Nintendo expanding online support

Now-available Opera browser update with USB keyboard compatibility and widgets to be joined by Internet testimonial site and several Japanese updates.

As part of today's announcement that Capcom's Monster Hunter 3 would prowl exclusively on the Wii, Nintendo announced it would be, as noted by Forbes, "entering the third phase of its strategy, aimed at expanding the game player population." One way in which it will be doing so is by more heavily supporting its console's online capabilities, and today Nintendo revealed a number of new developments in its strategy.

To wit, Opera today announced that Nintendo has begun disseminating the newest version of its Internet Channel, which is available as free upgrade to existing users. The latest version of the Opera-powered browser is now compatible with any USB keyboard, and several new input shortcuts have been implemented for use with the existing onscreen keyboard. The updated browser also now allows those who have shared friend codes to send URL links along with messages, copy and paste information, and nine more bookmarked-page slots, bringing the total to 56.

Opera also said that the latest version of the Internet Channel will support user-created Web content applications, aka widgets. Currently available widgets include calendars, news readers, and Internet radio stations. More information on creating widgets for the Wii is available on Opera's Web site.

Nintendo will also be expanding on the online social-networking aspects of the Wii. The publisher today announced the launch of MyWiiStory.com, a site devoted to Wii-owner testimonials pertaining to how owning the console has changed their opinion of gaming or their life in general. The site supports photo and video sharing, as well as the traditional written word.

Nintendo also revealed at its press conference in Tokyo that the Wii Vote channel will soon have increased functionality, including game rankings and search capabilities. Nintendo also said that the Wii will soon act as a hub for downloading demos. The publisher noted that demos would be offered as they are at DS retailer kiosks, but it did not mention whether the demos would be for the Wii or the DS. Thus far, both of these services, as with the recently revealed WiiWare support, have only been confirmed for Japan.

Partnering with NTT East and NTT West, Nintendo also revealed it would be setting up a tech-support service to help Wii users connect to the Internet. Nintendo noted that it would be offering networking equipment and home installation, though again, thus far this service has been confirmed only for Japan.

146 Comments

  • genereid

    Posted Oct 14, 2007 1:22 am PT

    I want to see head sets so i can talk smack while playing mario kart online haha

  • deadmeat59

    Posted Oct 13, 2007 9:53 am PT

    glad to see nintendo is steping these up . wii is m fav system these days.

  • spiredcrescent

    Posted Oct 12, 2007 5:06 pm PT

    This is good news, but i would like to see more games that are online. Games such as Warhawk and Halo 3 are killing Nintendo with massive multiplayer that is just to fun to pass up.

  • kruegersc4

    Posted Oct 12, 2007 8:04 am PT

    Now all I want is two things; More online games, and headset compatibility.

  • Gameslayer3

    Posted Oct 12, 2007 7:38 am PT

    this is cool and all but i want more online games nintendo.

  • hiphops_savior

    Posted Oct 12, 2007 5:44 am PT

    When can they start implementing a headset that's Blue-ray compatible? I understand the problems with ppl swearing online, but Ninty can still satisfy concerning parents with a censor option that bleeps out the profanity.

  • sun_spirit

    Posted Oct 12, 2007 1:37 am PT

    This is why Nintendo are first on the leaderboard this generation...
    You hear that Sony!?!?!?

  • 2TrickedOut

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 11:46 pm PT

    I hope they fix its slow connection Its slow loading pages. I can't imagine how laggy games would be. The wii is cool it just needs to get going on its online.

  • KingChainz31684

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 11:01 pm PT

    the wii isn't far behind its competitors like people say i mean they have been working on these things since the wii started its just that now they are implementing them thats why the updates are already coming out around the world. I think they honestly are the only ones that might do online right. Instead of liek the other systems basically rushing the online in only to have several problems and haven't been able to match teh success of the virtual console by a long shot. with the success upt to this point of a great system one of the best systems ever made IMO within a year of launch. Its ultra sweet and they will do online justice. It will start with MOH heroes 2 a game that ea seems to actually putting some focus into. I don't know its just great

  • KingChainz31684

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 11:00 pm PT

    the wii isn't far behind its competitors like people say i mean they have been working on these things since the wii started its just that now they are implementing them thats why the updates are already coming out around the world. I think they honestly are the only ones that might do online right. Instead of liek the other systems basically rushing the online in only to have several problems and haven't been able to match teh success of the virtual console by a long shot. with the success upt to this point of a great system one of the best systems ever made IMO within a year of launch. Its ultra sweet and they will do online justice. It will start with MOH heroes 2 a game that ea seems to actually putting some focus into. I don't know its just great

  • RaiKageRyu

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 10:22 pm PT

    It's nice to know that their finally jumping in. However, it's going to take forever for it to catch up with it's competitors.

