News Wii to get new TV channel

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2009/01/05/wii-to-get-new-tv-channel/1

Nintendo is said to be getting ready to launch a new TV channel for the Wii, dubbed Wiinoma.

 

I Want My Wii TV!

First off, I like the Wii and I think it is a great product. However, I do think they miss a big market of streaming videos from the internet i.e. Hulu.

My son who is six, prefers Tivo over all else. However, there are shows on Hulu that Tivo doesn't have access to, so he enjoys watching these shows on the computer.

One day I tried to get my son to watch a show via the Opera browser on the Wii. The browser is clumsy and the navigation is quite time consuming. Finally after about 10 minutes of watching, he requested we watch something on the PC instead. I realized that interface and navigation are important even (especially) to a child.

Once you're into a Wii game, the interface and navigation are top notch, but Nintendo gets caught up in it's own red tape i.e. 5 seconds of reminding you to wear the wrist strap, press A/B buttons to continue, press A to continue etc. Wii Fit is even worse, where it recommends combing two exercises yet won't allow you to click on them without going back to the main menu and re-navigating to them.

So, when Nintendo announces they are going to offer Wiinoma and will control the content you get to watch, that sounds a bit disappointing to me. I believe Nintendo doesn't want to just extend internet videos to the home, but they want to tie families and friends who are spread out across the country to a virtual living room.

It's all a nice idea and worth pursuing, but don't shut out the existing video content that's out there. There are a lot of people who would like to find a convenient way to get internet content to the TV. Wii could really do this. They could make Wiinoma a gateway to Hulu, Youtube, Amazon etc. and could also offer their specific family oriented environment within the same interface.

The key is to get the majority of wii users compelled enough to want to turn on their Wii in order to watch TV. By doing this, Nintendo will gain users who like to game AND users who like to watch TV.