Is there a functional difference between black Family Edition and white classic Wii console?

Question

I just bought a black, horizontal form factor Wii. According to this Wikipedia article, this model was just released, and is called Family Edition. According to this FAQ at Nintendo, the only functional difference between this model and the previous (vertical standing) one is the GameCube backward compatibility, and as a result, some Wii games/accessories are not compatible.

Are there more functional differences, other than the GameCube compatibility I should be aware of? If I don't have legacy games, should I be concerned by this limitation (i.e., how much does the Wii ecosystem rely on that GameCube support in general)?

Answer

To my knowledge there's nothing for the Wii that requires the Gamecube subsystems. There are a few games that will take advantage of it (for instance, Sonic Colors will let you play using Gamecube controllers if they are present), but they all work fine without - often by allowing you to use the Classic Controller.

Remember that Nintendo keeps a pretty tight reign on the games released for their platforms, and they don't allow developers to get too strange with the system, as that tends to annoy the users.

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Does Gladius work with the XBox360?

Question

Gladius is one of those great turn-based strategy games that I like to go back to once in a while. But now that my old PS2 is packed away, it's not so easy. If I pick up a copy for the original XBox, will it work in my 360?

Answer

According to the official website, unfortunately it isn't compatible with the XBox 360 yet. It is uncertain whether and when it ever will be.

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Do Guitar Hero peripherals work with Rock Band and vice versa?

Question

I own the Guitar Hero instruments. Can I buy a Rock Band game and use the instruments from Guitar Hero to play the game? And vice versa?

Answer

It depends on the instruments.

Here is a really nice compatibility chart that I found when I had the same question.

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In Dark Souls, can player from different platforms interact with each other?

Question

My friends own the PS3 version of the game, while I am playing on the Xbox 360. Will we be able to join each others' games?

Answer

No, Sony & Microsoft don't want to share. This isn't a technical issue (examples: Shadowrun for Xbox 360 can play with the Windows version, Portal 2 supports the PlayStation 3, Mac OS X and Windows version playing together), but a very deliberate business decision on their parts to try and carve out as much of the userbase for their own exclusive use. Even in cases where companies run their own private servers outside of XBL and PSN, they don't let the users from one sandbox play with the users from another (even though essentially it is the same clients talking to the same server).

TL;DR

Microsoft and Sony are kings of their respective sandboxes and won't let anyone play a game with anyone in another sandbox.

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How can I get Diablo II to run on Windows 7?

Question

I just tried installing Diablo II on my girlfriend's laptop so that she can get caught up on the gameplay in preparation for playing Diablo III together...except that it won't launch on Windows 7. I remember I did something to get it working before, but I couldn't get it working by just setting compatibility mode to Windows 98.

How can I get Diablo II to run on Windows 7?

Answer

In order to run Diablo 2 on my windows 7 PC I did the following (and this should work for Vista as well):

• Have the compatibility mode set to Windows XP (Service Pack 3)
• Run in 256 colours
• Disable Desktop composition
• Run this program as an administer

If you still run into issues, try keeping the Screen Resolution menu opened as you play. This may sound odd, but I've seen a few people say this solved their problem when playing.

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Are new PSP 3 games backward-compatible with the PSP 2?

Question

I was talking to someone who wanted to sell his used PSP-2000 model. He told me that whatever games are played on the PSP-3000 can also be played on the PSP-2000. I wasn't so sure about this so wanted to confirm. I did some Googling and noticed that wherever they mention PSP games they don't mention compatibility with PSP-2000 or PSP-3000, so here are my questions:

1. Does anyone know whether ALL PSP-3000 games can also be played on PSP-2000? If not, how can I find out?
2. What are the drawbacks of the PSP-2000 versus the 3000?

Answer

From this Gamespot article

The PSP-3000 plays the same games and offers the same media support as the older PSP models

So all the games are backwards compatible.

From Wikipedia

the PSP-3000 ... has an improved LCD screen with an increased color range, five times the contrast ratio, half the pixel response time to reduce ghosting and blurring effects, a new sub-pixel structure, a microphone, a new disc tray design, new button designs and logos, and anti-reflective technology to improve outdoor playability. It can also output all games by component or composite using the video out cable.[77]

So it's better. The biggest improvements seem to be the reduced ghosting (which still exists but is well, reduced) and the anti-reflective technology.

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