls and flags, I never really understood camp.

If you still haven’t found anything that tickles your fancy on the Virtual Console or even if you have, defiantly check these babies out best of all they are totally free with more titles to come.

Wii Console………………………………………………279$
Internet Connection ……………………………….50$
Wireless Router ………………………………………65$
Wii Opera Browser……………………………………0$
StrongBad on your Wii………………………….priceless

If you don’t happen to have a Wii just yet you can play the games in your regular web browser using your mouse cursor. Go to http://www.videlectrix.com/vii/ and enjoy.

This week Wii Parental Controls

Well everyone the first work week of 2007 has come to a close. This weekend is a good one to catch up on those little tasks that may have slipped your mind during the holiday chaos. One such thing that may have slipped your mind is to set the “Parental Controls” on your brand new Nintendo Wii. Well that’s why we have “Feature Friday” every Friday I’m going to try and go in-depth with one of the features of the Wii. Due to recent developments with the Wii Opera Browser I thought that parental controls would be an excellent place to start.

Now most parents don’t know this but for the last two console generations home consoles have come with a parental lock. Similar to those found on DVD players the Wii’s parental controls are no different from those that have come before it. The Wii’s parental controls work with the ESRB (Entertainment Software Ratings Board) ratings that appear on all games so that you can restrict what game titles are played on your Wii console. To do this, simply follow the steps found after the jump (more…)

Ever been playing your Wii and wondered how you favourite hockey team did that night? Well you could change the channel and try and find a sport report or lug your gamer girth all the way over to the computer. Well all that’s about to change.
Opera has released the free trial version of their web browser for the Wii Console. You can now browse the internet from the comfort of your Wii dashboard.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to deliver our browser to Wii and let the world see what Opera is capable of on a game console, says Jon von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software.�

I’ve never been a big fan of Opera’s software but since this version of their browser was developed specifically for the Wii, I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Follow the link to the press release from Opera and you can access Video of the browser in action, screenshots, and even fun little web comic on how to install the browser.

Opera Press Release