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Ten ways to spend your Internet Channel rebate

by JC Fletcher { Oct 21st 2009 at 4:30PM }

Some of you are, as of today, five dollars richer, with that five dollars earmarked for the NES Virtual Console game of your choice. You probably have all the Marios and Zeldas you want (and River City Ransom), so we thought we would help you figure out what to do with that windfall.

We've picked ten games that you may not have purchased yet. We didn't try to get obscure or anything, because there are only 83 NES games available! So this is basically a list of games we like that we think you're not so likely to have purchased, And there are no imports, because those cost 600 Wii Points.

Let us help you spend your money>>

Free NES game now available to Internet Channel buyers

by JC Fletcher { Oct 21st 2009 at 11:15AM }

Good news for the people who were unfortunate enough to get the Wii Internet Channel between July 1, 2007 and September 1 of this year. Yes, you may have gotten taken for 5 bucks, but with today's Wii update, Nintendo of America is giving that money back to you in the form of a free NES game from the Virtual Console. You'll see the message when you turn your Wii on, as with all updates.

Don't take too long pretending to face a tough decision, because this offer will expire at the end of the year. Just buy River City Ransom and enjoy it! If you've already got River City Ransom, we've heard good things about that "Castlevania" series.

Wii Internet Channel now free, with updated Flash [update]

by JC Fletcher { Sep 1st 2009 at 10:59AM }

Nintendo just dropped the price of the Wii Opera browser in Japan and PAL markets to nothing, its original "price" during the system's launch, when the browser was in beta. VOOKS photographed the Wii message that announced the price drop, which also revealed that the version of Flash used in the Wii browser has been updated from Flash 7 to Flash Lite 3.1-- which should make the Internet Channel much more useful. Users who paid 500 Wii Points for the browser will receive a refund of sorts in October -- a credit that can be used on any NES game.

In Japan, the same refund offer applies, and Nintendo is providing more opportunities for free Virtual Console games. Since early this year, Nintendo of Japan has offered 500-point bonuses to Wii owners for helping others get online. Starting October 21, Nintendo will expand this program with new rewards: those who achieve "Helper Meister 10" status (by helping 10 others connect) will gain access to every Nintendo-published Famicom game. "Helper Meister 20" will unlock all Virtual Console games on every platform! That should get people going door to door.

Update: The Internet Channel is now free in North America, and the NES Virtual Console download credit will be extended to those who purchased the browser in the region.

Ask Joystiq Nintendo: Donkey Kong Generation Gap Edition

by JC Fletcher { Apr 16th 2009 at 8:00PM }

This week in Ask Joystiq Nintendo, unfortunately, is all about stuff that just isn't going to happen. The DS might have gotten a browser update with the DSi, but the update wasn't in the area people really wanted.

In the process of discussing your questions (which you can send to us by email at asknintendo AT joystiq DOT com!), we also reveal that I am a fossil.

Continued →

Ask Joystiq Nintendo: Interwebs Edition

by JC Fletcher { Apr 9th 2009 at 6:00PM }

This week in Ask Joystiq Nintendo, we deal mostly with issues relating to the DS and the Internet -- how to get online with a DS system, and interfacing with the Internet once you get there. We also start the Countdown to New DSi Colors, for the benefit of those of you who are somehow unsatisfied with the blue DSi (or the Gyakuten Kenji white DSi).

Do you have a question for the sages experts dudes at Joystiq Nintendo? Simply email your query to asknintendo AT joystiq DOT com, and we will stare at it until an answer becomes apparent!

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DS browser vs. DSi browser

by JC Fletcher { Feb 23rd 2009 at 10:00AM }

Back in the days when the DSi was young (November), Eric demonstrated how slowly the system's browser operated, documenting the agonizing process of trying to read DS Fanboy on the device. Agonizing only in that it took a long time, we must clarify -- reading any incarnation of our site is a soothing and life-affirming experience, of course. But how much more or less agonizing is the process on the DSi browser than on the DS/DS Lite Opera browser? DotEd of the Opera N+ blog did a comparative speed test to find out.

According to science (i.e. the one test seen in the video after the break), the DSi's browser loads the New York Times site much quicker than the DS Lite version; even better, it loads the text first, so you can read even while images are coming in. The browser on the DSi will end up getting a lot more use than the other one (on account of being free and not requiring two separate cartridges), so it's kind of nice that it actually works better.

Gallery: Nintendo DSi

[Thanks, Fernando!]

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Reason #347 we wish we lived in Japan: The Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Opera

by Griffin McElroy { Feb 5th 2009 at 4:00PM }

We're sure that a gigantic portion of our readership has a boundless love for two seemingly unrelated items: Nintendo DS adventure games, and the opera (staged musicals, that is, not the web browser). This large, imaginary group of people will likely flip their imaginary lids when they hear that Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney will be making it's theatrical debut in Japan in the form of an Ace Attorney Opera.

The production is being performed by the Takarazuka Revue, an all-female troupe, raising some ponder-worthy questions about the girlification of the game's heavily-bearded Judge. According to the Revue's producer, the troupe is currently finishing up rehearsals and should be ready to harmonize their "Objections!" in front of a crowd by the end of February.

CES 2009: Opera's new SDK could mean better Wii browsing down the line

by JC Fletcher { Jan 8th 2009 at 1:40PM }

So, uh, we guess that bit about the updated Internet Channel being done and on the way out the door was spurious after all. Awesome. We're basing that evaluation on two pieces of evidence: first, December came and went; and second, Opera has just now announced a new version of their software development kit for "devices" (as in, not computers). And if Nintendo is just now getting the updated tools, we can expect to wait for a new version of the browser. If Nintendo finished a new version already and Opera just now released an updated SDK, then, uh, there are some grumpy programmers over at Nintendo right now.

