Help with Emulators and Wii FAQ

Q: What is the ?

A: The official codename for the successor to GameCube.

Q: Is the Revolutionary aspect of the Wii console its controller?

A: Yes. The console’s Revolutionary new mechanic will go hand-in-hand with its input device, which may no longer look or function like today’s controllers. In a March 2005 interview with BusinessWeek, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata admitted that Wii’s new input device was still incomplete, and that multiple ideas were still being tossed around.

“The new interface will allow some new forms of innovation,” Iwata explained on the subject. “Already, you’re seeing changes in Nintendo DS, which has a microphone, input pen, and touch screen. We have a number of candidates for a new [Wii] interface but are not ready to reveal them. All I can say right now is that whatever we choose will be intuitive and easy to use for everyone.”

Q: How can I make / play Wii backups?

A: To make backups of Wii games you need an SD card + modded wii console and a DVD Dumper software. Another way to get Wii ISO files is to download torrents. To PLAY backups on Wii you have to install a wii modchip in your console. Cyclowiz, WiiKey, D2CKey, WiiD, DuoWii, InFeCtuS, WiiJii Test Kit, Wiikey, Wiinja, Wiip, WiiReZ, Wi-ic, Wii-Boss etc.

Q: What makes the controller so Revolutionary then?

A: At E3 2005, Nintendo’s executive of vice president of sales and marketing, Reginald Fils-Aime, offered a hint.

“We announced the ability to download and play the best NES games, S-NES games, N64 games, in addition to Wii games and GameCube games,” he said in an IGN/G4 interview. “If you put those controllers all lined up together, they’re all very different. So think about what kind of device is going to allow you to play all those different types of games. It’s pretty interesting.”

This, of course, suggests that Wii’s controller may enable gamers to configure their own layouts in order to best suit their different gameplay experiences.

Further, Wii’s controller will very likely make use of motion-sensing technology. Leaked documentation shows that players may be able to twist and turn the device in order to twist and turn objects and characters in Wii games. Nintendo has dabbled in this type of technology in the handheld sector with such games as Kirby Tilt ‘N Tumble.

Q: Is ‘Wii’ the final name of Nintendo’s new console?

A: Yes

Q: How long has the Wii been in development?

A: Preliminary development on Wii began shortly after the release of Nintendo GameCube.

Q: Will Wii feature more powerful hardware than GameCube?

A: Yes.

Q: What is Wii’s media format?

A: Wii will play proprietary 12cm discs, which is the same size as DVDs. It will also be able to play GameCube Optical Discs, as it is backward compatible with the unit. Details on the new 12cm discs are slim. Nintendo initially announced that the discs would be dual-layered, offering upward of 8 gigabytes of storage. However, shortly after the announcement, it removed all mention of dual-layered discs from its official Wii press release.

Q: Will Wii be able to play DVD movies?

A: Yes. However, DVD-movie playback will not be available out of the box. Wii owners must buy an additional dongle that inserts in front of the machine in order to watch Hollywood DVD movies on the platform.

Q: Will Wii owners be able to connect online and download classic Nintendo games?

A: Yes. Nintendo announced at E3 2005 that Wii would be able to go online wirelessly and download classic Nintendo games. Nintendo has not yet announced what titles will be available for download. However, it has confirmed that Wii owners could theoretically download every NES, Super-NES and Nintendo 64 game ever made. The publisher is reportedly already working with third party publisher to ensure that popular third party games are also available to download.

At E3 2005, Shigeru Miyamoto said: “We have not set a price or determined a list of software for the Nintendo Wii download service. But, we’re looking at this as a consumer service and not so much from the business end. What we want to do is provide the product that is going to make the Wii the console that people want in their homes. So it actually might be driven from the consumer end rather than from us. You know, the games that they most want might be the ones that we do. From a technological point, we can do any of them. It’s just, we haven’t determined which ones we’ll do yet.”

Q: Will Wii be backward compatible?

A: Yes. At the March 2005 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata confirmed that Wii would be backward compatible.

“Contrary to much speculation, I can announce today that Wii will be backward compatible. The best of the Nintendo GameCube library will still be enjoyed by players years from now,” Iwata revealed.

The announcement was a surprise because analysts and media, IGN included, figured that Wii’s radically different new input device would make backward compatibility a near impossibility. Evidently Nintendo has found a way around this hurdle.

Q: How will games be saved on Wii?

A: It depends on the game. The machine plays Wii and GameCube titles out of the box. A GameCube docking station located on one side of the unit features four GCN controller inputs as well as two Memory Pak slots. Data for GameCube titles will be saved to standard Memory Paks. Meanwhile, Wii software data will be stored on 512MB flash memory, according to Nintendo.

Q: When will Wii be released?

