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100°

Wii to Replace MP3 with AAC

In a move that some may deem a little foolish, Nintendo have announced an upcoming upgrade for the Wii's photo channel service, replacing support for the world's most popular format, MP3, with AAC. Nintendo's official website states:

Check out these enhancements to the Photo Channel, which will be available in December, 2007.

-Personalize your Wii Menu by making one of your favorite digital images from an SD memory card as the Photo Channel icon.

-The Wii console will replace MP3 compatibility with the ability to play AAC files, which provide a greater sound quality than an MP3 of the same size. This new compatibility will work with MP4 audio files in the .m4a format. Additionally, you can now choose to have the songs play back in a random order.

-Wii consoles sold in retail stores starting in December 2007 should include AAC file support.

-For Wii Console owners without the AAC file compatibility, you can download the updated version of the Photo Channel from the Wii Shop Channel starting in early December 2007. Please note that once you download the updated Photo Channel (ver 1.1), you will no longer be able to play MP3 format music files.

Additionally, consumers who purchase a Wii console with the updated Photo Channel (ver. 1.1) already installed will not be able to install the previous version to support MP3 playback.

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wii.nintendo.com
ItsDubC6755d ago (Edited 6755d ago )

I've actually never used the Photo Channel but switching to AAC from the most common music format just seems suspicious to me for some reason. Possible ulterior motives? iTunes integration?

Kholinar6755d ago (Edited 6755d ago )

Could be itunes integration, but itunes and all apple products are fully compatible with mp3... It might have to do with licensing issues. Mp3 is much less friendly, more expensive (like $.75 vs. $.12) and a lot of companies are currently getting sued because of mp3 patent disputes.... http://www.crunchgear.com/2...

They are right about one thing, though... AAC is much better quality.

Oops... we're front page now... So before we get any sillyness, AAC is not Apple's format. It's an open (but not completely free) format that Apple chose.

Phew...

Darkiewonder6755d ago

Will stop working for Excite Truck or they'll patch that game up? ;o

Kholinar6755d ago

good question... seems like it's saying the entire console will be updated, not just the photo channel.

Darkiewonder6755d ago

Hopefully I won't be FORCED. If it's just the Photo Channel, I won't update. If they try to stick it in a FW Update, I'll just have to find a way not to run it ;O

I really want to know the reason Nintendo is doing this.

Kholinar6755d ago

looks like it's not a forced upgrade.

Could be bad if they update the photo section with things you like.

There could be a lot of reasons, as I stated in my earlier post. Eventually one would think that mp3 would die... it's really, really old and really not very good at compression.

Darkiewonder6755d ago

But like many others, I still use it lol.

ChickeyCantor6755d ago

the MP3 program should be compiled with the game.... i mean i wouldnt be suprised if the ingame soundtracks were mp3.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 6755d ago
DJ6755d ago

people who update and assume that they're simply adding a new feature, not deleting a prior one. MP3s are standard though. Shouldn't Nintendo simply support both?

damnwrx6755d ago (Edited 6755d ago )

Similar to BD and HD-DVD..........Fok that iish.

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50°

Why the Wii is Such a Nostalgic System in 2026

The Wii is now a retro console. Let’s get nostalgic about an often maligned system.

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downupjourney.com
ActualWhiteMan19d ago (Edited 19d ago )

Crazy to think the WII is to the Switch 2, as the NES was to the WII back then. 20 Year difference.

jznrpg19d ago

My wife asks me to bust it out (heh) everyone once in a while to play bowling and tennis with the kids. There was a ton of slop on it but some good stuff as well.

Smellsforfree19d ago

Wii was great but boy howdy did it cause Microsoft to go on a dark walk with the Kinect and the disastrous XBox One launch that they arguably never recovered from.

Loktai19d ago

Not nostalgic for me.. I was there.. anyone who wasnt a little kid realized it was a gamecube with shit tacked onto it, it was the "joke" system and was well below even the switch in terms of comparing it to the latest machines at the time. The machine was well loved by young people and "casual gamers" who now remember it 20 years on, or in most cases more of its sales came in the 15-20 years ago range not right at launch- but again its not nostalgic for people who were "gamers" then really, just for those who ended up with one in their house, the games , graphics, interface and online features were archaic already in 2006.

60°

Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire (1996) Still Feels Like Peak 90s Star Wars

Dash Rendar, Prince Xizor, the Battle of Hoth, and one of the boldest Star Wars multimedia projects ever made. Here’s why Shadows of the Empire still matters.

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swtorstrategies.com
MayorPauline49d ago

This game along with Rogue Squadron got me into to Star Wars. The release of special edition VHS Star Wars collection was perfectly times on top of all that. 😆

Redgrave49d ago

Because it is.

Please re-release this.

SimpleSlave49d ago (Edited 49d ago )

But it wasn't. Although I do agree that some of the tie-in media, like the novels and comics, were pretty good.

Still, games like Dark Forces, Jedi Knight, Rogue Squadron, and the space sims were peak 90s Star Wars. Shadows fell flat because of the abysmal controls and unimaginative levels. And if you wanted to really experience the seedy side of the universe, Jedi Knight: Dark Forces 2 was peak, and it wasn't even close.

Regardless, and much to my dismay, we got the better version thanks to Ubislop in Outlaws, which is what Shadows should've been, albeit at a smaller scale.

shinXseijuro48d ago

As a kid me and my cousins loved this game . I have great memories with this one and the Star Wars pod racer game .

30°

How Trackmania inspired the “biggest feature ever created” for The Crew Motorfest

Debuting in Season 9, all players can try a beta of The Crew Motorfest’s new ambitious track creator, TrackForge.