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Home >
Columns > MomGamer > #97: Parental Controls on the Next Generation: Wii
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by Colleen Hannon
December 14, 2006
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Have a Wii under your tree? Here's a way to help make sure your kids are playing the games that you think they should be playing on it.
Nintendo has given us a great new console, and it has a great feature that isn't getting anything like the press it should. Nintendo has for the first time included Parental Controls on their system.
Some people wonder why. They just make kid's games, right? Not so. The Gamecube had several mature titles. Resident Evil 4, for one. This is not something you want a 6-year-old stumbling into. There are T-rated games like Red Steel in the currently available list that parents might want to keep their younger kids away from. And with the advent of online activity, parents definately need a way to monitor or limit their child's activities.
The first thing you need to think about here is how you want to set up the rules. The controls are for the entire system, not for the individual user. So when you set them up you have to take the whole family's needs into account. This can get tricky if you have a teenager and a much younger child. If you lock the whole thing down to the level of the littlest, you can still go in and enter the PIN number to allow the oldest access to his games. Or, alternatively, you can give that older child the PIN number. You'll have to figure that out based on your house rules.
Once you have that, start by turning the system on without a disk in it. Here's the lowdown on what you can and can't control, and how to set it up.- Go to your Wii System Settings. You want screen 2. For directions on how to find it, go to here.
- Choose "Parental Controls" and then "Yes".
- Choose a 4 digit PIN number. Think of it like your debit card PIN number (just don't use the same one). I recommend you use the same system you use to keep track of your debit card PIN numbers to keep track of it.
- Enter a secret question. This is a hint you leave yourself in case you forget the PIN number at a later time and want to adjust the settings or access blocked content. When you're asked to enter the number, you can choose an "I Forgot" button which will show you the hint. If you've totally forgotten, you can contact Nintendo customer support for help (1-800-255-3700 in the US; check the Nintendo website or your manual for contact numbers in other areas).
- Select the option for the highest rated games you want freely available to your family. For example, if you have a 10-year-old that you are fine with him playing anything E10+ or E, but you don't want him playing T games without your direct permission, then you would select "E10+".
Important Note: The Wii Parental Controls do not understand Gamecube disks. You can play the games on the system, but it won't apply the ratings to them. If you have Gamecube games that you don't want your children playing, parents are still going to have to manage them on their own.
- Choose "OK".
If your Wii is connected to the Internet, a screen will come up with some settings for that.- Internet Channel: If you have downloaded the browser that comes for the system from Nintendo, you can control whether or not this is allowed on the system. If you choose to allow this feature, there are no controls on the actual content they access through the browser. I am not aware of any monitoring software for it at this time. If you are concerned about your child's internet access, you should consider disabling this feature.
- News Channel: This turns access to a direct news channel on and off. It's not live yet, but it is currently scheduled for launch on January 27, 2007.
- Wii Messages: The Wii has the ability to send messages back and forth between people who have given each other their Wii numbers and saved them in their Address Books. You can get all the details on how to do that here. If you don't want them even doing that, this is where you turn it off. Even if this is turned off, you still get messages and system updates from Nintendo.
- Use of Points: It costs Nintendo points to purchase downloads and things from the Wii Shop channel. By setting this you can require that the 4-digit PIN you have chosen be entered before any points can be spent.
- Choose "OK".
Once you've done all that, a screen will come up showing all your settings. Click "Settings Complete" to confirm the settings. And you should be all set.
If you have a Wii under your tree and little ones in your house, please take a look at this and make sure the settings are right for your family. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them on our message boards.
Here are a couple helpful links:
Nintendo's Wii Parental Controls
Nintendo's Wii System Settings
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Columns > MomGamer > #97: Parental Controls on the Next Generation: Wii
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