Nintendo Wii-Collectible now? Good game system?

[Atariboy]

WHOA! Hold the phone!!!!

 

 

What is this issue? While I'd heard of Wii Connect 24, I never cared, and as Wii online is dead now, it's still an issue? What are the disadvantages of NOT holding the power button down? The thing's going to try to contact a dead server all night?

 

Obviously, I'm unfamiliar with the Wii and only got my first early this year. Apologies for ignorance in this regard.

A lot of the Wii's online components are still online like the Wii Shop. But I believe that all services that took advantage of Wii Connect 24 have been eliminated which eliminates any reason to ever enable Wii Connect 24.

 

The primary disadvantage of Wii Connect 24 is that it keeps the Wifi module on 24/7 and that keeps the system very warm and potentially causing damage over time. And since the system is shut down you don't have any active cooling going on which worsens the situation. It also ties up a slot to your router when not in use since it's connected to the internet.

 

And I don't know about every household, but in mine, we can have 5 devices connected wirelessly at once. With several computers kept on constantly, something like the Wii constantly always taking up 1 of the remaining slots can be rather inconvenient.

 

And if you're one of those that will actually buy a system revision under the guise of it being more power efficient (Although I think that's more of just an excuse to get the latest and greatest for most ), you're wasting money on your power bill for a feature that most never needed that offered rather limited utility.

 

And note that even if someone is connected via the USB ethernet adapter to a wired connection, having Wii Connect 24 on keeps the WiFi module turned on and creating heat despite it not being an active connection being used. So if that's the case for you, feel your Wii sometime when it's turned off. If it's hot, you have Wii Connect 24 on and it's coming from the WiFi module even though your connection is a wired one.

 

I have a backwards compatible model. I believe it may be a 2010 model (unless it's from 2009, I bought it NIB towards the end of 2010). I had swapped it with my parents' system for a while though (theirs is from 2007), and it acted the same way as mine does.

Did you check your settings? As I recall, hit the circular icon at the lower right at the main dashboard where your various channels are to enter your Wii's settings. It should be labeled Wii Connect 24. Click on that and select to turn it off and I see no reason why it won't mimic the behavior I have where it goes to red instead of yellow or whatever the standby light color is.

 

If it's disabled and you're still not going directly to red when shutting it down via the Wiimote or a normal press of the power button on the system, I'm puzzled why the difference. I understand constantly evolving their hardware to make it better, but that would just be a needless step backwards it would seem to kill this feature present on my two systems.

Edited November 17, 2013 by Atariboy

[AtariLeaf]

I had to return our original wii console because we had wiiconnect24 turned on and didn't know at the time it did any damage. One day while playing wii sports we noticed all kinds of black dots all over the screen which was a sign of graphics chip problems. Now if we need to download something we turn it on just for a few minutes to download and then turn it off again.

[Atariboy]

You shouldn't need to enable Wii Connect 24 for that. That just keeps it connected to the internet when the system is powered down. You should be able to do something like download from the Wii Shop or play Mario Kart Wii online with it disabled.

 

It works fine for me although the now gone news and weather apps would tell me they only work if it's enabled. But other than that, I had full online functionality when the system was powered on with Wii Connect 24 disabled.

 

I had to return our original wii console because we had wiiconnect24 turned on and didn't know at the time it did any damage. One day while playing wii sports we noticed all kinds of black dots all over the screen which was a sign of graphics chip problems.

Some people don't even realize they've done that damage until they connect to a HDTV the first time. Suddenly on a large screen you can notice the telltale signs of GPU damage that were hidden on a small SD CRT.

 

Same thing happened to my first video card. First I started noticing what I thought were particle effects I had never saw before in the game I was playing. Started getting worse over time and then weird effects started happening especially with the colors before it finally went completely.

 

Wii Connect 24 even back in 2006 was near useless and not worth the potential damage and now there's absolutely no reason to keep it enabled since Wii Connect 24 online services have been taken offline.

 

But even before that, it was best to only have the WiFi module working when the Wii is actually turned on and actively cooling itself and it's actually being used for something rather than needlessly being kept on when turned off just for Mii migration and receiving messages with the system off instead of the next time it's turned on.