  • Zerosumgame

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 7:21 pm PT

    YES! Another piece of positive news from Nintendo.

  • madsnakehhh

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 5:52 pm PT

    This may not sound like much, but is free, and fun, just look Nintendo always do, cheap, good and simple, now imagine that the next year we all gonna be playing Brawl, Guitar Hero and Mario Kart On line, like they said this can just get better and better. Did i mention it IS FREE.

  • dilbert5000

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 5:41 pm PT

    ooooo im thinking to get a wii but afraid of the wii collapsing and then me wasting aload of good money and left with no games to play mind u i do have a 360 *shudders*

  • PhantomPhoot

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 4:09 pm PT

    These updates should happen son, but when they do... WOOHOO! KEYBOARD!

  • kwiiboy

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 4:03 pm PT

    Berem that is so true. I mean japand has update 5.0 already mabey and I want ds download next month on the wii too I don't like going to gamecrazzy for ds downloads any more I want to doo it on my wii!

  • XBASX

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 3:50 pm PT

    Keyboard support Nice, helps me a lot when im on youtube but hey..
    So Nintendo, when is that "CHECK Mii OUT" channel comming out huh ?????

  • Drkr_Zen

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 3:41 pm PT

    Meh, it may be simple.. but I enjoyed the free service Sony provides with the PS2 (not a typo, lol) and the service Nintendo now provides the Wii.. and the latter will only get better and better. WiiWare + Virtual Console is basically going to own XBLA. With those two programs, Nintendo will have even more exclusives than it already does.. and it continues to draw support from big name developers, this gen, like Square and Capcom over MS and Sony.

    Over all, Nintendo's online support will continue to grow, though.. and, as I said, get better and better as months pass.

  • oVrRaz3r

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 3:15 pm PT

    mariokart64fan - you've obviously never played xb live! it owns the wii so badly online, I don't care paying a small amount of money per year if i am getting quality! ask all the other 7m xb live members!

  • Berem

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 2:11 pm PT

    Why only Japan?? America loves the Wii too.. we want updates! And why does this thing think I'm spelling "Wii" wrong! So annoying..

  • rjs927

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 2:00 pm PT

    This almost counteracts my disappointment about brawl.

  • mariokart64fan

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 1:29 pm PT

    are you series making it like xbox live would make us have to pay for it ... its fine the way it is .. . we pay enough already for games now adays let alone sd cards etc ... nintendo made wii mroe better then xbox live already bc a you dont have to pay b you always gotta connect to a router unless you pay more money ... see thats ms for ya .. they could have made 360 wifi .. with all the money they had.. the wii can surf the net has weather and news channels .and other unique channels and offers classic games not those i can play free online like bejeweled 2 .. pac man , etc im talkin fzero x mariokart 64 etc games i know and like

  • KingChainz31684

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 12:05 pm PT

    well in all reality since the beginning of games consoles and PC's are about the same thing other than consoles offer much more convenience much less maintence. I love consoles and they won't die because it is a market that brings in to much money the nice this is also you don't have to worry about updating a console every 3 months I mean i bought a 3000 dollar computer about 1 and a half years ago and i already sold it for 2500 on ebay so i could invest 4500 dollars into a quad core processor that is over clocked to 3.16 i figure hopefully this will mean i am up to date for atleast 2 more years. but for most poeple thats an impossible amount for someone to spend on a computer. with a console you spend 600 or less dollars get the same functionality but instead of having this huge pain in my but tower with endless amounts of wires i have this medium to small sized box for most of my gaming purposes though its wonderful to make out my 8800 card the graphics are unrivaled but if i didn't have the money for a thing like that and could only get a 800 dollar computer or a 500 dollar system i would get the system if i was going to use it for gaming cuz lets face it most games now on a PC that are worth anything require a 2.5 plus gig processor, a min 256 vid card, at least 512 of ram and i mean asystem built like that would still cost you more than a console an you would have load times up to 5 mins for a game like Fear. Thats why consoles rule gaming sales.

  • kbaily

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 11:29 am PT

    Well, it's nice to see Nintendo really trying to improve online service. Friend codes are a pain but hopefully all these improvements mean we'll see a headset in the future. I mean the DS already has a headset so it would seem logical to have a Wii headset.

  • hojobojo

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 11:20 am PT

    Hmm Nitendo could improve its online further by getting rid of restrictions like friend codes and make it more like xbox live. That would be the smart thing to do.

