WIICONNECT24

'WiiConnect24' is a feature of the Wii console first announced at E3 2006 by Nintendo.^[1] It enables some of the system's features to work while the console is on stand-by; for example, a friend might be able to visit another player's town and leave that player messages in ''Animal Crossing'' without him or her being present. WiiConnect24 is sometimes confused with Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, which is used to provide online gameplay over Nintendo's servers. Online gameplay titles for the Wii will be able make use of both the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service and WiiConnect24.

Contents

Service

Functionality

Channels

Problems

References

Service

WiiConnect24 is used to receive content such as Wii Message Board messages sent from other Wiis, Miis, e-mails, updated channel and game content, and notification of software patches. In addition, if the Standby Connect mode of WiiConnect24 is enabled, this content can also be received when the Wii is left in standby mode. At the E3 2006 Nintendo Conference, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata described Wii as "the system that never sleeps."^[2] The WiiConnect24 system running in Standby Connect mode requires about the same amount of power as a miniature light bulb.^[3]
The Power LED shows the current status of WiiConnect24 when the system is in standby mode:

★ Red: System in standby, Standby Connect mode is off.

★ Orange: System in standby, Standby Connect mode is on.
WiiConnect24 can be turned on or off via the Wii's Setup Interface. If it is on, the user is further allowed to choose whether or not Standby Connect mode should operate when the console is in in standby mode. However, if the power button on the console is pressed and held down for three to four seconds then the Wii will always go into standby mode with Standby Connect mode off. Finally, if the Wii is cut off from power and power is later restored, it will go into standby mode with Standby Connect mode off and WiiConnect24 will not operate until the console is turned on.
The Wii's Optical Drive will glow a neon-blue color when data has been received through WiiConnect24 in Standby Connect mode and, with firmware 3.0 and above, when the console is on. The brightness level of this blue color can be changed via the Setup Interface with the options of Bright, Dim, or Off.
The name WiiConnect24 could be considered confusing as the service is not running 24 hours a day if WiiConnect24 is enabled but Standby Connect mode is disabled.

Functionality

During an interview with the Japanese newspaper, ''Nikkei Business Publications'', Nintendo's CEO Satoru Iwata revealed that the WiiConnect24 could be used for the downloading of demos for the Nintendo DS.^[4]
''"Let's say your Wii is connected to the Internet in a mode that allows activation on a 24-hour basis. This would allow Nintendo to send monthly promotional demos for the DS, during the night, to the Wii consoles in each household. Users would wake up each morning, find the LED lamp on their Wii flashing, and know that Nintendo has sent them something. They would then be able to download the promotional demo from their Wii systems to their Nintendo DSs."''
According to Nintendo's European micro-site for the Wii, WiiConnect24 can be used to send SMS messages "to family members that are out and about", and exchange pictures and messages with other Wii users.^[5]

Channels

The following are Wii Menu channels which utilize WiiConnect24:

★ ''Mii Channel'' (Miis created by friends can be shared)

★ ''Forecast Channel'' (current local and worldwide weather conditions)

★ ''News Channel'' (the latest news articles and headlines)

★ ''Everybody Votes Channel'' (polls and poll results)

★ ''Check Mii Out'' (a soon-to-be-released channel whose name is not yet finalized)
With firmware versions up until 2.2, the Forecast and News channels require that both WiiConnect24 and Standby Connection are enabled to work. If WiiConnect24 is enabled and Standby Connection is disabled, the channels will simply give an error upon trying to launch them and return to the Wii Menu. This has been corrected in version 3.0 and above.

Problems

The initial firmware update caused some parts of the system to be inaccessible to a small portion of people who purchased the Wii at launch. Those Wii systems received constant error codes like 110213 and 32002^[6]; for those users it was necessary to contact Nintendo's customer service to replace or repair the system^[7]. This issue has not been reported on any Wii systems shipped since launch. Some have attributed the slow connection and errors to server overloads.

References

1. E3 2006: Wii Wi-Fi Just Like DS
2. E3: Iwata shows off Wii
3. Nintendo Corporation - Nintendo President, Satoru Iwata, media briefing speech at E3 2006
4. Iwata Comments On Wii Controller, Online Functionality
5. WiiConnect24
6. http://wii.ign.com/articles/746/746907p1.html
7. http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/