November 2006 Archives
Wii update beefs up Parental Controls
A small update for the Nintendo Wii was released late last night, which appears to make additions to the Parental Controls. The controls, which were previously active for games, are now available for the Shop Channel. In addition, it has been speculated that the update also fixed the Wii Shop... [More]
Hitwise: Wii tops iPod, PS3 in searches
According to a chart of weekly search terms driving traffic to the Shopping & Classifieds category of Hitwise, the Nintendo Wii was the most searched for item during the week of "Black Friday." General manager of global research for Hitwise, Bill Tancer, compiled the chart, which shows the Wii beating... [More]
600K Wii sold in first week
Nintendo has revealed that they have sold over 600,000 Wii during the console's first week on the American market. That calculates out to a rate of almost one per second, and accounts for $190 million when including first-party games and accessories. "Even with sales already in excess of 600,000 units,... [More]
Nintendo: 2 million Wii by year's end
According to a CNET report, Nintendo plans to bring 2 million Wii consoles to the states by the end of 2006. Nintendo has already said it plans to ship 4 million consoles worldwide this year, and expects about 400,000 to be sent to Japan. Restocking shipments should be sent to... [More]
Wii auction prices high despite large launch
Online auction prices for the Nintendo Wii are in the range of $600, more than double the MSRP of $249. According to a report on iTWire, this is partially due to the limited number of launch consoles that were bought specifically to be resold for a profit on sites like... [More]
Gamers wipe out supply of Nintendo's Wii
Did you get yours? The Nintendo Wii finally went on sale today, selling almost completely out across America. The Associated Press reports: "There were enough people in line to snap up almost all the units of the Nintendo Wii that we had in stock, so it was an instant sellout,"... [More]
SanDisk making white SD card for Wii
SanDisk is reportedly working on a line of SD cards to be marketed specifically for the Nintendo Wii. Labeled "SanDisk for Wii," the cards will come in 512MB, 1GB, and 2GB sizes and will come in white. SD cards can be used with the Wii to store game saves, back... [More]
Publishers happy with Wii value
Game publishers hold a large sway over the life of a console — third-party support is essential to success. Publishers such as Ubisoft, THQ, Midway, and others are praising both the retail price of the Wii as well as reduced development costs for the console. "Does it have to have... [More]
DVD-Enabled Wii coming to US in 07
In the wake of news that Nintendo intends to release a DVD-playing Wii in Japan in 2007, comes news that the model will also be making its way stateside in the same time frame. Software maker Sonic Solutions claims that Nintendo has picked "Sonic CinePlayer CE DVD Navigator to bring... [More]
Nintendo: $200 million for Wii advertising
According to a report from Bloomberg, Nintendo intends to spend $200 million on advertising for the Wii over the next year. Television advertisements are set to begin Wed., Nov. 15, in addition to a two-minute pseudo-documentary portraying grandparents and parents playing Wii with their children. "GameCube didn't meet out expectations,"... [More]
Taito plans custom controller for Wii
Taito is planning to release a custom Wii controller for their upcoming bullet train simulator title. The game will be released in Japan next February, and with it comes availability of a "train conductor" style controller that features both buttons as well as controllers for what we assume are brakes... [More]
Wii Popular Science 'best of what's new'
Popular Science has given the Nintendo Wii a "Grand Award" in their Best of What's New 2006 list. The magazine praises Nintendo's approach of lower graphic quality with more innovation, saying "you really play the games" and that they were drawn in by what they saw. Other products receiving "Grand... [More]
Target Wii launch estimator online
A list of Wii consoles available at launch has supposedly been posted online by a Target employee. This list has been turned into a searchable database of stores that tells how many Wii's each store in your area code (according to the aforementioned list) should have in stock come November... [More]
EA CFO Jenson estimates Wii launch
In an interview with Next Generation, EA CFO Warren Jenson made estimates as to how many Nintendo Wiis and Sony PlayStation 3s would be shipped in 2006. “On the Nintendo Wii, we’re ranging that from 900,000 units to 1.4 million units in North America," Jenson said. "In Europe, we have... [More]
Nintendo Wii featured on 'South Park'
The Nintendo Wii was featured on last night's episode of "South Park." The character Eric Cartman attempts cryogenic freeze himself for the three weeks remaining until the console's launch, stating that "I've been waiting for this thing to come out for months, and now every day time is slowing down.... [More]
Wii launch, VC titles officially revealed
Nintendo has taken the wraps off its official launch-window game list as well as the list of games that will be available for the Wii's Virtual Console service this year. The two lists comprise more than 60 titles that will be available sometime between launch day, Nov. 19, and the... [More]
