Wii Component Cables GET!

As promised, Nintendo shipped out their first batch of the official Wii component cables this Tuesday, and my set just arrived today. To my knowledge, the Nintendo online store is the only place to get these until about mid-December. They were previously sold out online as well, but it would seem that Nintendo's done some trickery to get more stock. They'll run you about $30.

So are they worth it? If you've got a TV capable of 480p, then the answer is a resounding "yes." The progressive image is sharper with significantly less noise than delivered by the composite cables included with the console. I'm pretty certain that they're even using a different font for the system menus if you have 480p enabled.

If your TV can't display a progressive image but does happen to have component inputs (I have seen this), then these are still probably worthwhile, as there is currently a distinct lack of S-Video cables for the Wii, and anything is going to be better than composite.

As for physical characteristics, the cables are 8.2 ft (2.5m) long and have gold-plated contacts on the RCA plugs. The cable quality seems to be equivalent to that of the standard composite cables, which is plenty good. They're not going to give you HD, but it's worlds better than 480i.

Wii Are Successful!

After just over twelve hours in line at Target in the bitter cold of Plano, Texas, I have managed to score a Nintendo Wii. I honestly haven't put in much time with the machine yet, as I spent most of Sunday sleeping, but here's some quick thoughts. I'm not going to go into too much detail, as I'm tired and need to sleep.

I am very impressed with the machine itself. It's compact, quiet, and unassuming. The simple design is very attractive, and wouldn't have trouble looking at home anywhere. The Wii Menu (as Nintendo refers to the Wii's equivalent of a dashboard) is very much serviceable, though I still feel Nintendo is a bit overprotective when it comes to online settings. You have to jump through a few hoops to get things done online, and several of the online features have yet to be implemented, such as the Opera browser and weather updates.

The remote, of course, is going to be what garners the most reactions from new players, and so far it has been wonderful to use. While I'm not certain that it's quite as accurate and functional as Nintendo had hoped, I'm also not certain that I care. It's fun, period. My only gripe is that it's not quite as comfortable as it could be — while the Nunchuk is lightweight and contoured for comfort, the remote is on the heavy side (though it's not going to break any arms) and lacks said contours. These are minor things, however, as the overall experience has been very positive.

As for games, I picked up Zelda (along with everyone else), Excite Truck, and Rayman - Raving Rabbids. I have yet to crack open Excite Truck, so I can't say much there. I'm finding that the reviews are spot on for Zelda — the beginning of the game is very, very slow, and I'm not feeling an overwhelming urge to jump back in. From what I understand, I just need to work past the beginning and then it will pick up. I sure hope so...

Rayman, however, is surprisingly fun. The Wii version of the game is a collection of minigames in the same vein as the Wario Ware series of games, but more involved. The game has an excellent sense of humor and makes creative use of the controllers. There appears to be a large variety of games to unlock, so this one should keep you busy for some time.

Was there anything I didn't like? Just one, really: I was expecting the games on the Virtual Console to be a bit cheaper than they are. Anyone expecting to pay significantly less than the prices on Xbox Live Arcade will be somewhat disappointed. The pricing that you can expect is $5 for a game from the NES era, $8 for a game from the SNES era (includes Genesis and most likely TG16), and $10 for N64 games. There are somewhere around a dozen games available for launch, but I've yet to try any of them. There are, of course, no demos — these are unmodified emulations of the original titles, unlike the games on XBLA — so you can't try before you buy.

Overall, though, I am quite satisfied with the purchase. I'm currently visiting the family in Texas for Thanksgiving (many thanks to my brother for camping out with me the same day that I arrived), so I'm very interested in seeing how the rest of them take to the new machine. I have a feeling that I can sell at least one of them on Wii Sports Bowling.

I've got a couple of pictures from Saturday night. I'll update this post with those when I get home.