It Seems Nintendo Almost Reluctantly Creeps Further Online.

Nintendo is actually going online this generation, unlike their Gamecube years. The Wii Shop Channel and the Mii Channel as well as basic email have been live since the launch of the Wii. Nintendo has taken the next couple steps recently. On December 19 they rolled out the Forecast Channel. A service that allows you to check the weather of anywhere in the world. The Forecast Channel required a full system update. When you select the channel for the first time it will ask you for your location so that it can provide your local information. You start with your country and start to narrow it down from there and you hopefully live close to a location they list. Once the channel is set up, you can select it and it'll bring up your local information and provide you with the current data for the last hour, the five day forecast, and the UV index. There is also an option for a globe where you can check the current, five day, and UV index for most locations around the world. It's actually fun to fiddle with. There are some little Nintendo touches like sound effects. You'll hear the wind, rain, or thunder. There is one major flaw with the channel as far as I'm concerned. It involves the channel's need for WiiConnect 24 standby settings to be turned on. I have my WiiConnect 24 settings to on when the console is on, and off when I turn the console off. In other words, it's okay for the system to connect to the Internet when I turn it on, and only when it's on. There isn't any logical need to have the system having to be set so that it can connect to the Internet while off in order for the Forecast Channel to work. What's the big deal about it signing in to get the data when I power the system on? It might not seem such a big deal to some people, but I want control over my network. The WiiConnect 24 service is technically a lie anyway. It's not a persistent connection as sold. It logs in and out constantly. It's not live as, well Xbox Live. I don't need the Wii signing in just to see if someone might have sent me a Mii, or to download some email that Nintendo sent me advertising something while I'm actually playing a real online game over Xbox Live or slowing some download. Today Nintendo rolled out the Internet Channel Trial Version. It's their Opera based web browser. You get the 230 block download from the Wii Shop Channel. They say some of the functionality isn't there in the trial version and that the final version will be available at the end of March 2007. It'll also be free to download until June 2007, after that it's 500 Wii Points to purchase. It's worth the 500 points, I guess. It's functional. It's a browser, for surfing the Net with a television. The control interface is obviously the Wii Remote. Upon loading the channel you get the start page that offers some tips on the control. You can scroll through pages by holding down the B button and moving the remote. The A button selects hyperlinks and the like. The - and + buttons zoom in and out. Button 1 brings up your favorites and button 2 alters how the page is displayed. The bottom of the actual page screen has pointer-friendly large icons for advancing the page back, forward, reloading, and returning to the start page. Surfing the Net in a resolution of 480p is just plain ugly. And having to zoom in and out and scroll around the pages will simply be annoying to anyone who actually uses a computer for surfing. They do try to help things along in a couple ways. Hitting button 2 breaks the page down into a list of the images and hyperlinks making it easier to navigate but it sucks the life out of the presentation to pure function. They also offer a word fill system when having to enter text via the Wii Remote. The favorites list isn't functional in the beta. The browser supports Flash and various movie formats so essentially YouTube will be supported. The browser however does not support Java. Which means you won't be playing any Java based games. They can't have you playing Java based Super Mario Bros. for free when they want you to buy the game in the Wii Shop Channel can they? All in all though, it's a functioning browser for your television. Those who can't afford a computer or can't figure one out will probably be impressed and fully satisfied with the Internet Channel. Everyone else, not so much. There seems to be word out of Japan that the upcoming Pokemon game on the Wii uses game specific friend codes just like all the Nintendo DS games. This is rather disappointing news if true. It means that Nintendo is continuing the decidedly crappy online structure of the NDS with the Wii. Nobody I know likes it. Everyone finds it cumbersome and annoying. I'm wondering just how the actual online gaming is going to pan out for the Wii. The Pokemon game is turn based battling. You could play that over 56k and never notice lag. Is there going to be a first person shooter on the Wii offering deathmatch online or are we going to see a generation of very low end online usage as far as online gaming is concerned? Or maybe I'm just spoiled by Xbox Live? I don't think I am. No, I'm sure I'm not. Come on Nintendo, get it together. Please.