Nintendo Revolution

[Lee-yoshi]

EVEN more news regarding the Wii!

You speak, Wii writes
Wednesday 16-Aug-2006 11:57 AM Well, if persistent rumours about voice-to-text capabilities prove to be correct

Speculation is mounting that the Wii will sport an intriguing feature which is as yet unannounced: voice-to-text communication. Originally unveiled by a "Nintendo insider" on an IGN gaming forum, and apparently confirmed by a NoA patent application, Nintendo's next-gen console could feature a system that converts online players' voice inputs to text, which it adjusts according to volume and tone of voice.

Thus, if a player shouts into the microphone (the patent application mentions both wireless earphone/microphone headsets and microphone input from controllers such as the Wii-mote), his or her text might be sent to competing players in a red, larger than normal-sized font, or if their voice sounds stressed or aggressive, the text may appear in a bold or italic font. The patent application also suggests that the voice recognition system will look for keywords and emphasise them - so, for example, the phrase: "I'm going to blast you" might be sent to competing players as "I'm going to BLAST you".

The system would come into its own in situations when, for example, online servers are unable to provide full voice-chat processing, or not all players are equipped with headphones, and would make aficionados of online PC games, who generally communicate with each other via text, feel at home.

It seems the Wii is set to be even more of a box of tricks than was previously thought - if this does all turn out to be part of the console, of course.

HOW AWESOME DOES THAT SOUND?! I seriously hope that is a feature, although if its a system used anything like the one in their Mario Party games, jesus christ there's gonna be problems! lol

Wii for £90?
Wednesday 16-Aug-2006 11:55 AM Financial reports suggest that Nintendo's upcoming console could be the cheapest Wii you ever had

Nintendo's Wii could be nestling under your telly for a lot cheaper than you think, according to a financial report from the Tokyo-based Nikko Citigroup.

In-between the financial jargon, the financial institution forecasts that the Wii could carry a Japanese price tag of 19,500 yen, down from original estimates of 25,000 Yen, because of cheaper CPU costs, which, through current exchange rates roughly translates to around £90.

But before you start doing Mario cartwheels on your computer desk, keep in mind that console prices rarely ever convert according to exchange rates, and we can probably take this report to indicate a more likely price-point around £130.

Nikko Citigroup's previous forecast for the Wii was 25,000 yen (about £114), but the firm lowered its price estimate based on its expectation that Nintendo will be able to produce the console's CPU for lower than expected.

Up to now the official word from Nintendo has been that the Wii will retail for under 25,000 yen in Japan and under $250 in the US. While we don't expect the console to debut at the sub-£100 price-point this report suggests, the surprisingly-low £130 introductory price of Nintendo's Gamecube has us hopeful that the company will still surprise us with a really competitive entry into the market. It could even creep up towards the £150 mark and still be damn good value.

HURRAH!