What a complete idiot. Someone at IGN blogged about the graphics quality of the Nintendo Wii. (I offer the link merely as a source. If you don't believe me about what he says (as some of you have a habit of doing) then go ahead and click, but I don't recommend it, since he uses some creepy language.)

In a nutshell, the Wii ships with composite cables. Video on one cable, audio on one cable (sometimes two these days). Pretty poor quality, yes, which is why I'll be picking up a component cable. (Video on three cables, audio on two cables, tons better.) So this guy at IGN claims they all gathered around to watch someone play the new console on the block... and "the collected masses collectively vomited." He told us that Twilight Princess and Excite Truck looked really, really horrible and they wondered why Nintendo would ever ship the console without the better cables.

He then tells us to buy cables which he tells us are going to only be available online and be really hard to find. WRONG! IGN themselves released an official article concerning this. Good ol' Perrin Kaplan told us that the component cables will be available online AND in major retail stores such as Circuit City, GameStop and Best Buy. So someone at IGN didn't even bother to read up on the latest Wii news. Wonderful. Component cables hard to find? I think not.

Next he tells us to invest in a nasty TV if we can't find an overpriced $30 component cable. What a joke. How about we invest in a better TV than yours? If composite video looks terrible on your HDTV, then the upscaling is the problem, not the Wii. We've all seen the comparisons, Mister IGN Guy, and it's not nearly as bad as you make it out to be.

To seal the deal, he says his interest in the Wii dropped 20% and that the first two hours of Twilight Princess "= Zzzzzzz..." Of course, this is from the guys who seem to actively revolt against games that aren't purely blood n' guts flying around. Zelda is an adventure game, of course IGN isn't going to like it.

Anyway, now let's clear some things up. This article has got some people ticked off, because they're blindly following the opinion of some overreacting creep from a major game news site. He's right, the Wii doesn't come with component cables. But he's wrong... they'll be easy to find in major retail stores AND on Nintendo's store online. But before you go whining about shelling out the extra cash on a component cable that should have been included, let's take a look at the other consoles.

From what I've been able to glean, the low-end Xbox 360 does NOT include component cables. It, too, includes composite. The high-end 360 does, in fact, seem to come with component cables. The PlayStation 3, however, doesn't appear to come with ANY advanced video cables and both packages come with only a composite video cable. So what does this mean?

The PS3, which Sony heralds as THE high definition console to buy doesn't even offer HD cables! A $600 console that's built from the ground up to offer HD video doesn't come with HD video cables. Hmm.

The $299 Xbox360 doesn't come with HD video cables. The $399 version does. The Xbox is also heralded as a high definition gaming console, but to a slightly lesser extent than the degree Sony's been hyping up the PS3.

The $249 Nintendo Wii does NOT come with HD video cables, but also isn't designed to support HD. It comes with a composite cable because it's cheaper and Nintendo realizes that lots of people still don't have an HDTV capable of using component cables. Nintendo is, however, selling component cables separately and you can probably get them at the store you're lining up in front of to get the Wii in the first place.

So tell me, why can Sony and Microsoft not release HD video cables with their HD consoles, and yet Nintendo gets the flak for NOT including HD video cables with their console that does NOT support HD video. (Please note that using HD cables with the Wii will dramatically increase the sharpness of the image, but not necessarily allow HD video.)

Yes, I am biased for Nintendo. But because I'm biased doesn't necessarily mean I'm wrong.

So I'm ticking off the seconds until the Nintendo Wii is released on November 19th. Mark your calendars everyone! It's going to be a mad rush to the shops at midnight to be the first to pick one up. Having been unable to secure a preorder, I've begun to work on some plans to make a trip to my nearby city.

We've got Wal-Mart, Meijer, Target, Sears, Sam's Club, Best Buy and EBGames. Hopefully one of these stores will have one for sweet little ol' me. (Probably not EBGames, though.) I'm a bit strapped for money at the moment, so I think I'm only going to pick up Zelda: Twilight Princess and Excite Truck for now. Maybe just Zelda, since I still have to get an HDTV.

Yeah... I just realized today that I have two weeks to shop for a TV and for to get here if it's an online purchase. I think I've picked one out. The Samsung LN-S2738D 27" Widescreen LCD HDTV. It's nice and cheap (relatively speaking) for a 720p set, which is all I want/need right now. I don't really want to spend a whole lot on a 720p set and turn around in a couple of years and get a 1080p set. Hopefully someone in my family will help me front the costs for it so I can get it early, and then pay them back. I think I might have to get the thing online and have it shipped here. Nobody carries this model anymore. All these stores have to carry the latest and greatest... You know there ARE people out here who don't want the latest and greatest and most-wallet-busting stuff!

