Nintendo Wii system update 3 is now live

by Jared Rea { Aug 7th 2007 at 5:20AM }

The Wii Shop channel was closed for a few hours this morning and when it opened back up, a new system update was made available. It may not have delivered the announced "Check Mii Out" channel or added any Wii Ware to speak of, but it did give us a big, ugly clock on the main menu.

As for technical improvements, users are reporting shorter load times when switching channels as well as faster disc read speeds all around. The news and weather channels got some touch ups as well but most of the work seems to have gone into the shop channel which now supports a new, streamlined interface, search functions and a list of the most popular titles. Spoiler: only games featuring the word "Mario" in the title make up the top five.

A full list of patch notes may be viewed after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Channels:
- Digital Clock added to the Wii Menu right under the channel bar
- Forecast Channel now displays the current condition directly in the Wii Menu in the Forecast Channel box
- News Channel can now show 2 scrolling headlines at a time in the Wii Menu, 3 when you click on the button
- Message Board now has the "Today's Accomplishments" message as a white message which allows it to stand out from other messages
- Address Book entries can now be shifted around using A+B but only to empty spaces.
- Calendar in Message Board no longer shows "Today's Accomplishment"
- Scrolling messages in the Message Board now uses a different sound

Wii Shop Channel
- New Welcome screen detailing 4 Recommended Titles and the points they cost. The title bar can be clicked on to bring up a list of 20 recommended games.
- Titles You've Downloaded was moved to the main shop menu
- New ways to browse
- Popular Titles
- Newest Additions remains the same
- Search for a title which can use partial names
- Search by Category
- Search by Publisher
- Search by Genre
- System shows the different systems and how many titles have been released under each

Settings
- Warning added pre-system update detailing that technically modified consoles may cease to function upon being updated. Also the only way to not accept an update is to power down the console by holding the button for 4 seconds.

[via NeoGAF]

Tags: breakingnews, wiisystemupdate

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

zelder_man @ Aug 7th 2007 5:35AM

Damn and I was about to send this in to you guys. I just got the message. Yes, I stay up til 4:30 in the morning.

whosmav @ Aug 7th 2007 11:13AM

I haven't checked yet but I'm hoping the fan runs in stand-by mode now.

http://www.gamernewz.net

AzaMcWazza @ Aug 7th 2007 6:52AM

Be interesting to see if it does anything nasty to anyone in NZ if they have a modded Wii. Modding's legal here so they can't really go doing anything specific to stop it.

Grim @ Aug 7th 2007 7:19AM

It might be legal, but not supported. Nintendo's not required to ensure your mods work with their updates!

accidental @ Aug 7th 2007 7:34AM

Modding is legal in NZ yeah, but it's still against the recommendations of Nintendo to open up you Wii and chip it! So anyone who gets bricked for mod-chipping deserves it for going against the advice in the manual.

It's almost alongside "do not subject your Wii to open flame or pour water on it" :P

borland502 @ Aug 7th 2007 8:31AM

Good thing you don't live in the US; they send homeland security after you =-.)

However, most people in the US, NZ, and elsewhere in the world are quite free to mod their Wiis. Just like you are free to record a program on your TIVO despite the technical illegality. But there is a wide difference between tolerated and supported.

Unless you have some sort of unique justice system, the courts will look the other way if Nintendo bricks your system. I'm not aware of any laws that guarantee system upgrades.

Personally, I think that system works. Companies feel secure, and we know that no one is going to stop us if we want to take the risk. Just like with banned 360's...if you don't care, then nothing is going to stop you from modding.

vidGuy @ Aug 7th 2007 9:11AM

"Just like you are free to record a program on your TIVO despite the technical illegality."

In the US, it is legal to record a TV program to another media. While it is making a copy of a copyrighted work, the courts found it to be a fair use back in the Beta days. It's called time-shifting. What's illegal is recording them and storing them/selling them.

While it's legal to mod a console because you own the hardware, companies have the right to ban/block your console from their online service. I think it's wrong to brick the console, though. Someone should take them (any of the console makers) to court over it - probably win a settlement worth at least a new console, probably more.

vidGuy @ Aug 7th 2007 9:13AM

vidGuy @ Aug 7th 2007 9:16AM

Should have included that bricking modded consoles with an update is an intentional destruction of private property. The company should be held liable. It'd be like the cops trash-compacting a go-kart because it wasn't street legal.

