Nintendo will offer Wii video on demand service in 2009
Friday, December 26th, 2008 at 3:25pm by Jack
Very soon, in Japan at least, Wii owners will be on the receiving end of an ambiguous video on demand service.
The details today are sparse, to say the least, but here’s what we know courtesy of Japan Today:
Nintendo said it would develop original programming which Wii users could access via the Internet and watch on their television. It is considering videos for both free and fees. [...] “Nintendo and Dentsu shall use the environment surrounding the Wii so that living rooms with Wii-ready TVs would become more of a fun area for communication among families and friends,” the firms said in a joint statement.
The service is scheduled to go live in 2009. Deployment beyond Japan could happen depending on the program’s success or failure.
Thoughts?
December 26th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Sounds like a good idea.
The more options to enjoy the Wii, the better.
I wonder, what will be the free content and what will be the pay content? I would stick the the 360 for HD movie downloads for sure, especially ewith nio hard drive and streaming only on the Wii.
Hope it catches on in Japan!
December 26th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
all content will be digitally distributed in the future. not sure that nintendo developed programming is a pull, but this moves them closer to the excellent netflix deal MS has and Sony is unwisely skeptical of.
December 26th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
They already have this in Japan for the DS. It’s an accesory that picks up Japanese TV signals and allows you to watch TV. Our Asian brethren get all of the goods.
December 26th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Personally, I’d rather them focus on innovating in the games space (like new genres, unique games), but I suppose this is part of their whole “Blue Ocean” strategy…they are obviously banking so power to ‘em.
December 26th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
lite, that’s not what this is. its not picking up TV signals. its for streaming videos that will be exclusive to wii, mainly manga cartoons.
December 26th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
http://www.nintendowiifanboy.com/2008/12/25/original-downloadable-video-coming-to-wii-in-2009/
December 28th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
[...] Hero: Modern Hits leaked via ERSB website (Source: Kotaku) Wii Video Service Coming in 2009 to Japan (Source: Infendo) Wii Lens Cleaner Now Aviable in the US (Source: Kotaku) Rock Band DLC On the Way [...]