Edited November 17, 2013 by Atariboy

[RegularGuyGamer]

I have the 25th Anniversary edition and the Connect 24 is off and I still need to hold the power button in for 5 seconds otherwise its on stand by. I have a late model black Wii w no GCN backwards compatibility and it needs to be held down too whether or not Connect 24 is on. Maybe you got lucky w a close to launch model that doesnt need the hastle. Even with the Connect 24 turned off, on stand by the Red Wii (Anni Edish) still heats up.

[Atariboy]

That's odd that it's not booting directly to the red mode where it's disabled. Everything I can find online including at Nintendo's site mirrors my experiences.

 

http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/systems/wii/en_na/ht_settings.jsp?menu=wiiConnect24&submenu=rvl-ht-sett-connect24-deactivate

 

I can't seem to find any evidence that this was changed somewhere along the line. But clearly that seems to have been the case. I wonder what turning Wii Connect 24 off in your guys system settings even does then if it's still actually on?

Edited November 17, 2013 by Atariboy

[RegularGuyGamer]

Ha! Damn, I'll tell ya what, I wish it was the case! I'd love not holding that stinkin button in all the time... I think that was a big consideration when making the Wii Mini. No Wifi, no backwards compatibility, not disc feeding mechanism, a lens that can be cleaned easily - all equal up to a system that may actually stand the test of time.

[Atariboy]

Just to confirm , are you guys sure that you did this? I really don't understand why it does it for me and not for some of you.

 

If you double check and follow these steps and it doesn't turn off directly to red mode afterwards when you power the system down, then clearly Nintendo made a change somewhere during production. One of my Wii's is still connected to this day and I confirmed its behavior is as I described. I don't even know why your guys system dashboard has this setting if it apparently doesn't do anything for you.

 

Edited November 17, 2013 by Atariboy

[Austin]

I don't think it really matters.. I mean what's a few more seconds of holding down the button? But still, I will try to check in the coming days.

[Atariboy]

Of course.

 

But it's still a nice convenience I think if you guys are indeed mistaken and this wasn't a change during the course of production. By doing this, you can just power down with the Wii remote's power button or simply just press the button on the console instead of holding it in and your Wii will be as fully off as it can be while still being connected to a power source.

[AtariLeaf]

Mine is always off - red light not orange - and I only have to press it, not hold it.

 

Gotta look into the homebrew channel one of these days.

[Austin]

Of course.

 

But it's still a nice convenience I think if you guys are indeed mistaken and this wasn't a change during the course of production. By doing this, you can just power down with the Wii remote's power button or simply just press the button on the console instead of holding it in and your Wii will be as fully off as it can be while still being connected to a power source.

 

Guess what? You were right. I checked the settings, and Wii Connect 24 was still enabled. I clicked it off, pressed the power button once, and it went straight to the red light.

[Unbeliever]

Is the WiiConnect used for anything now? I've heard that there's no new content or news, so you might as well leave it off. Is this what everyone does that owns a Wii? I can't see the use in having it on if I'm not getting anything from Nintendo anymore.

 

I just wish I would have gotten one at launch day, but $50.00 was a good price for a previous-gen system. I'm having tons of fun collecting for it now. 7 games and counting!!

[Rex Dart]

how to disable standby mode

 

Ah-ha, this is great. I have a USB HDD connected to my Wii, and it stays powered up when the Wii is in standby. Now I don't have to do any extra crap to get the thing to shut off. Thanks AB.

Edited November 17, 2013 by Rex Dart

[Atariboy]

Glad to be of some help.

 

Is the WiiConnect used for anything now? I've heard that there's no new content or news, so you might as well leave it off.

The Wii is still a online console and the more crucial functions of it for the average user remain online. For instance, a new WiiWare game just came out I believe. But all Wii Connect 24 functions are indeed dead because the apps that utilized it are now gone.

 

Just to clarify for anyone that might be mistaken, Wii Connect 24 isn't Nintendo talk for the Wii's online functionality in general. Instead, it's specifically in reference to the Wii remaining connected to the internet while the system was shut down in order that it could still be receiving data. This allowed Mii's to migrate while the system was off, it allowed the news and weather apps to constantly update themselves, and it meant messages could be received while the system is off which would notify the user by flashing the disc drive light instead of having to wait for them to appear after you first power the system back on if you had Wii Connect 24 disabled.

