Matt Casamassina, editor-in-chief of IGN Wii, took viewers through various aspects of the Wii interface in the latest edition of the IGN Weekly video feature. Using a Wii debug unit, Casamassina detailed features including Wii's memory management, a console nickname and Wii number, and an on-screen keyboard used for text entry.
Startup
When first turning on the system, Wii displays a general health and safety warning which can be immediately bypassed using the Wii Remote. After bypassing the health and safety warning, users are brought to the Wii channels interface, which will feature channels for Virtual Console games; Mii avatars; news; weather; Web browsing; photo editing; and other non-gaming functions in the final version.
Using the Wii Remote, users can scroll through 48 total Wii channel icons, with 12 displayed per screen. To advance to the next set of 12, users point to left-and-right arrows on the corresponding edge of the screen. The arrows become larger, with bubbles displaying "+" and "-" nearby, when users hover over the buttons.
Inserting a Disc
Casamassina inserted a disc containing Trauma Center: Second Opinion into the console's internal disc drive with the system oriented vertically and powered-on. The disc slid in and the display changed to feature an icon for "Truma Center: SO." Clicking on the Trauma Center icon in the Wii channels interface brought up a full-screen description of the game featuring images and music from it. From there, users can choose to play the game or return to the Wii channels interface. The process will be similar when inserting the 8-centimeter miniDVD GameCube discs, which the Wii console can also play.
Data Management
From the Wii channels interface, a button labeled "Wii" is displayed in the bottom-left corner. Clicking that button will bring users to the console settings menu, which is divided into two sub-menus: Data Management and Wii Settings. The Data Management menu is again divided into two sub-menus, one labeled "Wii" and the other "Nintendo GameCube." The "Nintendo GameCube" menu allows users to manage data found on GameCube memory cards, for which the Wii has two slots. The "Wii" menu displays an interface similar to that of the Wii channels, featuring icons for each save file. Clicking on one of those icons gives details on each file, and also allows users to erase them. The menu also displays how much total memory is left in the system, in terms of memory blocks. The ratio of blocks to raw storage space is unknown at this time, but the Wii features a total of 512 MB of internal flash memory.
Wii Settings
The first page of the Wii Settings menu displayed four separate menus featuring options for setting the console's calendar, screen settings, sound settings, and console nickname. The calendar menu allows users to set the system's date and time. The screen setting menu features four submenus: screen position, which allows users to adjust their screen position, + or  a few inches; widescreen, which allows gamers to set the aspect ratio for compatible games at 4:3 or 16:9; the resolution menu, which, allows users to choose between standard 480i or EDTV or HDTV compatible 480p display, provided they own optional component cables; and a final option which reduces screen burn-in. The sound menu allows for users to choose between mono sound, stereo sound, or surround sound, which will be supported by Dolby Pro Logic II. Finally, the console nickname menu allows users to identify their Wii with an alphanumeric nickname. It is currently unknown whether or not this feature will be used to identify users in terms of online play and other information exchange, or if it is simply there for cosmetic purposes.
The second page of the Wii Settings menu also features four menus: the first sets the system's parental control information; the second allows users to adjust the position and sensitivity of the Wii sensor bar; the third allows users to change their internet and connection settings; and the fourth adjusts the settings for WiiConnect24, a feature of the console which allows information to be optionally transmitted from any console connected to the internet, even when the system is off. The final page of the Wii Settings menu allows users to change the console's language settings or format its system memory.
Wii Message Board Channel
Returning to the main Wii channel interface, a button on the bottom-right corner of the screen allows users to read, compose, and send messages using the Wii Message Board channel. From there, users can check their Wii Calendar, which will feature notes left to you by other people in your household, messages sent through WiiConnect24, or reminders of important events and total time spent in Wii games, sent from the games themselves.
When writing messages, users will input data using the Wii Remote and an on-screen keyboard. This keyboard features two displays. One display is similar to that of a phone keypad, and allows users to input data in the same way they would send a text message on a cell phone. The other display is of a standard QWERTY keyboard, where users will select letters by pointing at them with the Wii Remote.
To the right of the messaging options is the console's Address Book. On the first page is a single Wii number, which users will have to register with Nintendo. Casamassina suggested that the Wii number will be similar to an Xbox Live Gamertag, in that it is the only information users will have to exchange to identify one another when playing online games.
The video walkthrough of the Wii interface can be found here.
The Wiire will have more details on the Wii as it nears its November 19 debut.