I think I might plan ahead and get myself a Sam's Club membership before the 19th. They say Sam's Club is a great place to find new consoles because while everyone's lining up outside Best Buy, Sam's Club sits empty because the membership system keeps people from just walking in off the street.

So... Nintendo Wii... extra controller... Zelda and maybe Excite Truck... 27" widescreen HDTV... all on or before the 19th. In the meantime, I've got a novel to write. Which, I have to admit, I've only got about 200 words written today. Not exactly the 5,000 words I'd planned on, since I had an icky night's sleep last night. (I think it was the pizza.) But yeah... I'm gonna try to write some more before early sleep-time.

Behold! The pure awesomeness that is The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Coming November 19th to a Nintendo Wii near you! (I mean, seriously... two wolf-centric games in a single year? One being similar to Zelda and one actually BEING Zelda? How lucky can ya' get?)

Yes... there is more, apparently. What is this? Nitpickers United or something? This is just a bunch of hogwash.

• Nintendo will only have two first-party (made by Nintendo) games at launch.

First, this is a lie. There are five games by Nintendo (I think... I know there are at least three) scheduled for launch. But even just five games from one developer is pretty good for launch, granted they're a big developer. I just don't see where you're coming from. Second, ever since the late Nintendo 64 era and the Gamecube era, people have been ranting and raving about Nintendo's lack of third-party games (games made by other people), and that the best games were always first-party.

This was bad, I agree. Nintendo used to be rather stuck up under the old management and made it difficult for other people to make games. But Nintendo has completely turned around and made the Wii one of, if not the, easiest and cheapest platforms to build games on. Now that we have nearly 30 launch titles, 25 by companies besides Nintendo, people are complaining that there are TOO MANY third-party games and not enough Nintendo games? Am I the only one seeing a TINY bit of hypocrasy here?

Console popularity directly translates to how many games are available, with, of course, some emphasis on the control hardware, which Nintendo has always changed with every console. Good exclusive titles are very, very nice to have, too. But in this day, where games seem to become less and less console-exclusive, people will be looking at other features, such as power and controllers and price. (Price, Sony. They're looking at the PRICE. Hint-hint.) I predict the Nintendo will be a phenomenal success, and take the world by complete storm. Yes, I'm biased, but I also see that the gaming world is ripe for a change in how things are done, and Nintendo did exactly that, and they did it WELL. The Xbox360 is slowly picking up in popularity, with the slow release of better and more interesting games. Then, of course, there's Sony, which, in my biased opinion, will tank and take down the gaming division of Sony with it, along with their precious Blu-Ray. I'm not sure what will REALLY happen, though, but I honestly don't see the PS3 taking off like the PS2 did. The PS2 rode on the success of the PS1 and the reputation Sony had... which Sony does NOT have anymore. I think the PS3 will be a niche market. There'll be a few people who will buy it, but the greater gaming community will take a 360 and a Wii.

Anyway, there will always be people who will never be satisfied with anything anyone ever does. These sorry people need to just break out of their little shell and get a taste of the real world. The Wii will not be another Nintendo 64, the Wii will not be another Gamecube. If you think $250 is too expensive for the latest and greatest in the evolution of electronic entertainment (when you think $400 and $600 is just fine for what TRIES to pass as "latest and greatest"?), then that saves more for the rest of us. I'm sure there will be someone who'll fill your preorder slot.

I've discovered new whines about the new Wii announcements.

• Nintendo Wii is region-coded.

While no regions would have been nice, people are acting like Nintendo just threw open the gate of Oblivion. What's region coding? Kind of like what you have with DVDs. Wiis bought in the United States won't be able to run games from Japan, and vice versa, or from Europe, and vice versa. What's the downfall? I'm not quite sure. The only comments I see are little whiney brats who don't want to wait another week or two for the game they want to be released where they live, so they want to import them from another country, but can't, because it won't work on their console. Seriously, is there any GOOD reason on why people are upset about this? Other than "I want my game NOW! Waaah!"?

Disclaimer: Nintendo has issued no official announcement on this matter. Currently, Nintendo of America has said "the Wii is region free", while Nintendo of Europe has said "the Wii is NOT region free". There is no comment from Nintendo of Japan, which is the "real" Nintendo, and whatever they say is official. We need to be patient and see what's going to happen, people. Stop whining like a bunch of little babies. It's like you're looking for every chance to go running back to Sony. Good riddence, I say.

• The Wii is currently only available in white.

Oh my. The Wii is only being made in one color? Oh noez! The color of the console is directly proportionate to how awesome it is! Plain ol' white means plain ol' BORING! If I can't have rainbow-swirl-with-pink-spots, then I don't want one! On the other hand. You can always buy paint. In either case... SHUT THE HECK UP.