 

That's all it did which is why AtariLeaf doesn't need to be reactivating it just for something like a Wii Shop download like it sounds like he does since the setting only affects the Wii when it's turned off. Other than the weather and the news apps that are now gone, online functionality with the system powered on was full with Wii Connect 24 disabled.

 

As anyone can see, it wasn't exactly feature rich and for the vast majority of users that think of the Wii and its online features, they think of online multiplayer, downloading WiiWare and Virtual Console games off the Wii Shop, and using the video apps. And that's all still there and active.

Edited November 18, 2013 by Atariboy

[RegularGuyGamer]

AtariBoy! You sly dog! No more holding down the power button for me

 

I wanted to add some fun and cheap Wii games that really add to a collection. First is the Ultimate Shooting Collection. A lot of game store will price this as shovelware but it is a solid collection of 3 sweet shooters. There's a sequel to Nights into Dreams (Sega Saturn hit title) that is also considered shovelware but minus the terrible voice acting and cut scenes, it is another solid title at a tiny cost.

[AtariLeaf]

Glad to be of some help.

 

 

The Wii is still a online console and the more crucial functions of it for the average user remain online. For instance, a new WiiWare game just came out I believe. But all Wii Connect 24 functions are indeed dead because the apps that utilized it are now gone.

 

Just to clarify for anyone that might be mistaken, Wii Connect 24 isn't Nintendo talk for the Wii's online functionality in general. Instead, it's specifically in reference to the Wii remaining connected to the internet while the system was shut down in order that it could still be receiving data. This allowed Mii's to migrate while the system was off, it allowed the news and weather apps to constantly update themselves, and it meant messages could be received while the system is off which would notify the user by flashing the disc drive light instead of having to wait for them to appear after you first power the system back on if you had Wii Connect 24 disabled.

 

That's all it did which is why AtariLeaf doesn't need to be reactivating it just for something like a Wii Shop download like it sounds like he does since the setting only affects the Wii when it's turned off. Other than the weather and the news apps that are now gone, online functionality with the system powered on was full with Wii Connect 24 disabled.

 

As anyone can see, it wasn't exactly feature rich and for the vast majority of users that think of the Wii and its online features, they think of online multiplayer, downloading WiiWare and Virtual Console games off the Wii Shop, and using the video apps. And that's all still there and active.

Thanks if someone had given me as clear an explanation as this two years ago I wouldn't have had to replace my original Wii so thanks Atariboy

[Unbeliever]

I went through the steps and turned off WiiConnect 24. This was most helpful, and thank you!

 

On another note, I will be obtaining a copy of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess from Rick Weis. That will be 8 games and counting. Still one I need to find is New Super Mario Bros. Wii....seems to be a must have for anyone collecting for the Wii system.

[jd_1138]

I went through the steps and turned off WiiConnect 24. This was most helpful, and thank you!

 

On another note, I will be obtaining a copy of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess from Rick Weis. That will be 8 games and counting. Still one I need to find is New Super Mario Bros. Wii....seems to be a must have for anyone collecting for the Wii system.

 

Besides the obvious titles like Mario, Zelda, don't forget about the cheap games that you can pick up for like a buck or two on ebay or GS/EB Games. If you like sports games, there's EA Sports NBA Live 2004 for GameCube. That game is a blast. Great controls and playability. Get a few GC controllers and have a blast with your mates. Later versions were broken. They added things like additional shading to the players but controls, collission detection, etc. went south. Most people on AA aren't sports gamers. I am not really either, but some sports games are fun for group play -- something quick and easy.

 

I am surprised by the # of my friends with Wiis who don't own Wii Sports or Wii Sports Resort. They either bought the base console without a pack-in game, or they bought the Mario Kart or New Super Mario Bros. editions and never bothered to buy Wii Sports. That's like owning an Atari 2600 without a copy of Combat. It's a basic. It's a Nintendo Selects game, now. But I see them go for $10 or less even. I think I paid $8 for Wii Sports Resort off eBay.