The new SDK includes Opera Link, which lets users create persistent bookmarks and Speed Dial nodes, which means Wii users could update their bookmarks and such in a less annoying interface. It also includes an updated version of Opera Zoom, for smoother zooming and panning. What it doesn't include is Flash -- updating the Flash Player SDK is Adobe's business.

More people browse the net on PS3 than Wii

by David Hinkle { Jan 2nd 2009 at 3:31PM }

According to a business statistics group, Market Share, the PS3 delivers more web traffic than the much more popular Wii. Stats put the PS3 at a 0.04 share of the overall internet market, with the Wii trailing behind at 0.01. With more Wii consoles out there than PS3s, and a superior method of browsing (controller vs. Wiimote, Wiimote wins), we're a tad bit shocked.

Of course, one must take into account the fact that the Wii's web browser is no longer free. For a large part of the console's first year on the market it was, so that likely has a lot to do with how many folks are using their console to surf the web. The PS3's browser has always been absolutely free.

How many of you use your Wii to cruise the seedy backstreets of this intertron we all know and love?

Internet Channel updating next month with WiiSpeak support, tabs, huge buttons

by JC Fletcher { Nov 11th 2008 at 4:22PM }

The Internet Channel will finally receive a significant update next month, according to GameReactor Magazine. We haven't been able to find the exact location of this item in GameReactor, so we're currently relying on GoNintendo's summary.

The new version will support the WiiSpeak microphone in some unknown capacity. It will finally allow tabbed browsing in the form of an exceptionally wacky Tab Cube, each side of which shows a tab. It'll also include the ability to check your Wii messages from inside the browser interface. On top of that, the browser has been updated with big, ugly navigation buttons.

The new browser will probably be a free update for current Internet Channel owners, and 500 points for everyone else.

Nintendo DSi: The Unboxening and Impressioning

by Eric Caoili { Nov 7th 2008 at 12:30PM }

Yes, several other outlets have already posted their unboxing photos and first impressions of the Nintendo DSi, but we've put together our own article documenting the imported system's arrival, as we have a few new things that we can share with you, those things being:

Photos of a cat stalking the box while we unearthed the DSi
Surprises that we didn't expect with the DSi
Video of us trying to load DS Fanboy on the DSi's new Browser
Video of DSi Sound's 14 music visualizers
Music from a renowned Wu-tang Clan rapper

All of that, past the post break!

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Wii Warm Up: Surfing

by David Hinkle { Oct 28th 2008 at 8:00AM }

It's been awhile since we talked about the Opera browser for the Wii. How often do you use the Internet Channel? We know some of you use it to participate in Game Night, which is awesome, but how else do you enjoy the console's ability to surf the interwebs? Did you get a Wii too late to get the Internet Channel for free? Hate the browser? Love it? Tell us already!

Wii Warm Up: The Internet Channel and You

by JC Fletcher { Jun 13th 2008 at 8:00AM }

The Internet Channel sits there in the Wii Menu with all the other loser channels (as in, all the ones that aren't River City Ransom), just waiting to accidentally be opened when you try to open River City Ransom. Or ... do you use the thing? We know you're not using it to watch TV shows on Hulu, unfortunately, because we tried. We're region-locked out of the BBC iPlayer, as well.

If you are actively Channeling some Internet through your Wii, what are you using it for? Occasional email checking? Obsessive awesome Wii blog checking? Italian Spiderman?

WiiPlayer optimizes iPlayer for Wii

by Chris Greenhough { Jun 6th 2008 at 2:00PM }

It still puzzles us that the BBC was so keen to make its (admittedly excellent and very popular) iPlayer catch-up service compatible with the Wii. Are there really that many Wii owners out there with internet-ready PCs who would opt to use the service on the Wii's slightly clunky Opera browser? Why not just use your PC to watch the latest editions of Gavin & Stacey and The Apprentice? You know: the one you're using to read these words, right at this very second?

Not only that, but the iPlayer on the Wii is hardly user-friendly. Text is so small that it's almost unreadable, loading times are hardly ideal, and the low resolution of the Wii's browser makes navigation awkward. Cue the intervention of WiiPlayer, a hacked version of the iPlayer that has been optimized for Nintendo's console, and is now available for use at http://defaced.co.uk/wiiplayer.

It won't work on your PC, and it goes without saying you'll still have to reside in the UK to use this, but WiiPlayer does do a sterling job, replacing the iPlayer's teensy text and browser-taxing layout with pleasingly chunky, Wiimote-friendly icons and a cleaner, less cluttered appearance.

Gallery: WiiPlayer

[Via Tech Digest]

Free Wi-Fi for DS no more at North American McDonald's now

by David Hinkle { May 28th 2008 at 6:00PM }

Personally, we can't remember the last time we were in a McDonald's, so this news comes as, uh, well ... news to us. You see, the partnership between McDonald's and Wayport actually expired back in November of last year. Canadians are also up the same creek without a paddle, as the deal with Fatport also expired. This is not to say you can't still get online at McDonald's, it'll just take a bit more for you to get online with your DS.

Apparently, using the DS Opera Browser or a wi-fi dongle with a laptop will still allow you to get your DS online. But, as one might imagine, these alternatives aren't the best. Unless you go with the second choice, you won't even be able to enjoy a game online. Oh well, if it forces you to get wireless internet in your home, it can't be all that bad of a thing, right?