• The web browser extension will only be free for the first few months.

As if the hardcore users who will actually think this is worth getting won't have a Wii before the free browser offer expires? You aren't being forced to buy it, either. Honestly, you make Nintendo sound like they're taking money from you at gunpoint. If you think it's worth the price, you'll buy it. If you don't think it's worth the price, you won't buy it. Me? I'll have one before the offer expires, but I will have to see if it's even worth using a browser on my TV.

• The Wii will only come with a composite video cable. (Video, Left Audio, Right Audio)

If it's worth saying once, it's worth saying again. The Wii is NOT A HIGH DEFINITION GAMING CONSOLE. It can be, but that's not it's primary intent, like the "five-hundred-and-ninety-nine US dollars" PlayStation 3. If you're one of the insane early adopters of an HDTV, you're not going to have any trouble putting down an extra 10 bucks to get your special little cable so you can feel better about playing your videogames. For the rest of us, it keeps the price that much lower.

Stay tuned for more "Wii Whining" and "Sony Says"! Only at your friendly neighborhood wolfdog's website.

I should have seen this coming. Most people (the ones with decent heads on their shoulders) were reassured by the latest announcements by Nintendo. Finally, we have some answers to long standing questions! But, of course, you're getting a flurry of negative sentiments. Probably the death throes of those PlayStation fanboys. (Yes, believe it or not, Sony still has fanboys.) I'm going to give my opinions on the latest whining I've seen:

• The Wii will cost $249.99 US dollars.

Believe it or not, people are whining about this. As I said in my last post, Nintendo only said "no MORE than $250", but people started taking it too far and predicting their own utopian prices, going so far as to predict a $150 price point... and they got angry when it wasn't. Nintendo didn't lie to you! Why ARE you angry? It's not priced competitively? They just lost you as a customer? What are you going to buy instead? Xbox360 Core System(which isn't worth buying, and everyone knows it) is $299, the Platinum System is $399. PlayStation 3 "Lite" is $499, and the PlayStation 3 "Fat" is $599. Elementary, my dear Watson. 250 is clearly a lower number than 599. $250 isn't competitive? Which planet are you from?

• The controller sets will cost $59.98 US dollars.

I agree with people here, though. To an extent. The controller is the hot tamale, the core of the Nintendo experience. Never before done, will be copied from this point on. It's a landmark in gaming history, and quite the technological breakthrough. Get the point, yet? I really didn't expect it to be cheap. Did you? It's the Wii Remote! While I was expecting maybe $40 for the entire controller set, I'm not entirely surprised. (In fact, in hindsight, I should have known $40 was too cheap.) I'll just slowly collect controllers over time. I don't need all four at once, and remember! These things are built for portability. Nintendo's designed these things to be carried with you. When you go to play at someone's house, you're going to take your controller with you, since it's saved all your sensitivity settings. People won't need to buy controllers for people who will already have one.

• Virtual Console NES games will cost $5.

Whine, whine, whine, whine, whine. I don't even know where to start here. You don't think NES games are worth $5? How much would you pay for one on eBay? I've sold a Legend of Zelda for over $20. Granted, you won't have the original cartridge, but I'm sure it will be nearly the same. Nintendo strikes me as the people who will get game downloads right. I will easily pay $5 to play old games on my Wii. I probably won't buy the games I have already, but there are still several games I want that I don't have the original cartridges for. I'm sorry, but you whiners are stretching it for this. Let me guess, you wanted it to be $1 a rom. Maybe 10 for $8? 20 for $15? How much are you expecting to pay for Sony for their game downloads? I'll wager it's nowhere near 5 bucks, the cost of a good hamburger from some fast-food joint.

• Wii Photo Channel and Photo Manipulation

I guess good ol' Joystiq got their hopes up on the Photo Channel for some reason. Whining about how it doesn't pass off as a good manipulation platform. Well, DUH! It looks to me like it was more of a slideshow feature, with basic manipulation functions, rather than a Photoshop for Wii. Looks like they're grasping at straws here, personally. A gigabyte of space isn't enough for hosting photos? What? Since when? I've got a digital camera. You can store about 600 very nice quality photos in about a gigabyte of space. Oh, but you said less than a gig. Okay, 500MB? Is that good enough? 300 photos. It's not like the Wii is going to be used to take panoramic photos or anything! Are you going to STORE photos on the Wii? The photos don't even have to be very big unless you're viewing them on an HDTV. I got the message that it was just a little photo kiosk that you could put your favorite pictures on to show your friends, and you can get silly with all the manipulation features.

• November 19 Release Date, two days after the PS3.

