Wii Points is a payment system that Nintendo uses for its Wii console through the Wii Shop Channel. Consumers can purchase points by an online credit-card transaction or by purchasing a "Wii Points Card" at retail. These points may then be redeemed on downloadable games and other content in the aforementioned Wii Shop, an internet store accessible from the console.
On December 8, 2006 Nintendo Europe confirmed that Star Points, which people collect when they buy Nintendo games in Europe will soon be able to be used to buy Wii points. It was announced on the January 9, 2007 in a Nintendo Europe press release that Wii points will be available for purchase in "smaller increments" than the currently available 2,000 Wii points card. It is thought that the Nintendo Stars catalogue will either list 500 or 1,000 points cards as limited items, the Wii points code will either be delivered by electronic means or debited directly into your Wii. It is not yet known how many stars will be required for each cards, or whether it will be limited per Wii.[1].
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Contents
- 1 Uses
- 2 Pricing
- 2.1 Virtual Console prices
- 2.2 Internet Channel
- 3 References
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Uses
Wii Points are used to purchase variety of items on the Wii Shop Channel, which is divided into two sections: the Virtual Console for older games, and the Wii Ware section for things made for Wii, for example the Opera Wii Browser, although IGN has stated that the software can be downloaded for free until June 2007[2]. Wii Points are redeemed through the Wii Shop channel. There is a concealed panel on the back of the card which, when scratched, reveals a code. The code is then entered on to the Wii Shop Channel and the requisite number Wii Points are added to the user's Wii Account. Points can also be purchased directly through the Wii Shop channel using a credit card[3]. Other uses for Wii Points have yet to be announced.
Pricing
A 2,000 point Wii Points card will be initially available in the USA for around US$20, or for €20 in Europe and £14.99 in the UK[4]. Wii Points can be bought in this way from retailers or purchased on-line directly from Nintendo. In the UK, buying Wii Points directly online is slightly cheaper than buying them on Points cards, at £6.99 per 1000 points. When converting from Wii Points to American dollars, 100 Wii Points equals one dollar. Reggie Fils-Aime has stated that 2,000 Wii Points will cost about $24.99 Canadian[5]. Pricing was also given for Wii points in Japan, with 1,000 points being exactly equivalent to ¥1,000 ($8.46)[6]. Prepaid cards in Japan will be made available in multiples of 1,000, 3,000 and 5,000 points, with the 5,000 point card coming bundled with a classic controller[7]. In all other regions, there will only be 2,000 point cards, at least initially. Wii points cards are region-specific and are not transferrable to different regions.
|
United States |
Canada |
Japan |
Australia |
Eurozone |
United Kingdom (when bought online) |
United Kingdom |
Mexico |
| 100 Wii Points |
USD 1.00 |
CAD 1.20 |
JPY 100 |
AUD 1.50 |
EUR 1.00 |
GBP 0.699 |
GBP 0.75 |
MXN 10.00 |
| USD Equivalent |
$1.00 |
$1.04 |
$0.84 |
$1.18 |
$1.31 |
$1.37 |
$1.47 |
$0.92 |
| EUR Equivalent |
€0.76 |
€0.79 |
€0.64 |
€0.90 |
€1.00 |
€1.04 |
€1.12 |
€0.70 |
| GBP Equivalent |
£0.51 |
£0.53 |
£0.43 |
£0.60 |
£0.66 |
£0.69 |
£0.75 |
£0.47 |
Currency conversion correct at 2006-12-25.
Virtual Console prices
The starting prices of the Virtual Console games will depend on what system the game was originally developed for. Some titles will cost more than these minimum set prices[5]:
| Original Format |
Price |
| NES |
500 points |
| SNES |
800 points (900 in Japan on selected games) |
| N64 |
1,000 points |
Sega Genesis/
Sega Mega Drive |
800 points (600 in Japan) |
| TurboGrafx-16 |
600 points (800 in America and Europe on selected games) |
Internet Channel
The Opera Wii Browser will be free until June 2007. From then, consumers will have to pay 500 Wii Points to download, if they haven't already downloaded it. The Wii browser beta version (officially named "Trial Version") is free to download through the Wii Shop channel for no points as of Dec 22, 2006. The finished version will be available March 2007.
