IGN previews Wii's interface menu system

by Blake Snow { Oct 30th 2006 at 1:25PM }

Wii Fanboy suggests that IGN editor Matt Casamassina must have slept with Nintendo VP Perrin Kaplan, because the game site got their hands on a Wii development kit without being developers. Regardless, the IGN video previews the Wii menu system for a good 10 minutes including the options screen, sound settings, screen settings, parental controls, and sensitivity options. It also looks like the console will support one friend code per system as opposed to the cumbersome one friend code per game used on the DS's Wi-Fi network. Mind-blowing info this is not, but a good look at what to expect come November 19.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Lou D @ Oct 30th 2006 1:32PM

Nintendo FTW!

J.Goodwin @ Oct 30th 2006 1:33PM

Ugh. Man, Nintendo must really not be getting any if they're willing to take that guy to the sack. Seriously, the guy looks like he just walked off the set of Tool Time.

crono141 @ Oct 30th 2006 1:33PM

I like all the extra "slots" on the channels menu.

48 in all, I think he said. Thats alot of room for growth :)

Shiv @ Oct 30th 2006 1:39PM

I am sure that there are a legion of people out there that will be glad to see that the WiFi settings support WPA. There were (and still are) a lot of people who miss this on the DS, so it's good to see that someone, somewhere took notice.

gameclu @ Oct 30th 2006 1:36PM

I can handle one friend code.

daush @ Oct 30th 2006 1:45PM

ahhhhhhhhhh

NOW 480P is HD ?????????????. hahaha. c'mon nintendo!

Lou D @ Oct 30th 2006 1:47PM

Ok, now that I got #1 out... (Whoot!)

Surpisingly, there are more options that I would have expected from a "simple" console. It seems like adding DVD-playback could be a downloadable option in the future if rumors of a forthcoming Panasonic Q-like Wii are to be believed (for Japan only).

So it seems WiiConnect24 is working to update the system, just not the whole api package for developers is ready for games to start being "online-enabled". I believe the Batalion Wars and Super Mario Strikers demos were running in WiFi LAN mode...in August.

From the screenmode settings, it seems like a future update could support "higher" resolutions... If Wii could output 540p, then a good upscaling (with image enhancement) HDTV player could make things look nice on a 1080p television.

A Nintendo patent uncovered in September alludes to the gpu being able to do this image enhancement natively despite the frame being originally rendered as some lower resolution... Kinda like taking your final frame to be outputed to the display and doing a texture-stretch up the the desired resolution with an effect like some sort of bump-map but as to what effect happens around the color edges where 2 different pixels meet when scaling...

That's the best I can describe it. Sorry for going a little off-topic.

Grant @ Oct 30th 2006 1:49PM

I also like the lack of a startup animation (I liked the Gamecube animation, but it's a good idea to get right into the channels quickly with no fuss if they want people to use the features like news and weather). It'd be even better if they didn't feel the need to include that safety warning screen but in today's litigious society, I don't blame them.

thrillho @ Oct 30th 2006 1:50PM

"5. I am sure that there are a legion of people out there that will be glad to see that the WiFi settings support WPA. There were (and still are) a lot of people who miss this on the DS, so it's good to see that someone, somewhere took notice."

i was just thinking, they said the DS can use the Wii to connect to wifi at one point, that way people can autoconnect to the wii, and the wii can use WPA, there goes everyones hatred for WEP.

Grant @ Oct 30th 2006 1:52PM

daush, I think what that option means is "If you have an EDTV or HDTV, select this." Because you can't select that option with an SDTV. They're not necessarily saying that 480p is HD, just that you can select it if you have an HDTV. Am I right?

James @ Oct 30th 2006 1:52PM

For the people that complain that their game discs stopped working after a while and gets all scratched up, look at how the IGN editor is taking the game discs out? Thumb on the disc reading surface. They obviously don't read directions on how to hold a disc. Thumb on the edge, index finger in the center. Do that and you'll keep your game discs as new as the day you bought it.

rockintom99 @ Oct 30th 2006 2:10PM

Damn, that disc goes in smoothly. Much more so than the ps3 ;)

ebob9 @ Oct 30th 2006 2:01PM

Kickass! WPA2-PSK supported for sure. That was my only worry about the Wii.

