Wii firmware hits 3.0

Mattroid, Brady D., and NPP all sent in tips informing us of a new update in Nintendo-land. Apparently, the Nintendo Wii is undergoing its own upgrade with the introduction of Wii firmware 3.0, which includes changes to the Wii Shop Channel and additional features for different Wii Channels.

According to NeoGAF poster EphemeralDream, the following are the currently observed changes for Wii FW 3.0:

Channels:

• Digital Clock added to the Wii Menu right under the channel bar
• Forecast Channel now displays the current condition (cloudy, raining, etc.) directly in the Wii Menu in the Forecast Channel box
• News Channel can now show 2 scrolling headlines at a time in the Wii Menu, 3 when you click on the button (supposedly this requires occasional downloading of the headlines to keep the ticker updated)
• Message Board now has the “Today’s Accomplishments” message as a white message which allows it to stand out from other messages
• Address Book entries can now be shifted around using A+B (supposed to be a launch feature) but only to empty spaces. Not too convenient.
• Calendar in Message Board no longer shows “Today’s Accomplishment” only days as having messages
• Scrolling messages in the Message Board now uses a different sound

The rest of the changes after the jump!

Mattroid, Brady D., and NPP all sent in tips informing us of a new update in Nintendo-land. Apparently, the Nintendo Wii is undergoing its own upgrade with the introduction of Wii firmware 3.0, which includes changes to the Wii Shop Channel and additional features for different Wii Channels.

According to NeoGAF poster EphemeralDream, the following are the currently observed changes for Wii FW 3.0:

Channels:

• Digital Clock added to the Wii Menu right under the channel bar
• Forecast Channel now displays the current condition (cloudy, raining, etc.) directly in the Wii Menu in the Forecast Channel box
• News Channel can now show 2 scrolling headlines at a time in the Wii Menu, 3 when you click on the button (supposedly this requires occasional downloading of the headlines to keep the ticker updated)
• Message Board now has the “Today’s Accomplishments” message as a white message which allows it to stand out from other messages
• Address Book entries can now be shifted around using A+B (supposed to be a launch feature) but only to empty spaces. Not too convenient.
• Calendar in Message Board no longer shows “Today’s Accomplishment” only days as having messages
• Scrolling messages in the Message Board now uses a different sound

Wii Shop Channel Overhauled (Visual aesthetic is the same, changes made to organization and browsing methods mostly)

• New Welcome screen detailing 4 Recommended Titles and the points they cost (gone is the title screen bar that had linkable games). The title bar can be clicked on to bring up a list of 20 recommended games.
• Titles You’ve Downloaded was moved to the main shop menu
• New ways to browse
• Popular Titles (2 pages of 10 and includes launch games so not only based on recent info)
• Newest Additions remains the same
• Search for a title which can use partial names
• Search by Category
• System shows the different systems and how many titles have been released under each
• Publisher showing different publishers and amount of titles released
• Genre (different genres listed and amount of titles under each)

Settings

• Warning added pre-system update detailing that technically modified consoles may cease to function upon being updated. Also the only way to not accept an update is to power down the console by holding the button for 4 seconds (the user can’t back out of hitting “I Accept” w/o powering down)

Mattroid also adds that you can navigate the Wii Preferences pages with the + and – buttons. Furthermore, when typing messages, you can use the B button to act as a “shift” key, while – can be used to backspace, much like in the Opera browser.

That being said, it’s a pretty comprehensive update with many nifty little features added for good measure. Those with modded Nintendo Wiis might want to be careful though, as that Settings warning sounds specifically written for them.