  • Humikimi

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 11:09 am PT

    The updates were yesterday for US, so I look forward to demos. Nintendo may be taking it slow, but at least they are taking the right steps. Being able to dload demos onto my DS without having to go out to a dload station would be wonderful, as would downloading Wii demos. Keep up the good work Nintendo, my investment in the Wii is seeming to be more and more worth it as of late.

  • smeghead83

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 10:57 am PT

    ummm the updates have come (UK)...like am doing mine right now, so am guessing the demos are not to far off

  • GunGriffin

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 10:34 am PT

    This is killer news! I mean this is great for Japan.................. Now we need this to all come over to the US/UK! please Nintendo? We wan't our Free Demos, and WiiWare supported mini games, and stuff too! We need more Nintendo goodness! If this turns out to be a Japan only thing I might just sell my Wii for a PS3 trade in instead. At least then I can do more stuff with my PSP, and the PS3 has some great games ala WarHawk, Resistance fall of Man, FloW...........

    Well we will see.......... Only time will tell if my choice to buy a Wii instead of a PS3 will turn out to be a good one or not.

  • ChickenHounk911

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 10:00 am PT

    Ah.... keyboard support and expanding on its online capabilities. At least some companies know what their weakness is and deals with is (games and the Ps3...cough cough) Good job for the Big N. I can finally browse the internet with my USB keyboard, ahh the good days are yet to come...

  • POPEYE1716

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 9:36 am PT

    @ wiidominance- Alot of people now adays are able ot hook up there PCs HDTV which gives it the same affect as a console. Consoles will live on but the name Consoles will die.

  • juggalo

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 9:34 am PT

    PC's bug me, the annoyance and cost. The point of this is simplicity and ease of use.

    And as for the software, I've looked down the list of releases that have been revealed for the next year and it really doesn't appeal to my taste in gaming.

    The girlfriend however loves them. Well done Ninty for converting another none gamer! Now get her off the damn thing so I can play on the 360!!!

  • joeyfine

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 9:32 am PT

    does Nintendo still use Friend codes?

  • wiidominance

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 9:29 am PT

    The one thing that makes using a console for web browsing makes sense, is that its coming from your TV, as for most of us, our TVs Tend to be Much bigger than our PC monitors, making it look cool to browse the internet from you console.

  • POPEYE1716

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 9:25 am PT

    @ xgalacticax- I agree with you man seriously there just turning consoles into Computers. Pretty soon the name consoles will be gone and it will be called small computer or something. So by these company's changing consoles into small computers, IMO consoles will die and PC will still be the top gaming system

  • tman978

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 9:17 am PT

    Nintendo finally woke up to smell the coffee. Good for them....and us.

  • KingChainz31684

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 9:03 am PT

    nintendo rocks

  • JAREDJR

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 8:53 am PT

    Keep it coming Nintendo. We need more online support for sure.

  • Gamer_152

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 8:37 am PT

    Sweet, we seriously needed an update to this browser and keyboard support is gonna be wicked.

  • xgalacticax

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 8:34 am PT

    please, all these consoles will never replace the pc. they should forget all this extra functionality crap (especially sony) and stick to making good games.

  • blinkysam

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 8:30 am PT

    well if you have been on this planet u will know that all the amazing games(corruption, galaxy, brawl) are coming out this year!
    and they are quality games. gd updates though

  • juggalo

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 8:20 am PT

    I'm with Craigy there...but then the 360 does that in spades for me. Some more QUALITY games that go beyong gimmick would be the answer

  • Craigy--IRE

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 8:17 am PT

    some good updates i think...all they need to do now is release some decent games for hardcore gamers!

  • alex20077

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 8:04 am PT

    holy crap this is sweet. all they need now is some expandable hdd and mouse support

  • monty_4256

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 7:51 am PT

    their ha to be a hardrive in the development cycles now that final fantasy cc: the wiiware one is 3d and everything
    that wil take up the 512mb on it's own!!!

  • Poshkidney

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 7:01 am PT

    so the wii isn't going to be a pile of crap with motion sences

  • jrod9999

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 6:56 am PT

    Feels like the programs on wii are things that started rolling out in '96 when the internet was a luxury...

  • samusarmada

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 6:00 am PT

    Lots of nice bits of news. lets just hope nintendo keeps improving

  • puablo

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 5:43 am PT

    DS demos! Finally I'll use my Wii for something other than games!

  • Gaticus

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 5:18 am PT

    Great news! But, where is the mention of Voice Chat?

  • Rockman_00X

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 12:29 am PT

    And a Nintendo Wii USB keyboard. Go Big N!

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