Nintendo Wii News Channel Debuts

The makers of the Nintendo Wii gaming system are branching out. As of Saturday, January 27, 2007, players with a broadband Internet connection will be able to access a free Nintendo Wii News Channel, with Associated Press providing top news stories and photographs.¹

The news will be displayed through an interactive map of the world, which users can zoom in to and out of for local to national to global news. Gamers will navigate the Wii News Channel with the wireless controller.

Will gamers really check the news between games?

Perhaps not the typical gamer, but Nintendo is betting that it's Wii gamers will want to. The Nintendo Wii is attracting users from far outside the usual gaming audience, including more women, seniors, and elderly users. Sales are strong and profits are up since the introduction of the Wii system in November of 2006; now Nintendo is hoping to capitalize on that.

What makes the Nintendo Wii system so attractive to an atypical game console user? It's all about the controller.

The Wii system uses motion-detecting technology in its controllers, for one thing. A tennis swing can be a really full-motion tennis swing. And when you make the virtual connection with the ball, the controller vibrates and gives a satisfying "thunk" sound through the controller speaker.

Yes, you can try to play from your sofa, but eventually you'll be up on your feet. This game practically coaxes you, urges you to get up and move! Move those arms and legs and feet, whether you're playing golf with virtual opponents or bowling with your friends or giving your significant other a wicked right hook.

(If you're playing alone, you might look around first to see if anyone's watching. But trust me, you'll be up on your feet and playing in no time.)

In a recent head-to-head, very unscientific study, the Nintendo Wii was the hands-down winner over the Sony Playstation 3. The PS 3 controllers are more complicated; there is a greater learning curve to memorize the buttons and how to use them than there is with the Wii. Basically, the Wii controller allows a user to just pick it up and play. There are a few buttons on the controller, but they are not complicated to learn and some games don't even use the buttons at all.²

There is, however, a lot of room for improvement in the graphics. Anyone who might consider him-- or herself a real gamer might be turned off by the old look of the on-screen graphics. But it might also explain it's appeal to a broader base than just the typical gamers. It looks easy; and it is.

The controller is intuitive, the games are inter-active and easy to play, and that makes the Nintendo Wii system fun.

As of today, there are no plans to sell advertising space on the news channel. If the strategy is successful, however, that will certainly change. And then, can pop-up ads be very far behind?