People are whining about this, as if it somehow affects them. Maybe, for once, they're feeling something for Nintendo and not themselves... I doubt it. Anyway, to the point. The PS3 is scheduled for November 17, with 400,000 units available in the United States. If you ask me? By the time Nintendo releases the Wii, there won't be any PS3s left and everyone left will remember the sheer awe that is Nintendo Wii, and get that instead. Especially after seeing the gargantuan inflated prices on eBay and resell stores. This is, of course, assuming that Sony can keep this release date and not push the entire system back to March 2007, like half of it already is. Do we trust Sony? No? Then what is there to worry about, exactly? In my not so humble opinion, the Wii going head-to-head with the PS3 is no problem for Nintendo. Sony should be shaking in their bullet-ridden boots. (Seriously Sony, watch it with that gun. There are only so many times you can shoot your feet.)

• No built-in DVD playback.

Oh my! Zee world hast ended! Primarily a gaming system, people were wanting the Wii to have DVD playback. Uhm... why? Your desktops have DVD playback, your laptops have DVD playback, your TV has DVD playback already. Why did the Wii need DVD playback, exactly? The Xbox didn't. I'm sure the Xbox360 doesn't. (Correct me if I'm wrong, I'm not sure. I'm just going off Microsoft's past.) "But the PlayStation 3 plays them!!" Yes... yes, it does. Because it's primarily a Blu-Ray/DVD player and a gaming system second. Nintendo is the opposite. There's always the future option of buying a USB attachment to play DVDs, but, for now, Nintendo doesn't want that. I'm okay with that, as you should be. Just because "everyone else is doing it" doesn't mean everyone should. It'll add nothing to the Wii, and people don't need a 17th DVD player.

So there you have it!

Finally, after months and months of waiting and grabbing at any and every scrap of Nintendo news that comes across the internet, they've finally announced the release date and price point, as well as a few more insights into just what the Wii can do, and what the packages comes with.

Nintendo's Incomparable Wii Console Launches Nov. 19; MSRP $249.99 (nintendo)
Live from New York -- It's the Wii Conference (1up)
Wii cuts up the Big Apple (gamespot)

As you can see, it's scheduled for release in North America on November 19th, just in time for holiday purchases, and the suggested retail price is about $250. A little more expensive than I thought it would be, but compared to the Playstation 3 at $600 and the Xbox360 at $400? It's definately the best deal on the market. (Personally, I want an Xbox360, but I'm going to wait until Halo 3 is released. I'm going to try to acquire a Playstation 2, also, for a couple games, but I'm not going to get it new, and I'm not paying more than $75 for it.)

Of course, you're getting people who've been predicting a $200 price point for so long that they've begun to believe it, and now they're all hopping mad that "Nintendo said less than $250, and they do $249.99, the jerks!" The morons. Look, Nintendo said no MORE than $250, and everyone else took that far too liberally and predicted as low as $150 for crying out loud, and now they're upset that it's $250, and that it's too expensive and not competitive. What?! Not competitive?! Compared to what? The Sega Genesis? Luckily, there's enough level-minded people out there to put those whiners in their place and laugh at them for me.

There are going to be 4 million units shipped worldwide by the end of the year, with the majority being shipped to the United States, so Nintendo says that finding one won't be a problem. (Compared to 500,000 worldwide Playstations 3s, hahahahaha!!! Nice job, Sony!)

Wii Sports is going to be included in the package you're going to buy. Which, in my opinion, is perfect! I was going to get it anyway, because it's a neat little game that showcases everything the Wii can do, but now it's just coming in the package. The packages also comes with one Wii remote and nunchuk attachment, which was pretty much expected, but we were hoping for more than one. Additional Wii remotes will cost $40, and the nunchuck attachments will cost $20, and, obviously, sold separately. Not really happy about that... kind of expensive for a complete controller.

They also announced something they call Wii Channels. Currently, they have a channel for news articles, a channel for personal photos, a channel for making little avatars (for I don't know what, yet... probably to design characters for Wii Sports, for one), a channel for browsing the web, and a channel for WEATHER. Worldwide weather. On your TV. I don't know about you, but the weather channel sounds awesome! People have been pointing out that the Playstation 3 and the Xbox360 are both designed for more of a complete media center instead of just games. Playstation 3 is more like a useless computer you connect to your TV that happens to play games (bias? me?), Xbox360 is more of a game system that happens to do computery things, and then there's the Wii. Not a whole bunch of pointless junk. Primarily a ground-breaking gaming system with a pinch of miscellaneous gizmos to have infinite fun with. Nintendo in a nutshell.

So there you have it, folks. Save up your money and buy one come November! Hey... buy two!