Edited November 19, 2013 by Trekker_1138

[Unbeliever]

I've been thinking of Wii Sports, but keep passing it up. I wouldn't dare have my Atari 2600 without at least a *few* copies of Combat. Perhaps I should visit Gamestop again to see if they have a cheap copy. and no, I'm not normally a sports gaming guy (unless it has Mario in it, but I usually pass those up, too). I prefer to have platformers or remakes/adventure games.

 

Thanks for the heads up on Wii Sports.

[Rhomaios]

 

Besides the obvious titles like Mario, Zelda, don't forget about the cheap games that you can pick up for like a buck or two on ebay or GS/EB Games. If you like sports games, there's EA Sports NBA Live 2004 for GameCube. That game is a blast. Great controls and playability. Get a few GC controllers and have a blast with your mates. Later versions were broken. They added things like additional shading to the players but controls, collission detection, etc. went south. Most people on AA aren't sports gamers. I am not really either, but some sports games are fun for group play -- something quick and easy.

 

I am surprised by the # of my friends with Wiis who don't own Wii Sports or Wii Sports Resort. They either bought the base console without a pack-in game, or they bought the Mario Kart or New Super Mario Bros. editions and never bothered to buy Wii Sports. That's like owning an Atari 2600 without a copy of Combat. It's a basic. It's a Nintendo Selects game, now. But I see them go for $10 or less even. I think I paid $8 for Wii Sports Resort off eBay.

 

Wii Sports > Wii Sports Resort. The boxing and tennis really make for an intense but fun multiplayer game. Wii Sports wasn't as intense or fun. I don't think the Wii would ever have taken off if they had bundled Wii Sports Resort with it first.

[jd_1138]

I've been thinking of Wii Sports, but keep passing it up. I wouldn't dare have my Atari 2600 without at least a *few* copies of Combat. Perhaps I should visit Gamestop again to see if they have a cheap copy. and no, I'm not normally a sports gaming guy (unless it has Mario in it, but I usually pass those up, too). I prefer to have platformers or remakes/adventure games.

 

Thanks for the heads up on Wii Sports.

 

EB/GS sells Wii Sports for $9.99 pre-owned. I wouldn't really classify it in the same category as sports games like Madden, NBA Live, MLB, Bigs, Fifa, etc.. It's more like a casual/family/party game. I mostly play tennis and baseball on it. The boxing is pretty fun too, but when I fire it up I always seem to load up tennis first -- it's that fun.

 

If you have friends/family who don't have a Wii, Wii Sports will give them a huge taste of how fun the Wii can be. And what's really fun is letting everyone create their own Mii character to play in Wii Sports. The controls are great and precise. In tennis, the way you hold the Wiimote translates into topspin, scoop shots or straight shots, etc.. The more practice you get, the better you get at it. o.pw (above) is correct, Wii Sports is better than Wii Sports Resort, but they are both fun and well worth it. Wii Sports Resort is $17 pre-owned, but I paid $8 for mine.

 

Edited November 20, 2013 by Trekker_1138

[Austin]

Bowling in Wii Sports has always been a hit with my family and friends. Good, simple fun. Hell, my brother and I were playing it just last night. It never seems to get old with two or more players, even as basic as it is.

[Atariboy]

Baseball seems to be broken. There's a particular pitch style that I've never seen anyone be able to hit.

 

Golf was my favorite in both Wii Sports releases and will probably be the only one I download the HD remake of on the Wii U unless it gets packaged together and slapped on disc like it should be.

[+wood_jl]

Bowling in Wii Sports has always been a hit with my family and friends. Good, simple fun. Hell, my brother and I were playing it just last night. It never seems to get old with two or more players, even as basic as it is.

 

I know an older couple (non-gamers, mind you) who were given a Wii a few years ago, never bought a single game (came with Wii Sports) and only ever play the bowling, and still do once in a while.

[jd_1138]

 

I know an older couple (non-gamers, mind you) who were given a Wii a few years ago, never bought a single game (came with Wii Sports) and only ever play the bowling, and still do once in a while.

 

That's cool. It's cheaper than going to the local bowling alley. By the time you pay for a couple of games, shoe rental, pitcher of beer, some junk food, etc.. You could buy a Wii for what it costs to go bowling 3 times.

Edited November 20, 2013 by Trekker_1138