I'm not sure if was the only one on the planet who didn't know this or not... but apparently, the Nintendo Wii will not have an ethernet jack out of the box.

According to ComputerAndVideogames.com, Nintendo will be selling a ethernet kit so you can connect your Wii to your router or hub. For some reason I was under the assumption that because it had wireless it also had a jack built in, but that's incorrect.

I definitely don't like the idea of plunking down $250 and then needing to buy the ethernet kit immediately. Wireless is pretty easy to get now, but I live in a dorm where routers aren't allowed and the wireless doesn't really pickup well in my room. The solution is either to buy a wireless solution just for the Wii or buy the ethernet kit, and I suspect I'm not alone in feeling a little burned in that I'll need to pay for a wired solution.

This reeks of just wanting to sell accessories to gain that little extra bit of profit at the expense of usability and user happiness. On top of that, it might just be shooting themselves in the foot. This is one more way that it might make it harder for the typical user to get online and join the community. Wireless might be easier to use, but there is little doubt that you'll be able jack directly into a hardline as long as you have the internet in the first place. One of the reasons for the XBox 360 Live service being as successful as it is, is because there is a free level and its easy to connect out of the box. There is no reason NOT to be apart of it. If you tell people that they need to go out and buy a do-hicky; they might not be as inclined.

This especially unfortunate as Shigeru Miyamoto recently said in an interview with www.gamebrink.com that the Wii's hardware is "is basically a GC". You can buy a Gamecube for between $70-$100, a wii-mote and nunchuck are $60 total, and say Wii Sports is worth about $40... that places the margin for profit at somewhere around $50... Granted that it probably ends up being more like $20 to $25 with all the other costs around, but I can't imagine putting the stupid ethernet port on would have broken the bank. Also consider that how much Nintendo actually makes per unit X 1 million is actually the amount of profit they'll get from the North American launch (consider they sell ever unit, which i'll bet they do.)

Kinda hard to believe they couldn't spend the extra buck or 2 to put the ethernet port into the system or at least ship the do-hicky to allow for the ethernet port in the box. What do you guys think? Did Nintendo just get cheap here or am I complaining over nothing? How much would you wager that Nintendo is going to make on each Wii?

I'm terrible at math, so won't make any wagers on the profit, and besides, there's nothing wrong on them wanting to cut a profit from hardware sales, far from it.

However, it seems to me the Wii isn't all that the awesome deal everyone is claiming. I won't even go (again) on the details of how much it will be priced around here, but let's see: the $250 package will probably include the console, Wii Sports, the remote/sensor bar, power cord and composite cable (or whatever they'll be using). Considering the "regular" control pad (if all games are going to be wiimote exclusive it will be a very bad sign, imo) and the ethernet will be crucial for most buyers, it might boost the cost to near $300 - for what's (self-admittedly, it seems) a beefed-up GameCube with a fancy controller.

OK, I know next to nothing about consoles but did GameCube run old SNES, N64 etc games like Wii?

Assuming there are some interesting titles for Wii then I could see myself buying my first console because there are some older games that I'd be interested in playing? Apparently those old games would cost between $5 - $10 which sounds nice for, say 007 GoldenEye. Hm, no matter how long I stare at the platform browser, I can't see Nintendo 64 in it?

I had to pay for my PS2 network adapter, but yes... The Wii is a modern system, and being so, I think it should have included ethernet like all the rest.

The Gamecube isn't backward compatible with older systems like the NES, SNES, and N64.

However, keep in mind, Marko, that the really wonky part about this is if you don't have wireless internet, you'll need the ethernet kit so that you can get online to use the virtual console (the software that allows you to download older games on your Wii and play them). So even if you weren't planning to play your Wii games online, you'll want it for the virtual console.

Well, it's not like the price would ruin me. I have to think about this, but if there are enough interesting older games, why not? As I said, I've never owned a console and although the majority of games for them do not interest me, there are enough exceptions.

But true, this is clearly a plot to make Nintendo money. Bear in mind, however, that Microsoft and Sony subsidise their consoles with money from other enterprises, Nintendo can't. And price is important, even if the initial price does not reflect true price, $250 is the sum people will think about.

If playing old games is really what buying a Wii is about, go get emulators, Marko. You can run any N64, SNES or NES game in your PC today, without any additional cost.

That would require buying the controller and it's not quite the same in any case (TV vs. monitor).

But I didn't say I'd buy it just for that. As I said earlier I'd expect a few interesting Wii games before purchasing the thing.

Uh .... WTF?

Maybe Nintendo is trying to make Revolution... Wii as a revolutionary console, taking people away from cables by force.

Even if you have to buy the ethernet jack, that and the Wii will probably be less expensive than the PS3.

you better play less for something that sounds like it's a redesign of the GameCube