In a rather lengthy interview, Eguchi spills the beans on some other unannounced features for the upcoming Wii installment in the Animal Crossing franchise. While he reiterated what Iwata said in regards to the WiiConnect24 service allowing players to visit someone's town while they weren't even playing, he also went on to say that players could even be so bold as to send messages via cell phone and/or PC, which would be delivered to the recipient's town immediately. Also, it looks like the Friend Codes system will remain intact for the Wii's Animal Crossing, although it looks as if codes will not be transferable from the DS, leaving gamers with the task of acquiring a new code.[Via Eurogamer; Thanks Nushio!]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-09-2006 @ 8:09AM
Cosmos said...
"Another application might be someone could send a letter from their cellphone or from an email address on a PC to the Wii, and then the player living in the town in Animal Crossing could receive that letter."
Woohoo! Not "woohoo!" just for being able to send letters from a cellphone or a PC, but "woohoo!" for the fact that Wii will have the ABILITY to do it.
Now I'd just like to know if Wii will be able to connect to computers via USB to use their hard drives to store data. That would kick so much ass. Am I right?
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6-09-2006 @ 8:50AM
Wayne Donaldson said...
LOL. U R RITE!
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6-09-2006 @ 9:08AM
Redfield said...
I really have my doubts about a computer connection being made availbale, as I've expressed already.
If the Wii starts dumping data onto a computer's HDD, say virtual console games, that would be piracy hell.
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6-09-2006 @ 9:28AM
DCFC Fan said...
#1 - No. The Wii will not have PC connectivity directly. There is absolutely no reason to do it with wifi and an internet connection. With 512MB flash memory for storage, and the option to use SD cards, there is no reason to need mass storage.
Most all of the Virtual Console titles are relatively tiny compared to todays standards, even N64 titles. While the Wii is supposed to be able to play DVD's with an option dongle (we haven't heard anything about DVD capability lately, hmm), otherwise the Wii is a dedicated gaming machine. No need for 40 gigs for mp3 storage, video storage, playing games from the hard drive like with other systems.
Besides, I've got a fast machine with mass storage already. It's called a computer.
Back to Animal Crossing though, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this DS title, purely for the social aspect. The stylus control should translate perfectly to the Wii controller. The idea of having Connect24 and communication from different platforms will make those towns seem that much more small and close knit. This is one of my most anticipated Wii titles, though I'm guessing we won't see it until next year.
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6-09-2006 @ 9:44AM
Cosmos said...
Why? Couldn't you just copy the data from an SD card, anyways?
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6-09-2006 @ 10:24AM
Cosmos said...
To #4: What about game updates? And, more importantly, totally new games? Add those two factors in with classic games, and you have the potential for some large file sizes, so I don't think it's time to rule out PC connectivity just yet. Besides, Wii might connect to computers for more than just using them as storage devices.
Who knows, we could see features like being able to customize games with media from your computer. For example, adding your own music to your radio or a video clip to your TV in your house in Animal Crossing. There is so much Wii could do if it had PC connectivity. And all it takes is the right software and a USB link cable or a wireless adapter.
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6-09-2006 @ 10:51AM
Nushio said...
If its security what's worrying you, I doubt Nintendo would be stupid enough to not encyrpt the roms they'll sale.
I'm pretty sure that the VC games will have an ID that "marries" to your Wii, and that cant be played on a different Wii.
Of course, its a matter of time until someone dissassembles it and finds a way to edit and distribute.
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6-09-2006 @ 12:11PM
Redfield said...
Sorry, I knew nothing about the SD cards, personally I think that's asking for trouble though, to have a data storage mechanism that can be accessed by machines other than the console.
I hope the Wii isn't too reliant on SD cards, like the PSP, they're damn expensive.
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6-09-2006 @ 12:31PM
J said...
SD Cards and Memory Sticks are two different things. They're about half the price, too..
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6-09-2006 @ 2:05PM
James said...
Iwata has stated in at least one or two interviews that the USB ports on the system should be able to support external hard drives...
"Iwata told CNN/Money that concerns over the Revolution's built-in storage capacity would "be addressed" at the Electronic Entertainment Expo. However, he pointed out that the console has slots for SD Cards, which can currently store up to 4GB of memory apiece. He also reminded interviewer Chris Morris that the console has several USB ports, meaning an external hard drive is a distinct possibility."
-From http://www.gamespot.com/news/6146790.html (Mar 29th, 2006)
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6-09-2006 @ 4:06PM
James said...
This was reported by Computer Games Magazine three weeks ago.
http://www.cgonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=620&Itemid=1
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6-09-2006 @ 11:54PM
John said...
Seriously, the Friend Codes need to go, IMO. OR, get ONE friend code for your own account that you can use for EVERY game. Trading codes for every game is such a drag...
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6-13-2006 @ 1:05AM
ben said...
Yay, I love AC.
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