Sorry for the double post up there, joystiq is really slow today... :(

Captain Jody Anthony XVIII @ Aug 7th 2007 9:31AM

"While it's legal to mod a console because you own the hardware, companies have the right to ban/block your console from their online service. I think it's wrong to brick the console, though. Someone should take them (any of the console makers) to court over it - probably win a settlement worth at least a new console, probably more."

nintendo puts a warning on there before you update (in the future) to tell you that it may not work if your console is modded. Its then up to the user whether or not to download the update. i dont think anyone would have a case against them.

borland502 @ Aug 7th 2007 9:43AM

@vidguy

Good point about the timeshifting. Maybe DVD backups would be a closer analogue, though not a perfect one.

"The company should be held liable. It'd be like the cops trash-compacting a go-kart because it wasn't street legal."

I'd say a closer analogy would be if a fuel injector upgrade for the car was designed not to work with a popular Nitro kit the manufacturer didn't want supported. If they further warned you in the manual, via stickers, and in the warranty, then I don't see a successful suit going forward.

Besides, I don't think Nintendo is stupid enough to write code that says "if mod then brick". More likely, they'll write something that will only work properly with original hardware. It's the same intent, but the devil is in the details.

I don't know Jack about the laws involved, but my guess is that Nintendo would be liable only if they were clumsy about it. And even then, the liability would be probably be limited unless it happened to brick some innocent consoles.

Hypernyte @ Aug 7th 2007 9:21AM

I do like it overall, the Wii is getting more complete every time. But that clock, damn, I hate it.

meist3r @ Aug 7th 2007 6:13AM

They've removed the B-trigger icon for scrolling web pages and messages too now it's just the flexible arrow. I've sent that to the Joystiqians already.

Twinkie @ Aug 7th 2007 6:18AM

The blue light actually woke me up at 6 in the morning.

jorojoserojas @ Aug 7th 2007 11:46AM

Yup.

I opened my eyes and I saw a deep blue light right in front of my face. Good thing, too...I might have been late for work otherwise.

Cody S. @ Aug 7th 2007 7:49PM

I noticed mine about 3:45 in the morning. I couldn't get back to sleep until 4:30. Needless to say I wasn't a happy camper.

Curmeo @ Aug 7th 2007 6:26AM

what a joke of an update, compared to PS3/360 updates.

Captain Jody Anthony XVIII @ Aug 7th 2007 6:35AM

curmeo is at it again.

TWiNKiE @ Aug 7th 2007 6:52AM

Usually, every time my 360 updates, it's just to get a game to work. Nice updates, eh?

ssuk @ Aug 7th 2007 7:22AM

Most 360 updates are for backwards compatability. Oh what's that? Wii's backwards compatability extends for ALL gamecube games?
Other 360 updates come in to fix bugs for Arcade games, fixes loop-holes in the 360 firmware which homebrew could be launched from or the infrequent dashboard update to add a advert-filled Marketplace to the main panes.
PS3 updates are too thin on the ground to complain about atm.

I'm just doing damage control, I only own a 360 (I own other consoles, but only this gen I mean) so I don't want everyone thinking all us xbox buying people are short-sighted loosers like Curmeo.)

borland502 @ Aug 7th 2007 8:38AM

@ssuk: "PS3 updates are too thin on the ground to complain about atm."

The last two were Videophile upgrades to be sure. But the 1.8 update was significant for almost every owner. MS and Sony just have two different philosophies on updates. On the one hand, infrequent updates are less troublesome, but on the other frequent updates don't let errors linger for half a year.

1.9 very much improved the DNLA timeout issue on the PS3. I can finally use it as a poor man's apple tv. Oh, and I can play some games =-.)

Nintendo seems to be sticking to the "Wii play games". While this seems pretty damn thin for a major version upgrade...who can argue with their success right now?

Shagittarius @ Aug 7th 2007 11:06AM

Hint: When you buy a console thats essentially an overclocked version of the previous generation, complete backwards compatability is pretty much a given.

arrrgh @ Aug 8th 2007 1:58AM

what a joke of a comment in a Wii news item

Kye @ Aug 7th 2007 6:37AM

Sounds cool.

