wii and the internet

taurusgb

First of all I am not that technically minded (just in case the questions I ask seem obvious!)

First some background:- I have a 12 year old son who has a wii installed in his bedroom. We have a family laptop in the living room through which we access the internt via a wired broadband connection via a bt line- chosen deliberately instead of a wireless connection as we like to keep a close eye on internet usage as far as the children are concerned and they both have PC's in their room for school work. (yes I know you can deny access to other PC's using a wireless connection but thought it would be much simpler if it was just made too difficult for internet access to be granted to bedrooms;) )

Now, 12 year old wants to use his wii on the internet to play games online. He tells me this is possible using a usb connector plugged into the downstairs laptop and that I can use parental controls on the wii to prevent him having access to the internet fully and can prevent him sending or receiving messages in the same way.

Can some kind soul PLEASE spell out simply if what he says is possible and if so how hard would it be for me to stop him having ANY access to the internet other than to anonymously play games with others ?(he also tells me that you don't know who you are playing with and that everyone is anonymous - is that so?).

If there are any other points I haven't mentioned but which you think could have a bearing on my decision I would be happy to have them pointed out.

Thanks very much for reading - hope I've made sense and haven't gone on too long! :eek:

sodajazz

When you connect to the internet on the wii, you are connecting with other players anonymously.

Some games require the sharing of wii codes, which your son will have to share on a site, say for example ACC so you will be able to check it out first, other games such as guitar hero link up automatically.

Its not that you connect to actual internet pages, more of a central gaming hub. If that makes any sense.

The only way your son whould have access to actual internet pages is if you purchased Wii internet, this is done through the wii shop channel on the console and can be done by purchasing point cards or your cc.

Hope this helps

fitshase

I've just bought a Wii so I can answer a few questions.

Firstly, the Wii does not come with a built in web browser. You need to purchase this through the online store (on the Wii menu). You can only pay by Wii points so your son would have to have access to a credit/debit card or purchase a Wii points card at a shop.

Secondly, yes you can connect it via a wireless dongle plugged into your home computer but you would then have to set up internet connection sharing on the laptop and the laptop would have to be on when the Wii is "online".

Thirdly, there are not many games out there where you can play against opponents on the internet. As far as I know, you can only play against people who are in your address book on the Wii. In order to add someone to the address book, you need their unique Wii number and they need yours. This would have to be done in person or over the phone as you cannot communicate between Wiis which are not "friends".

There is some more information here:-

http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/systems/wi-fi_connection_1495.html

You can also read step by step instructions for setting parental controls on the Wii. This will allow your son to play games but not surf the web:-

http://wii.nintendo.co.uk/428.html

ukmike

If you want full web access,you'll have to buy the browser from Wii,about £5,maybe he could play games without web access?

BillScarab

fitshase wrote: »

Thirdly, there are not many games out there where you can play against opponents on the internet. As far as I know, you can only play against people who are in your address book on the Wii. In order to add someone to the address book, you need their unique Wii number and they need yours. This would have to be done in person or over the phone as you cannot communicate between Wiis which are not "friends".

There is some more information here:-

http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/systems/wi-fi_connection_1495.html

You can also read step by step instructions for setting parental controls on the Wii. This will allow your son to play games but not surf the web:-

http://wii.nintendo.co.uk/428.html

No, it depends on the game. Mario Kart for example you connect to the internet and it will find random, anonymous people to play against or you can play against friends using their codes.

The best solution would be to get a wireless router then the laptop wouldn't need ot be on for the Wii to use the internet. As others have said you cna only browse the internet if you download the Wii broswer.

jackieblack

BillScarab wrote: »

The best solution would be to get a wireless router then the laptop wouldn't need ot be on for the Wii to use the internet. As others have said you cna only browse the internet if you download the Wii broswer.

But the OP doesn't want a wireless router, for the reasons stated in their post!