-ebob9

Daniel @ Oct 30th 2006 1:57PM

Gotsta spell the headline correctly Joystiq friends.

minus_273 @ Oct 30th 2006 2:03PM

#6

480p is part of the HDTV spec you moron. Can you watch 480p on a SD TV?

molatar @ Oct 30th 2006 2:44PM

what a cute system. little kids are gonna love this

Esch @ Oct 30th 2006 2:20PM

It's also interesting to note that they mention the MAC address of a USB ethernet device on the "console information" screen -- does this imply that you can use generic wired USB ethernet adapters with the Wii? If so, that makes me rather happy. :)

Lou D @ Oct 30th 2006 2:41PM

480p may not be HD, but ED... However Fight Night Round 2, Madden and lots of other Gamecube games look great on my widescreen 50" DLP TV. Most Gamecube games that support this mode look fine with only some minor horizontal jaggies. Then again, by looking at some games compared to others, as well as PAL versions, I don't think 480 horizontal lines is written in stone even on the Gamecube. Even the NES and SNES had various programmable resolutions. Heck couldn't the SNES display 512x512 still pictures? I think 480p is a term, hence the "(HD)" next to it on the settings.

I know R-Racing Evolution's resolution on the GC was crap. It was more like 240p. Looks like a PS1 game with more polygons and slightly better textures.

Personally, I think that if a game engine is efficient, programmers can opt to increase resolution at a loss in polygon count and/or texturing.

As an example...look at Resident Evil 4 on the Gamecube. The game runs in a psuedo-widescreen mode on a 4:3 display. But has an excellent polygon count and textures. What really happened it they lowered the horizontal resolution by about 10 or 15% in order to increase the texturing and polygon count. It's an oldschool trick really. And when it comes to video games, I'm exceptionally old school (35 years old, started with an Odessey 2).

yeah @ Oct 30th 2006 2:56PM

"what a cute system. little kids are gonna love this"

Typical grown-up-wannabe attitude

daush @ Oct 30th 2006 2:58PM

for minus_273
"480p is part of the HDTV spec you moron. Can you watch 480p on a SD TV?"

can u use google, or wikipedia?
480p es standart definition. SDTV or EDTV enhanced-definition. Do some research before asshole.
i have a 480p EDTV (progresive 60fps) and its not HDTV
HD- High definition.
i can't explain more simple. if u dont understand. just go back to school.

to Grant. yeah,u light me xD

Sam @ Oct 30th 2006 2:59PM

#18 - Everyone's gonna love this thing.

Duscrom @ Oct 30th 2006 3:04PM

Standard TVs run at 480i, 480p is only available on ED and HD sets. Myself, As long as I don't have to play anymore 480i games, I'm happy.

But... "If you have the component cables, and good luck finding them" That dosent't fill me with alot of confidence... Why does Nintendo hate HD owners? Please, We know you used to rule in the 80s, but this is the year 2006... while less tan 10% of the world population own HDTVs, that's still almost 100 million people.. and those have a higher chance of buying your console.

> @ Oct 30th 2006 3:16PM

Hahahaa.. Nintendo fambois upset that they cant find component cables readily. Remember, according to Shiggy, you guys dont care about graphics .. so, stick with your composite cables.

Charron @ Oct 30th 2006 3:23PM

#8 Grant:

I believe they were sued into putting that on everything from now on, if memory serves me right. Probably related to the Pokemon seizures. But, don't quote me on that.

C-Dub @ Oct 30th 2006 3:33PM

480p technically IS HD. HD is a mishmash of many different formats.... 480P, 720P, 1080i, 1080p etc.....

480P IS HD.

480i is standard old NTSC.

Even when the stations "switch to HD"...alot can switch to just 480P which allows for more channels over the same amount of bandwidth. The HD specs are a mess.

