Wii Beginners Guide & FAQ

Wii News and Updates
25th April 2011 - Wii's successor confirmed - details at E3
21st/22nd June 2010 - System Menu 4.3 released. :<)

Tutorial Contents & Index:

• FAQ
  
• Hardware
  
• Wii Peripherals
  - Wii Speak
  - Wii Balance Board
  - Wii MotionPlus
  - Wii Wheel
  - Classic Controller
  
• Technical Specifications
  
• Wii Channels
  - Photo Channel
  - News Channel
  - Wii Shop Channel
  - Forecast Channel
  - Check Mii Out Channel
  - Nintendo Channel
  - Internet Channel
  - Everybody Votes Channel
  
• Settings
  
• Other

• Q: What is the Wii?
  
  A - The Wii is a seventh generation gaming console made by Nintendo

• Q: How much does the Wii cost?
  
  A - The MSRP of the Wii is $199 USD, ¥20,000 or €199.

• Q: When was the Wii released?
  
  A - The Wii was released on November 19, 2006 in North America, December 2, 2006 in Japan, December 7, 2006 in Australia and December 8, 2006 in Japan.

• Q: What does it come with?
  
  A - The package contains one Wii console, one remote and nunchuk (controllers), a sensor bar, two AA batteries, instruction manuals and Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort (in certain cases).

• Q: Does the Wii have backwards compatibility with older games?
  
  A - The Wii has backwards compatibility with Gamecube games. It can also play games released for older systems such as the NES through the Virtual Console.

• Q: Does the Wii support SDHC cards?
  
  A - Yes, the Wii supports both SD and SDHC cards.

• Q: Does the Wii display games in high-definition (720p+)?
  
  A - No, the Wii cannot output in high-definition. The highest resolution it can output is 480p.

• Q: What is Nintendo Selects?
  
  A - It is a line of Wii games rereleased at a much lower price. It is similar to the Sony's "Greatest Hits" and Nintendo's "Player's Choice" line. Games currently available in the Nintendo Selects line are The Legend of Zelda™: Twilight Princess, Animal Crossing™: City Folk, Mario™ Super Sluggers and Wii Sports.

The Wii isn't very powerful when compared to the other seventh generation consoles in terms of technical specs. Nintendo makes up for this with the Wii's control scheme, motion-controls. The fact that the Wii isn't as powerful as the other seventh generation console doesn't prevent developers from making good games for it. Developers simply have to work within the Wii's constraints. Games for the system are still able to look good, they're just not displayed in high-definition. The two games below are examples of Wii games with graphics that are visually pleasing.


The Wii's control scheme is it's main claim to fame. The Wii Remote is a controller that resembles a television remote that allows the Wii to sense your position. It does this through a accelerometer. The Wii Remote has one speaker near the middle of it and several face buttons.

The secondary controller for the Wii is called the nunchuk. The nunchuk has an analog stick and two trigger buttons. It's similar to the Wii Remote as it also has an accelerometer for motion sensing.




Wii Speak

Wii Speak is a microphone accessory for the Wii. It allows for voice chat in compatible games. It connects to the Wii console through the USB ports at the back of it. It is compatible with a number of games notable ones being Animal Crossing: City Folk and Monster Hunter Tri.


Wii Balance Board

The Wii Balance Board is a balance board peripheral for the Wii. It requires two AA batteries to power it. It uses multiple pressure sensors to measure the user's center of balance. It is compatible with a number of games notable ones being Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus.


Wii MotionPlus

The Wii MotionPlus is an accessory for the Wii Remote controller. It supplements both the accelerometer and sensor bar capabilities of the Wii Remote. It allows for more accurate motion sensing capabilities through the use of a dual-axis tuning fork gyroscope and a single-axis gyroscope. It is compatible with a number of games notable ones being Red Steel 2 and Wii Sports Resort.


Wii Wheel

The Wii Wheel is an accessory for the Wii Remote that comes bundled with Mario Kart Wii and later editions of Sonic and Sega All Stars Racing. It does not provide any extra functionality to the Wii remote and is solely intended to make holding the Wii Remote as a wheel easier. As it does not add any function besides ergonomics, it works with any Wii game.

Classic Controller

The Wii Classic Controller is a controller for the Wii console designed for use with Virtual Console and other games. It resembles a traditional game controller. It connects to the bottom of the Wii Remote. It is compatible with a large number of games (too many to list, list over here).

• IBM 729 MHz PowerPC CPU ("Broadway")
  
• ATI 242 MHz Graphics Processor ("Hollywood")
  
• 91 MB of on-board memory
  
• 512 MB built-in flash memory
  
• 2 USB 2.0 ports
  
• A proprietary output for video and audio
  
• 4 Gamecube controller ports and 2 Gamecube memory card ports
  
• Slot loading optical drive compatible with standard DVD and GameCube sized discs
  
• SD memory card slots
  
• WiFi by Broadcom, with 802.11b & 802.11g support

• I advise you purchase an SD Card if you plan on downloading a lot WiiWare/VC games. The SD Card menu allows you to transfer WiiWare and Virtual Console games to the SD card and run them from there.

• If you haven't already, delete the 'Get Connected Channel'. It takes up quite a lot of space and may prevent you from installing other applications on your Wii.

• If you want access to homebrew for the Wii, I suggest you hack it using ModMii.

• If you want to play the Wii with your friends using local multiplayer, I suggest you purchase an extra Wii Remote and Nunchuk

Footnotes:
^{1 - If you forgot the pin for parental controls, perform the following steps. Enter the 'Parental Controls' settings. On the first screen of the Parental Controls where you enter your PIN, select "I forgot." When prompted to answer your secret question, select "I forgot." A screen with the confirmation number will appear. Enter the confirmation number on this site and you'll be given a reset code.}

Edited by soulx, 30 October 2011 - 08:42 PM.

You might want to resize those pics a bit. While the forum resizes them, it's dynamic so the user's computer still needs to download the full-sized image.

I replaced the pics with smaller versions.

Also, I fixed the formatting of the thread a bit.

Updated quite a lot.

Also, thanks Goli and Guild McCommunist! Added most of your suggestions.

Anybody else have any constructive criticism?

Very nice FAQ


Three things to suggest:

* In the spoiler for Wii Speak's Compatible games, there's "[title=Compatible Games]" at the top.
* Mii Channel is missing from the Channels section.
* Today and Tomorrow Fortune Teller Channel is missing from the Channels section. (Free channel offered in PAL & JAP shops only. Not available in the USA without using homebrew.)

Nice Faq for the beginners, I passed it on to my cousin who just got a wii, and he's got all his questions answered