US Wii: Preorder Details Thread

[Shozuki]

kool, thanks for the info

[Briareos]

If that is the case then I suppose you could technically use this 30W stepdown ?

If that is the case. How comes ntscuk's import FAQs is recommending 120W for the gamecube? just to be on the safe side?

So the 30VA means 30 watts on that thing? That confused me:

[Mr Fujisawa]

So the 30VA means 30 watts on that thing? That confused me:

yeh its VA cause its german.

(possibly untrue)

its actualy a volt-amp, ist the 'apparent' power, whereas watts is the 'real' power. theyre dimentionally the same though (1w=1va)

[Mayhem]

Pretty much. Usually a watt is the unit of power (one joule per second delivery) but in terms of electricity, it is listed as volt amp, aka one watt is equivalent to one ampere flowing at one volt.

Note the one-for-one rating here really only applies to units that absorb all the power. In terms of power supplies to computers, consoles etc, the watt rating is only around 70% of the VA value. So be careful, if you buy that stepdown above rated 30VA, it's only going to be around 21 watts rated.

[peo]

Gameplay are now taking orders for the UK Wii component cable, so there is always that as a back up option for those of us importing. I'm almost tempted to cancel my VG+ order and stick with a UK Wii at this rate.

[sj33]

Gameplay are now taking orders for the UK Wii component cable, so there is always that as a back up option for those of us importing. I'm almost tempted to cancel my VG+ order and stick with a UK Wii at this rate.

That won't bring anything positive though and you know it

[peo]

I know, I know! I just wish there were some preview units out there and then someone could confirm that all will be well with getting online with a US Wii in the UK. If I knew that 100%, then I could just chill out and wait.

[Strolls]

Gameplay are now taking orders for the UK Wii component cable, so there is always that as a back up option for those of us importing.

I don't know if this is a dumb question or a valid one, but are UK component cables sure to work with US Wii?

Stroller.

[RichieRich]

does anyone think its worth ordering a Wii (US) through DVD Box Office - or am I far, far too late?

also do they charge the card straight away?

They dont "take" the money as such but they have put a hold on it in my account so I cant spend it.

[wicky]

dunno if it's been posted yet or how long it's been there but Wario Ware smooth moves is available at VG+

[Strolls]

also do they charge the card straight away?

They dont "take" the money as such but they have put a hold on it in my account so I cant spend it.

I don't think they can do that indefinitely.

In my last job in technical support I used to have a little contact with credit / debit card payments through my employer's (lame) software. The way it worked is that the cashier swipes the card & the transaction is "authorised" - this means that the system checks the amount is available in the account - and the amount is only actually debited once the customer has signed the receipt and the cashier has pressed the button to finalise the transaction. I believe that the the "authorise" and "finalise" stages are absolutely standard in the international credit card payments system.

Once the credit card issuer has authorised the payment in this way it means that the payee will definitely get paid - they are given (either electronically or over the phone, or however the authorisation is requested) an authorisation code, although I assume this has a time limit. So when a bank completes this stage it does put the amount of the payment on hold, so that the user can't make multiple authorisations totalling more than his credit limit. But in my experience the hold times out after 3 days, so that the user can then spend the money for a transaction they decided to cancel at the last minute.

This authorisation system is often used quite explicitly in this way - car hire companies might authorise off your card in this way but never take the money. They do this to ensure the card's not stolen and (basically) ensure you're a customer in good standing with a suitable credit limit. The authorisation won't last the week of your car hire and there's no way to be sure that they'll be able to make another authorisation against your card and actually take the money if you bring the car back smashed up in a week's time, but they figure that authorising the card is good enough to ensure that it's not stolen and that you're probably legit.

The way that I was first involved with this was when my former employer's (lame) till softare decided to authorise the payment ok but not collect it. Swipe, swipe, swipe, sorry sir, you haven't got enough money in your account - I've been at the receiving end of this since, and when I phoned my credit card company they told me that three authorisations for ?300 had been made by this company against my account, but none of it collected. If the problem is a one-off then the easy "fix" to this is simply to wait 3 days and the authorisation will time out.

So the upshot of this is that the hold will probably disappear on that money in your account in 3 days. If it's payday and you order a game that doesn't come out until after next payday you can probably order the game and then subsequently spend all the money in your account - if you're out of cash in 3 weeks time it'll probably not be affected by a game that you've preordered but which isn't released yet.

Stroller.

[peo]

I don't know if this is a dumb question or a valid one, but are UK component cables sure to work with US Wii?

Stroller.

I would say its almost 100% certain they will work - I used UK Gamecube cables on my Jap/US GC.

[Lyris]

Not sure to work, but as Peo said, very likely.

[Shozuki]

argh - why did I decide to get a Wii so late!

does anyone know whats going on with NCSX for US Wii's?

[Shichibukai]

I asked VGP some time ago if they'd let me know when Wii pre-sales were open. And I found out through this thread (not their site) that they're now available.

Except they're not, totally sold out.

Good times.

Still getting a Us machine at launch, I guess I'll just have to get scalped over it. Same old, same old...