Wii: Region-free, videos

A few more morsels about the Wii have found their way onto the Web. Wired's Chris Kohler has spoken with Nintendo marketing VP Perrin Kaplan, who says that the Wii will, by default, be completely region-free. Developers may be able toggle on region-blocking if they so choose, but it's unlikely that Nintendo will restrict its own games. Likewise, Virtual Console titles will be tied to accounts rather than consoles. Losing (or swapping out) a Wii shouldn't mean losing access to everything you bought. Furthermore, Kaplan says that the Opera browser may yet be free. Nintendo is still discussing arrangements with the developer, so the matter of cost is up in the air. UPDATE: Now we have the good stuff - Game Videos is brimming with new footage, such as a montage and clips of Big Brain Academy and Trauma Center: Second Opinion. One of the games in the montage is Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, a first-person title which seems to be set in the mansion from the original Resident Evil. UPDATE 2: IGN says Opera will be free until June 2006.

by MacNN Staff