Unless you're adverse to this type of business (ie you're the homebrewing type), you might want to grab it, especially if you're planning on getting Wii Sports Resort, because when 4.1 was released in Japan earlier this month, that's what it was for. To fix a bug in Wii Sports Resort. Can't imagine it being much/any different for Western Wiis.

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Remember WiiConnect24? Remember agreeing to leave that feature on? Remember when when it was used for virtually nothing for the past eight months? Well, Geoff Keighley of Game Head and Bonus Round fame does and he grilled Nintendo boss Reggie Fils-Aime on the subject. Most gamers I've talked to barely blinked at the Check Mii Out channel announcement, wondering where the hell the good stuff was.

Fortunately for those nearing 'E' on goodwill, Reggie says something is coming. More specifically, a "surprise is coming... by the end of September" but was coy in the Nintendo fashion on further details. Any guesses?

Computer and Video Games reports on a rumor that the always on connectivity of the Wii's WiiConnect24 is being blamed for downing some of the consoles.

The site points out that a number "disgruntled gamers" are blaming the service for causing their Wiis to stop working. Hardly scientific, but the site does point out that while the power consumption is miniscual when in the connect mode, the fans aren't running either, so it can warm up. Anecdotally, my Wii gets slightly warm when "off" but never hot at all.

Nintendo Europe dismissed the speculation:

Nintendo has told CVG: "we've had no reports in the UK of anything like this happening," and advises users to contact the Nintendo Service Centre for further advice on 0870 60 60247 should a fault occur.

The only thing I've noticed personally, is that within the past month or so I've had to twice physically unplug and then replug the Wii's power supply to get it to work. Otherwise the thing looked dead, not even a light on. But again this is just recent and only has happened twice.

Right now I'd say this is just a rumor, a case of premature dot-connecting.

WiiConnect24 breaking Wii consoles [CVG]

Konami's upcoming game Elebits for the Nintendo Wii will be the first game to make use of the WiiConnect24 feature. Invading Crecente's system with your Miis doesn't count. You'll be able to create custom stages and share them with friends, as well as share in-game photographs. Not sure what kind of photographs you will be able to share in the game, but most likely nothing near as dirty as I am imagining.

Elebits is a sort of puzzle / exploration game where you must uncover tiny creatures called Elebits, which act as an energy source in the world of the game. Since this is a family game I am sure that the critters are more than happy to be used as energy, but I can still fondly imagine them falling screaming into the blistering hot engine block of my car. Looking forward to it nonetheless, if for no other reason that to justify my wireless network. Michael Fahey

Elebits Uses WiiConnect24 [British Gaming Blog]

Reader Will writes to warn us that updating your Wii quasi-bricks some of the consoles.

After updating his system, every time the Wii tries to connect to WiiConnect24 he gets Error Code: 110213. After doing a little research he found that means he needs to call Nintendo.

so I call them up and I speak to Michael or Dan(Can't remember at this point) and after reading the message to him he says I have a hardware error and will have to be sent a new console...so I'm done with my Wii for a couple days as I can't transfer the saves from Zelda anymore...the new Wii is on the way but will take 3-4 business days...

Anyone else running into this issue? We've received two or three emails about it so far. Brian Crecente

My Wii is Done [Wheelsee]

If you've gotten to a particular part in a game, we could push content out to you, so you get to battle a new boss. Maybe you get a new artifact; maybe you get a new weapon...that's just one example.

Looks like two examples, but we'll let that slide. Like most Nintendo staffers, Reggie is painfully cryptic about exactly what WiiConnect24 will offer, but those features both excite and give pause. How exactly will unlockable content be provided? Will we need to rely on an internet connection to progress particular story branches on the Wii? Will we have the option to buy in-game content, like weapons, wallpapers, and customized overalls? Duh! Of course!

If our licensee partners want to go in that direction, it's certainly possible in our system.

While it doesn't sound like anything is set in stone just yet, no one will deny that the microtransaction revenue stream is appealing to publishers. I'll bet my prized copy of Clu Clu Land we'll be seeing Xbox Live style microtransactions on WiiConnect24 as soon as is corporately possible. Michael McWhertor

Fils-Aime on WiiConnect24, Microtransactions

Hey! Neat!

But check this out. In a new interview with Nikkei BP, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata says that the Wii will be able to download demos of new Nintendo DS games — Nintendo DS games! while you sleep:

"I'll give you a specific example we are planning for. Let's say your Wii is connected to the Internet in a mode that allows activation on a 24-hour basis. This would allow Nintendo to send monthly promotional demos for the DS, during the night, to the Wii consoles in each household. Users would wake up each morning, find the LED lamp on their Wii flashing, and know that Nintendo has sent them something. They would then be able to download the promotional demo from their Wii's to their Nintendo DS's."

This morning, I realized with a start that I had stopped hating the Wii for its ridiculous name alone. And it's largely through little, simple, extremely wonderful features like this. This may very well be the first console I've ever waited in line for on release day; pity the Irish knacker who gets in my way. FLORIAN ECKHARDT

Wii to Download DS Demos While You Sleep [Game|Life]