Nintendo Launches Website For Japanese Wii/DSi Video Service
Nintendo of Japan is getting to roll out the Wii no Ma Channel, a video content provider, on May 1st, and they've unveiled a website demonstrating exactly how it will work. In Japanese, though, so unless you're pretty fluent, there will probably still be some mysteries for you to ponder.
As opposed to just a standard list of videos, Wii No Ma has all of your family's Mii sitting around a virtual family room, presumably mirroring your actual family sitting in their actual family room. Then the family can choose from free or paid programming from the virtual TV which plays on your real TV. How trippy! It appears there is some sort of market research going on as well, as the video demonstrating the service (after the break) gathers the ages, preferences, and blood types of the folks using the service. There's also a scene where some guy who looks like Albert Einstein visits the Mii family for some reason. I'm totally in the dark about what's going on there.
Also demonstrated is the DSi portion of the service, a free DSiWare application called Dokodemo Wii no Ma, which lets you transfer videos over to the DSi system for watching on the go. It looks like you can't download directly via the DSi's internet connection - you need a link to a Wii.
Still no clue if anything like this will be coming to Europe or North America, as they'd need to partner up with compatible companies that could offer content in both territories. It's an interesting approach, at the very least, and definitely sets Nintendo apart from both the Xbox Live and PSN approaches to similar ideas. Whether it's more or less appealing, I think that depends on how charming you find those cute little Mii.
Videos demonstrating the service and the DSi connectivity are after the break.
Wii no Ma [Wii Japan]
[via: Joystiq]
Dawdle
Posted to Video Games on 23 April 2009
· Comments (2)
Other stuff like this: dokodemo wii no ma, dsi, japan, mii, nintendo, videos, wii, wii no ma
the blood type information does not sound too surprising; the japanese base personalities on blood types, just as we do on zodiac signs, so im guessing the service will provide content recommendations.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_blood_type_theory_of_personality
I find it weird that so much of the Japanese mainstream takes the blood type pseudoscience thing so seriously. I mean, putting it in a market research survey.... *really*??
I don't think that many people take zodiac signs seriously over here...