Well, on with the show!
Rumour #1: 'Free game' with Toys R Us Wii pre-order will be Ubisoft's Open Season.
What we've heard: Earlier this year, Toys R Us started taking pre-orders for both the Nintendo Wii and the Sony PS3, both with the offer of a 'free game' at launch. Many people were skeptical of this – how could they possibly take pre-orders so early? Sony had promised a 2006 Aussie launch of the PS3, but there was no guarantee that the Wii would be released in Australia this year. More to the point – how could they possibly offer a free $100 game with a $399 system? It would be a huge discount, and when Wii Sports was announced as a pack-in, many assumed that it would be the 'free game', even though it was free everywhere else, pre-order or not.
However, in recent weeks there have been multiple reports of customers who asked for some clarification on the deal, and were told by Toys R Us staff that the free game would not be Wii Sports, but would in fact be a free Wii game of their choice. Since most people who pre-order a Wii will be of the more hardcore variety of gamers, and there is a clear #1 game to be purchased with the Wii, it's not much of a contradiction that some Toys R Us employees have simply stated that Zelda: Twilight Princess will be the free game with a pre-order. With these revelations, witnessed first hand by PALGN staff members, the Toys R Us pre-order started to sound like an incredible deal. Yet there still had not been confirmation in writing of this deal, just the vague promise of 'a free game'.
Then, about a week ago there was quite a stir among forum-frequenting Australian Nintendo fans. Some Toys R Us employees had started telling customers that there would not be a choice of free game, and that the game would not be Zelda, but the Ubisoft movie tie-in Open Season. In our research, several stores maintained you could have Zelda, but at least a few have said it will be Open Season. This made little sense – it's still a full price retail game, and while it may have some appeal to parents and kids at Christmas, it's a game that far fewer of the pre-order types would want. It didn't help that Toys R Us ended the original deal and started a new package deal which comes with and extra Remote and four games for $729, including both Open Season and Zelda!
Well, we have now confirmed with the Toys R Us head office that it is true, and the free game is officially the Wii version of Open Season. We're not exactly sure where people who pre-ordered with a verbal promise of Zelda now stand, but that's the official line from the company.
Verdict: True.
Rumour #2: Wii component cables will not be available in stores.
What we've heard: The Gamecube was originally built with a high quality digital video-out port, allowing it to output an extremely high quality colour picture. However, despite having a better video out port then their competitors (unless you count the Dreamcast's VGA output), Nintendo chose to only sell component cables through their own offices in most countries (including Australia), and as a result the feature was so under-utilized by customers that the port was dropped from later models. So when it was revealed that the Wii would ship with a composite video cable, many feared Nintendo would be repeating the same offence and we would have to wait for the mailman to get the superior colour definition of component out. Indeed it seems to be the case in the US that while they are not only available from Nintendo themselves, Wii component cables will only be available via online stores such as ebgames.com.
On Thursday Nintendo Australia confirmed on their website that component cables will be available at launch, with no mention of them being a mail order product. Although the price is a bit steep at SRP$49.95, if they're anything like the official Gamecube component cables they'll be extremely high quality. However, recently certain 'online only' Nintendo items have actually turned up in stores, such as the DS Wi-Fi dongle, which has been available at Myer and Electronics Boutique. There have been rumblings that the Wii component cables will be available in Electronics Boutique stores at launch, but we don't yet have 100% confirmation.
Verdict: Undecided. Wii component cables will be there at launch, but we're not yet sure if they'll be in stores, or which stores. Check back with us later for an update!
Rumour #3: Super Mario World, Zelda: Link to the Past coming to Virtual Console at launch.
What we've heard: Nintendo has recently submitted several classic games to the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) for classification purposes, including Super Mario World and Zelda: Link to the Past, and many took these submissions (among others) to mean that these games would be available at the launch of the service in Australia. Nintendo recently announced the Virtual Console launch line-up, and both these games are absent form the list. It seems Nintendo will be 'virtually' stockpiling VC games by submitting them to the OFLC well before releasing them on the service. For those with too much time, watching the OFLC website may be a way to get a sneek peek at which VC games may be coming in the future.
Verdict: False, but they may be coming soon.
Rumour #4: The Gamecube version of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess will be released exclusively through Electronics Boutique stores in Australia.
What we've heard: While not strictly Wii news, there has been plenty of rumination on the legacy Gamecube version of the latest Zelda. At E3, Reggie promised that the game would be released on the same day for both Gamecube and Wii, and although the 'Cube version has been pushed back a couple of weeks in the US, it's still scheduled for a regular retail release. This was followed by the revelation that the game would only be released online in Japan, but would see a regular retail release in Europe. But what of little old (young?) Australia?
Some rumours spread on local boards that 'Cube Twilight Princess would be released in Australia, but in extremely limited quantities and exclusive to Electronics Boutique stores. While Nintendo would not comment on this rumour, Shane Stockwell, buying director for Electronics Boutique Australia, has confirmed to us that they have inked a deal with Nintendo to exclusively distribute the 'Cube's last harrah in this country. While it may seem odd that Nintendo would limit a potential hit game's sales by selling it through only one channel - and, it must be said, a channel that has been quick to throw Nintendo products to the back corner of the store, even when they sell well like the DS. However, the Gamecube has sold very poorly in Australia compared to it's sales in the rest of the world – Gamecube games still regularly make the US all-formats top 20 chart, yet in Australia, the Xbox 360 hardware has already sold 2/3 of the Gamecube's lifetime total. In fact, based on the timely launch, success of the DS, and current hype, it's highly likely the Wii will have outsold the Gamecube in Australia within a few months. So 'Cube Twilight Princess is lucky it's getting released at all in the land down under.
Verdict: True.
Well there you have it. Hopefully this has cleared up a few issues for potential Wii buyers as we approach launch. If we come across any more juicy gossip, we'll look into it and report it right here on PALGN.
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