Still no official Wii component cables? MadCatz has your back. If you're still waiting on Nintendo, Play-Asia, or some other retailer to ship yours, you might want to go third party.

The kids at MadCatz just let us know that they have Wii component hookups in stock now for $19.99. The official Nintendo store seems to be shipping new orders as of yesterday, so consider your options open. I just ordered my Wii cables from Nintendo, so we'll see how rich their supply is.

What a fun time for gaming, eh? Component cables in stock becomes actual news! Michael McWhertor

MadCatz Wii Component Cable

Priced online at the official Nintendo store for $29.95 (USD) and sold out within hours, two days before the launch, bids for the sold out cables are easily fetching over five times their original price. It's almost as if people really wanted them!

What a bizarre turn of events! Let's hope Nintendo can replenish supply online and in store before the holidays (or before I get my Sharp Aquos LCD delivered, whichever comes first). Michael McWhertor

Here I am with your nightly bad news! Certain HDTV owners might not be in the for the high(er) definition visual experience they expected this weekend, as we're hearing rumblings that HDTV owners who don't have a 720p capable set are going to have to settle for less, nor scale up for more.

After a handful of forum posters discussed the issue last night, mega site IGN has done some testing to confirm the potential problem.

Gamers who own older HD sets that feature only 480i, 480p, and 1080i resolution input capabilities will have to settle for the display quality being downsized as the game boots in its 480p mode rather than upscaling the image from its more desirable 720p mode to the TV's 1080i. We tested this development on older HDTV sets with games designed for 720p but not 1080i — Resistance: Fall of Man, NHL 2K7, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07, and Need for Speed Carbon. Sure enough, the system downshifted all four titles to 480p rather than moving up to 1080i.

Bummer. I'm glad I'm going HDTV shopping now armed with this knowledge. Hopefully, Sony can address this issue with a future update. Michael McWhertor

PS3 Downscales 720p on Incapable TVs [IGN]

Sure, Nintendo poo-pooed 720p and 1080i/p, but it looks like some consumers just might actually be interested at playing at something better than standard definition. Four days before the console officially launches, the official Nintendo online store has been picked clean of Wii component cables.

Due to high demand, our initial allotment of the Wii Component Video Cables has been depleted. We expect to begin shipping again the week of November 28, 2006.

Son of a! Gamestop has pre-orders listed for MadCatz and Nintendo branded cables, with both shipping the first week of December. We still expect to see some third party component cables in stores, and maybe even some Nintendo branded ones, but here's one more annoyance for the pile. Where's my hard liqour? Michael McWhertor

Wii Component Video Cable [Official Nintendo Store]
Wii Component Cables Online Only (Pause) Not! [Kotaku]

Remember when we said that Wii component cables would be an online only affair? And that I got a little cranky and stomped around like an infant on Kotaku about it? Well, either we were fed bum info, or Nintendo has decided to throw caution to the wind and sell component cables at brick and mortar stores.

That's what Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan, half-woman, half-press release, said to Game Informer recently:

GI: Will component cables be available on day one?
Kaplan: Yes, at retail and online. Best Buy, GameStop, Circuit City, etc... and Nintendo.com.

Hmm. But she also said that Wii would be region free and she was wrong. Plus she answers interview questions like this:

GI: As far as Virtual Console pricing how it breaks down in Europe, Japan, and here, it seems most expensive in the U.S. when you check exchange rates...
Kaplan: Do you drink lattes?

GI: Yeah.
Kaplan: How much do you spend on lattes?

GI: I spend a lot.
Kaplan: There you go.

Oh, Perrin! What will you come up with next? Let's hope Mrs. Kaplan is right on this whole retail component cable thing. I need me some 480p on day one! Michael McWhertor

Countdown to Wii: The Perrin Kaplan Interview [Game Informer]
Wii Component Cables Online Only [Kotaku]

Ooops! The Wii, well, Official Nintendo Magazine was wrong. The publication recently ran this juicy quote: "At the time of going to print, Wii games will output in 720i and 720p - 720i is your standard TV picture." That would put it up there with the Xbox 360, which outputs at 720p. But! Nope. Not true, says game site Eurogamer who confirmed with Nintendo UK that the Wii outputs in 480p. Bummer. Brian Ashcraft

Only 480p [Eurogamer]

According to the latest issue of the UK's Nintendo: The Official Magazine, the Wii will output at the relatively impressive 720p, not the low-end, and still rumored, 480p.

The magazine says that "At the time of going to print, Wii games will output in 720i and 720p." Of course this is the same magazine that (incorrectly) said that the Wii's base was its power brick.

If it is true, it could be the "revelation" that Nintendo was hinting at.

I have a call into Nintendo for possible explanation, but more likely no comment. Brian Crecente

First the good news—yes, you'll be able to buy component cables for your Wii then proceed to bask in the non-interlaced glory of 480p resolution. The bad news? Hell, it's not so bad. You'll only be able to buy them online. Let's call it the "inconvenient news". From IGN:

A spokesperson for the company told IGN Wii this morning that the Wii component cables would be available for purchase with the launch of the console in November. The cables will cost $29.99 and will only be available through online retail outlets, including Nintendo's store, Best Buy, Circuit City and EB Games.

Come on, Nintendo. Why only online? Is it really going to sow that much consumer confusion to sell a single other set of cables for the Wii? Can we maybe just nudge the useless "Dog Tag"-calibre bullshit accessories out of the way just one peg so that HDTV owners (like my December self) can avoid having to wait for the UPS man to miss us while at work three separate days in a row? Wow, I'm angry about this. Michael McWhertor

480p a Go For Wii Launch [IGN]