Zo� K. @ Oct 30th 2006 3:31PM

Am I the only one who sees the irony when Matt decides to "inject" the game disc (at 00:57) from the Wii, given the content of the game that he chose?

killr0y @ Oct 30th 2006 3:37PM

The only thing remotely interesting about the wii is the wiimote. Even the interface is lame. Too bad anyone can build a $30 remote and add it to their console (ie microsoft/sony) if people really want it. Unfortunately, you can't add HDTV, Dolby Digital, next-gen physics, AI, and graphics to the Wii.

killr0y @ Oct 30th 2006 3:39PM

Actually, C-Dub, the HDTV specs are very much clearly defined. What specifically, is a "mess" about them?

RUSKULL @ Oct 30th 2006 3:55PM

WPA? I only saw WEP displayed...unless I am missing something...

Embassy @ Oct 30th 2006 3:54PM

decent interface...reminds me of the dreamcast interface.

minus_273 @ Oct 30th 2006 3:58PM

#20 daush

"480p es standart definition. "

This comes the the guy who is telling me to use google and wikipedia.

480p is part of the US "HDTV" specification. Thats what people know 480p, 720i/p, 1080i/p as and thats why it says HD where 480p is listed.

RUSKULL @ Oct 30th 2006 3:58PM

Oh! Looked again, and indeed there is WPA!!! Thanks the lord!!! Woohoo!!

minus_273 @ Oct 30th 2006 4:09PM

#28 killr0y

HDTV is a mess because of the variation in terms. Where the old one was just TV and all tv were all the same resolution, the introduction of resolution and progressive/interlaced is more things for people to know. Look at the people here claiming that 480p is SDTV and you see that there is at least some confusion.

Enzo @ Oct 30th 2006 4:49PM

Maybe 480p is considered HD, I don't know for sure, but it definitely isn't SD. Enhanced Definition is a more accurate term, because 480p only looks slightly better than SD, and the jump from 720p to 1080p is not nearly as big, although I think that's due in part to the lack of true 1080p source material.

Evan @ Oct 30th 2006 5:25PM

#28 killr0y

The HDTV standards are a mess...

Japan initially adopted a 1035i standard for high-definition. Early HDTV camera and recorder hardware was based on 1035i. Later, the "Grand Alliance" of U.S. companies announced the [incompatible] 1080i standard. Japan adopted the new resolution... even though many Japanese consumers had already bought now-obsolete 1035i televisions.

hollerback @ Oct 30th 2006 5:38PM

That Wii-mote seems to clunk up the other stellar interface. In the long term, I will never, ever, ever, ever, ever want to play with any of the other features. Too many tiny bubbles to click with that darn remote.

Can you use the D-Pad to do this, or did I miss it?

The text-messaging component looked awkward as all jazz, too. I loved how the guy in his biased love for the Wii tried to say how it was so easy, and then struggled to click the letters by following with "well, it takes some practice."

A for design, C for implementation. I just can't get over how obnoxious the wii-mote may become in the long-term.

peter7898m @ Oct 30th 2006 6:14PM

The gamecube menu interface had stuff on different sides of a 3D graphical 'cube'. they couldn't do something just as flashy with the wii?

I know theres a lot more features on wii than the GC to tack on a 3D cube, but they should come up with something just as nice to present the menu system. But it currently dosen't seem to be as bland as the PSP-PS3 interface, therefore theres no incentive to make it better, too poor competition over interfaces to bother with.

shame...

potato @ Oct 30th 2006 6:30PM

interface gives my a headache
buttons are soooo big and that horrible clicking noise when you go through the channels. :$

MrShawn @ Oct 30th 2006 11:00PM

#37 peter7898m

The interface is nice and it gets to the point. No rotating cube is needed, just a nice neat interface.

phelk @ Oct 30th 2006 11:46PM

"if you have component cables and good luck finding them"

hahaha

Janet Barber @ Nov 16th 2006 4:27AM

The Wii console looks like a really sweet thing to have. I would definitely like to own one.I tend to manhandle my stuff so I hope that thw Wii is tougher than it looks. If I'll ever own one, I'll be worried about the control pad (if that's what you call it.) Some games you need to swing your arms. I'm afraid I might smash it on a picture frame od at the edge of a table. Oh and Matt Casamassina's sex life is none of anyone's business.