I can confirm the decreased downloading times of VC games. But I noticed that late last week.

Now, if only the would sort out a intro screen for when you turn the system on.
Something that basically every other frickin console ever has.
You know, something that says you're about to play the Wii. Not just a f*cking warning screen.

You hear me Nintendo? I want to be wecomed! Not warned!
I want...

*he's dragged off by burly men in white coats*

Captain Jody Anthony XVIII @ Aug 7th 2007 8:00AM

hahaha

Anam @ Aug 7th 2007 11:42AM

Kye, you should post more often.

Kye @ Aug 7th 2007 1:33PM

http://kye-the-brown.spaces.live.com/default.aspx

Grail @ Aug 7th 2007 7:00AM

I think "coincidentally" my 360 got an update this morning as well... Anyone know what changed on the 360?

danny. @ Aug 7th 2007 1:31PM

Ugly clock is right.

I like that they added a clock, but why is it digital and not the font everything else is in and why did they center the colon instead of all the text, it's off balance and it doesn't even line up (or match font) with the date directly below it.

ZenGaijin @ Aug 7th 2007 7:29AM

You still cannot go back to the home menu from a gamecube game. When you play a gamecube game the Wiimote goes dead and you have to hardreset to get back to the menu.

accidental @ Aug 7th 2007 7:35AM

Are you serious?? It'll always be like that man – it's not software emulation.

thrillho @ Aug 7th 2007 7:50AM

it is software emulation. Me and my brother bought the Wii on launch, and I updated mine as soon as it booted, like it asked to do, he opted to look around first. pre-first update you were able to go to the home menu in gamecube games.

James @ Aug 7th 2007 8:51AM

No, it isn't emulation. They don't need to emulate since both the Wii CPU and GPU are just updated Gamecube chips. An example of emulation is PS3 and 360.

jadenguy @ Aug 7th 2007 9:14AM

man, that's really amazing, about the pre-update stuff. they really need to work that feature back in. they probably just couldn't figure out the CC remote issue and decided to give up.

Vidikron @ Aug 7th 2007 10:10AM

@accidental

Whether it's hardware or software doesn't matter. There still should be a way to go back to the dashboard. I'm not sure why you would think hardware BC would result in no way to go back to the dash.

hvnlysoldr @ Aug 7th 2007 10:46AM

Because it is hardware emulated the Wii acts as a GameCube. As in a GameCube doesn't know how to become a Wii. That's the issue that needs to be solved and it's hard to come up with a cheap solution.

Anam @ Aug 7th 2007 11:39AM

Bah, how many people actually have Gamecube discs anyway? I'm pretty sure the Wii has already outsold it...

Shogan @ Aug 7th 2007 9:32AM

I like the minor updates on the Wii, but the Shop Channel is a mess. The Titles You Downloaded is a nice addition to the front page, but the search options are completely useless... save for the one where you type in the name.

Jack @ Aug 7th 2007 11:24AM

The "Titles you've downloaded" has always been there, man.

Rob @ Aug 7th 2007 7:49AM

Jared, Why is tone negative
also you forgot to add that

- THE BLUE LIGHT GLOWS WHEN EJECTING AND INSERTING (console must be on) GAME DSICS

Captain Jody Anthony XVIII @ Aug 7th 2007 8:01AM

I really like the new shop channel options. Still kind of ugly, but searching is a lot easier.

Ryan @ Aug 7th 2007 10:35PM

Yeah, you still can't get to home menu or even power the thing off with the remote once you're in gamecube mode. That's mega super duper bullshit. I wish they'd fix it.

Sidepocket @ Aug 7th 2007 10:01AM

To me the Wii has the best interface of any console ever. I had no idea they could improve it...

I was proven wrong with this update.

For your PS3 and 360 owners, fuck off. Seriously. The reason why Wii does not get many megaton patches is because they system works. Hence I am too fucking busy playing Scarface and Mario Strikers Charged to give a shit and I know that unlike the 360 I will not need a systems patch to not crap out on me.

The PS3 needs system updates constantly for those 5 people that play the damn thing. XD