Wii Master Game List - 480p, 16x9 & Dolby PLII

I don't have a Wii yet but Trauma Center is 480p but not 16:9 according to the reviews.

I had thought earlier that Nintendo had stated emphatically that all titles would support 480p and 16x9. However, it now appears that there are a number of titles which don't support these (often missing one or the other, sometimes both).

For example, the IGN review for Rayman Raving Rabbids notes that it does support 16x9, but doesn't support 480p. Gah.

Two questions:

- How can you tell if a game supports 480p? Won't the Wii deinterlace all games if you set it to 480p output in the setup?

- For games that support 16x9, what do they show if you set the your TV to 4:3 in the Wii setup? Do they letterbox, or do they crop off the edges? (I could figure this out myself when I get home, but figured someone might know).

If you have the actual game hooked up to your HDTV, then you can tell if it's 480i or 480p by checking various things. On some HDTVs, the TV can show you the resolution which is being fed to the TV. On other HDTVs, one has to figure this out by less direct methods. For example, on my Sony GWIII, there are a set of deinterlacing setings (for adjusting "Reality" vs. "Clarity" and fiddling with CineMotion); these controls are inactive when displaying 480p content.

I don't think anyone from Nintendo ever stated that the Wii would de-interlace games to 480p. What was stated was that Wii games would all be written to make use of progressive scan, i.e. they'd all support it. We seem to have evidence that this is not true at all, that Nintendo is not enforcing this and is probably only guaranteeing this for their first party titles (similar to the Gamecube situation).

If you have a 4x3 TV and you're playing a Wii game which supports 16x9, the game simply uses a normal 4x3 field of vision. There's no letterboxing; remember that the Wii is designed to be used with a 4x3 standard television, so 16x9 is actually the non-standard use case, not the other way around as with the Xbox 360.

I have Trauma Center and it is not 480p or wide screen and yes I have component cables and have the Wii settings set to 16:9 and 480p in the system settings. Zelda and Super Monkey Ball are 16:9 and 480p as long as my tv is set to full, I am using an Sony 46" XBR3 LCD Tv with Nintendo component cables.

Like I said, I don't have my Wii or the game yet, but according to IGN, about Trauma Center:


But if its not enabling on your console/ TV, I'd guess your information is probably more accurate.

I don't have Trauma Center myself, but GameSpot states that it "has no support for widescreen 480p displays". There's no clarification as to whether the reviewer means "no support for widescreen", "no support for 480p", or "no support for either widescreen or 480p".

Based on the comment above, though, it would seem to imply a lack of both.

Thanks for the reply Slordak.

Regarding the 480i issue, I hear you on checking the signal from the display side. I had made the (poor) assumption that if you were using the Wii component cables and Set the TV type to ED/HD in the Wii settings, you would get a 480p signal no matter what (i.e. the Wii would upconvert 480i games, similar to a progressive scan DVD player). I see now that that is not the case. Not that this particular point should matter a whole lot I suppose since a modern fixed-pixel display will obviously upconvert everything to its native rate anyway. The real issue is how the game is being rendered and no amount of upconversion can overcome the fact that a 480i game will only render at half the vertical resolution of a 480p game.

Regarding the 16x9 issue, that makes sense. What it means, though, is that no gameplay scenario will be designed expressly for 16x9 aspect ratio. This is analagous to most TV shows still being framed for 4x3; even when you watch the HD broadcast there is never anything too important going on in the outside of the 4x3 area in the center of the screen. Of course, What the widescreen game will give you is more space to use in a side-by-side two player head to head game (for example).

... Or a greater field of vision in a first person shooter, but essentially, yes, you're correct that the games are going to be primarily configured for an optimal 4x3 experience. The Wii is very much designed to be a standard definition console for TVs from the 1990s. It's unfortunate, but it's the market demographic Nintendo is aiming at. They want this hooked up to the TV in your kid's room, not in your home theatre.

Has anyone compared the same scene in Zelda in both 16:9 and 4:3 mode? Curious to see if there is more information on the sites in 16:9, or do they just matte the 4:3 mode (which I doubt)?

Man...the fact that this thread exists is a disappointment in itself

I think there is a lot of rumors and what not up for grabs here. As soon as I start to see people test out these games for 16x9/480p compatibility I won't judge Nintendo. So far I haven't seen any factual evidence...Not to say anyone is lieing, just you won't know for sure until someone physically buys the game and tests it out.

Or looks at the back of the box...

This should get a sticky before it gets lost with all the Wii posts.

I always use the following site to find out audio/video details of games, and Wii info is now included:

http://hdgames.net/

The community does a very good job of getting this info out quickly.

Here's what I have come up with so far:

"Black Bars" means it goes wide but doesn't fill the entire width (a la GameCube style).
This is a concern for people worried about burn-in or image retention.

I was going to reply about rayman and excite truck but realised that I don't remember if they were wide screen or not. I was submerged in the game and wasn't looking at these details. Rayman is PLII and not 480p according to reviews... but honestly, I don't think that it makes any difference.

No underscan in excite truck. I'll have to check on the PLII support when I get back from Thanksgiving.

CoD is 16:9, I am sure its PS but cannot confirm myself due to lack of cables. Receiver says PLII when its running as well.

bump

Do we need to PM a moderator to get this as a sticky? Is that the proper procedure?