A: “If you’re asking for a specific date for our next system — we don’t have one. Nintendo is going to remain competitive and will launch around the same time as competitors — not later than,” said Nintendo of America’s vice president of corporate affairs in a May 2004 interview. This used to be the company line. But at E3 2005, Nintendo sang a different tune. No longer concerned about beating Sony to market, Nintendo executives said simply that Wii would “launch in 2006.”

During a conference call discussing its financial status, Wii memory maker MoSys said that the console would launch in mid-2006.

Microsoft will debut Xbox 360 this November in America. Sony said at E3 2005 that it would like to launch PlayStation 3 by March 2006. Given these plans, Wii will likely be the last system to hit the market.

Q: How much will Wii cost?

A:: An exact price is unknown. But Nintendo is aggressively seeking to deliver a small, quiet and affordable console. It seems likely that the unit will debut at the sub-$200 mark and possibly cheaper if all goes as planned.

Q: What Games are in development for Wii?

A: Believe it or not, there are already a number of top-tier titles in development for Nintendo’s next-generation console. At E3 2005, the company revealed that a Wii sequel to Super Smash Bros. Melee is being readied for the launch of the new system. Even better, the game will be Wi-Fi compatible, enabling players to fight it out against each other online. In addition, brand new Zelda and Mario titles are underway for the upcoming machine.

When questioned on the subject at E3 2005, Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto did not yet know if the Wii Mario update would be the much-talked-about Mario 128. “In regards to Mario 128, we’re currently doing a lot of Mario experiments back in Kyoto. We are definitely going to have a new Mario for Wii. Whether or not that’s 128 or not, I can’t really say. It might be a new Sunshine. We’re not sure. We’re doing a lot of Mario tests right now for the Wii,” Miyamoto said.

At E3 2005, Nintendo also revealed that Metroid Prime 3 is in development for Wii. The title is once more being handled by Retro Studios. It will launch in 2006, say sources.

In addition, Nintendo confirmed that an Animal Crossing sequel is being readied for Wii. Little is known about the title, except that it will interact wirelessly with Nintendo DS.

Nintendo also revealed that it has teamed with Square Enix to bring an original Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles title to Wii.

Next, Nintendo’s vice president of corporate affairs confirmed to IGNcube at E3 2005 that Nintendo is working on a new IP that will premiere with the launch of Wii. “Wait for Wii,” she said. “At least one new franchise. Brand new.”

Q: Will Wii support high-definition?

A: No. Nintendo is more focused on making Wii small, quiet and affordable, according to company executives. As a result, it will not be able to output in the accepted 720p, 1080i and 1080p high-definition formats. It will, however, support 480p (progressive-scan), which means that it will once again be able to use component outputs.

“It is accurate that at this time we will not support high-definition [on Wii],” confirmed Nintendo of America’s vice president of corporate affairs, Perrin Kaplan, in early 2005.

“Nintendo’s Wii is being built with a variety of gamers’ needs in mind, such as quick start-up time, high power, and ease of use for development and play. It’s also compact and sleek, and has beautiful graphics in which to enjoy innovative games,” Kaplan said. “Nintendo doesn’t plan for the system to be HD compatible as with that comes a higher price for both the consumer and also the developer creating the game. Will it make the game better to play? With the technology being built into the Wii, we believe the games will look brilliant and play brilliantly. This can all be done without HD.”

Sources indicate that Nintendo is internally split on the issue of high-definition. This is an option that is still being considered within the company. Both IBM and ATI, the makers of Wii’s CPU and GPU respectively, have allegedly been asked to try and find a work-around the lack of HD support.

Finally, Bandai has pledged support for Wii.

source: ign.com

About Emulators in general

A software emulator allows computer programs to run on a platform (computer architecture and/or operating system) other than the one for which they were originally written. Unlike simulation, which only attempts to reproduce a program's behavior, emulation attempts to model to various degrees the state of the device being emulated. High-level emulation uses a combination of the two approaches in an attempt to retain as much accuracy as possible while having the advantages of simplicity and speed provided by simulation.

A hardware emulator is an emulator which takes the form of a hardware device. Examples include printer emulators inside the ROM of the printer, and FPGA-based emulators.

A popular use of emulators is to mimic the experience of running arcade games or console games on personal computers. Emulating these on modern desktop computers is usually less cumbersome and more reliable than relying on the original machines, which are often old and hard to find, let alone repair.

In a theoretical sense, the Church-Turing thesis implies that any operating environment can be emulated within any other. In practice, it can be quite difficult, particularly when the exact behavior of the system to be emulated is not documented and has to be deduced through reverse engineering. It also says nothing about timing constraints; if the emulator does not perform as quickly as the original hardware, the emulated software may run much more slowly than it would have on the original hardware, or it may run too fast to be usable.