Comments on: Would a “Sega Channel” work on the Wii?

By: Christopher Price

Christopher Price — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 09:48:29 +0000

Sega is trying to be all things to all people on this front.

Some games are getting straight ports. Sonic The Hedgehog for iPod and cell phones.

Some games are being digitally remastered. Nights for PS2, and HoTD 2 & 3 for Wii.

Some games are being continued, Nights for Wii would be a good example of this. Golden Axe is another.

The type of remixed “Sega channel for classics” is old news in Japan, but was never brought out of Japan for U.S./Europe.

By: mrmat

mrmat — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 09:35:38 +0000

Apart from fan service, can anyone think of one good reason that sega would spend the time, effort and money installing a system like this, by which people use games they already own or will buy second hand, when they could simply re-release the games for Wii with slightly shiner grapics and added waggle and charge full price per unit?

In fact, arnt they already doing this with titles like Nights and House of the Dead?

By: Stephen Munn

Stephen Munn — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 22:19:32 +0000

DVD video playback is not possible on a stock Wii, that is true, as Christopher Price said the software is not provided for licensing reasons. However, the game discs, as I understand them, are DVD-ROM discs. There is a hardware hack out there that lets you enable playback of DVD movies on Wii.

I honestly believe that reading the GD-ROM discs on a Wii (or any of the other consoles) wouldn’t be impossible without a software solution.

By: Christopher Price

Christopher Price — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 22:57:07 +0000

Wii DVD playback was canned when Nintendo couldn’t negotiate royalties low enough per console. There was a plan to offer it as a standalone download… but the developer backed out due to fear of low interest.

By: Volvagia

Volvagia — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 18:47:52 +0000

@shadow1w2
I’m not so sure the Wii couldn’t read CD-ROMs. Would you mind citing a reference?

As far as the Wii being able to read a DVD video, it has the capability. It only needs a 1X DVD data transfer rate. The Wii laser does apparently have problems with reading dual layer discs, however I believe it’s a small number of Wii’s that have the problem. My Two Wiis and all my friends Wiis have yet to have a problem.
Also, I do not see how reading a DVD Video would ruin the Wii’s laser since the structure of a Wii disc and a DVD video disc is nearly identical.

By: Matthew290

Matthew290 — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:32:02 +0000

Do want!

By: crackdude

crackdude — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 11:11:31 +0000

A codebar reader. Like the new Viva Pinata game.

By: Christopher Price

Christopher Price — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 09:03:22 +0000

The serial numbers on the discs are generic. The vast majority of Sega games do not have unique serial numbers on the instructions, box, or disc. Sorry, but you’re not correct on that.

GD-ROM would have been a great protection scheme, much like UMD on the PSP. However, both Dreamcast and PSP suffer from the same problem, people found a way around it. On Dreamcast, Sega stupidly allowed CD-ROMs to work.

On PSP, Sony had the advantage of time and the ability to firmware update (and enforce it via new games requiring new(er) firmware). However, both have been hacked to pieces. You have to accept that hacking will happen, the point is, to make it as hard and pointless as possible.

By: landman

landman — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 08:24:32 +0000

“”Landman, how in the world is Sega supposed to give the owners of original games, codes to re-download them?

Where is the magical serial number inside of each game box that would enable this mystical technology?

If it were that simple, it would have been done already.”"

Serial Numbers in the Disc (more than one), serial numbers in the instructions book and serial numbers in he box, have you never called sega because “MY PSO DISC DOESN’T WORK ONLINE IN MY NEW DREAMCAST!!!”, they also asked me for the Sonic Adventure demo disc serial number lol

By: shadow1w2

shadow1w2 — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 08:12:57 +0000

small correction, Sega never made DVD anything. But ya get the point.
Only nintendo decided to chuck the CD-rom support.

Some info may be off, but Im pretty sure the Wii is incapable of cd-rom support. Infact its not so well suited for DVD movies either I’ve heard. Certain reading speeds or something like that it just wasnt made for. Not to say it isnt possible, but they say it could ruin your Wii’s drive eventually.