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Topic: Imported Wii - MASSIVE DRAWBACK BEWARE

Posts 1 to 17 of 17

GEOFF

I contacted Nintendo customer services UK and they will not repair a non European Wii.On the USA Nintendo web site they clearly state that they will not repair a non American Wii and you have to be a USA or Canadian resident.So if you have a American Wii and live in the UK and have downloaded loads of Wiiware and VC games and your Wii dies you will lose all those games $$$$$$$$£££££££££.

GEOFF

The_Fox

That sucks. I know they don't really support people importing systems from other regions but it seems pointless not to repair them.

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Sean_Aaron

True, but you should be able to find independent shops that will carry out a repair for you; of course if you end up changing the ID of the machine as a result you'll be unable to re-download software, so that would really really suck.

I would expect the most common faults to be with the optical drive which you could probably swap yourself since you can get these on the after market easily enough (a plus from Nintendo using more off-the-shelf parts) and certainly that wouldn't require any kind of system formatting to replace.

I'm a bit surprised that Nintendo wouldn't be willing to do the repair on a same region system if you're willing to front the postage though. Why would they care if you live somewhere else? I'd have to think if you approached them from that perspective you could get something sorted.

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theblackdragon

@Sean Aaron: you bring up a good point -- what if someone had lived in the US, bought a Wii, moved to the UK, and needed a repair (or vice versa)? Surely they wouldn't be completely inflexible if it were a special case. :/

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GEOFF

@Sean Aaron.So you think you could get the "big mighty nintendo" who clearly have rules about regions(they go to the trouble of locking games etc) to come round to your way of reasoning.You foolish peasant lol.This has totally put me another peasant of importing which I'm sure nintendo are happy to here.

GEOFF

Chunky_Droid

@Sean and Des: I had to try and convince Nintendo of America AND Canada to repair my Wii I bought from Canada, no dice, even tried telling them I moved to Australia on business and Nintendo of Australia wouldn't help me.

Nintendo of Australia in actual fact will take a look at it, but I know for fact they can't fix an overheated GPU from another country, they will however replace a fan and pretend that was the problem all along.

I ended up getting the on-line site I bought the Wii from to act as an agent to send it to Nintendo of Canada for me, got a full replacement unit and they paid for shipping too!

So the lesson here, is make sure the mob you buy your imported Wii from is willing to take it back for you if something goes awry

Chunky_Droid

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GEOFF

@Chunky Droid:Thanks for the information.So buying a imported wii cheap on ebay is now out of the question.

GEOFF

theblackdragon

@Droid: dang, that sucks, but it's good to know. i'll definitely keep that in mind whenever i'm in the market for an imported Wii. :3

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Thomas_Joseph

If there is someone on the site you really trust, send the Wii to them. Have them get it repaired, and then have them mail it back to you. Of course, you foot the bill for all the shipping and costs, but that's probably better than losing your entire system. Unless of course it can be repaired via a route Sean mentioned.

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GEOFF

So all us importers can send all our unfixable by a independent shop american Wiis to you good sir.(in the voice of wario) excellent.

GEOFF

Sean_Aaron

Whatever, I got two imported Wiis and no problems. If the machines had died right away then I'd have dealt with the seller and gotten a refund. Yes there's risks. Life is risk. Overheating GPU isn't a chronic issue, though that is the worst-case scenario and is sucks that senor droid had to deal with that.

Can I also ask why this topic is such a revelation? You think anyone importing a Playstation 10 years ago would have a hope in hell of Sony fixing it? I've always assumed if I need to get one of my imports fixed I'd probably end up taking it to an indie shop (or posting it to same) or doing it myself. I was hoping worst-case I could send it off to Nintendo, but I cannot say I'm surprised that's not the case.

Edited on by Sean_Aaron

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GEOFF

@Sean Aaron:It was a big revelation to me.When I had a imported gamecube, n64 and super famicom there was no downloadable games so was a small risk whereas this is a bigger risk depending on how many games you've downloaded.I'm going to complain to nintendo uk about this because If you move to another country and your wii dies they are simply going to steal your wiiware and vc games back of you for doing nothing wrong.

GEOFF

teamdoa

This seems a little silly. I dont see why they wont repair it if you offer to pay for the repair.

I remember buying a US DS when I was on holiday in the states and swapping it with nintendo europe because it had a dead pixel. They swapped it, but I had to pay a small amount for them to do it.

teamdoa

KDR_11k

Meh, just get a local Wii and put the HBC on it. If it dies (the Wii has the lowest failure rate of the current generation) they'll charge extra but at least you're not completely screwed.

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Sean_Aaron

@teamdoa: My thoughts were along the lines of shipping to the country of origin if need be. If I'm willing to front the P+P what difference does it make where I live? All Ninty has to do is fix the thing, but if that's how they wanna be there's nothing you can do. It's a good thing the Wii is so reliable, as noted!

Edited on by Sean_Aaron

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