This morning’s Nintendo Direct conference, at which the North American release date and pricing for Wii U were revealed, held a couple of unexpected game announcements (Bayonetta 2, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate) and confirmed a long standing rumor (Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 is coming to the console). Perhaps the most surprising news to come out of the conference is Nintendo TVii, a Wii U app that will allow users to view and interact with a wide range of programming, right from the GamePad.
Exclusive to North America, Nintendo TVii allows users to browse content from Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video, YouTube, DVRs and live TV on the Wii U GamePad, and enables the GamePad to be used as a remote control for televisions and DVRs. Supplemental information about available programming will be accessible – sports scores, movie reviews and trailers, IMDB listings and more – and users can share their viewing experiences on Facebook, Twitter or Miiverse.
Based on the presentation during this morning’s conference, and the trailer Nintendo has released (above), Nintendo TVii looks to be remarkably robust and polished – and it doesn’t cost a thing.
Every member of a household will have a unique, personalized program guide covering all available programming options. Want to watch Adventure Time? Simply search for it, and Nintendo TVii will tell you what’s available – including upcoming episodes on live television. Tap on one of the results to start watching. Each user’s guide will also include recommendations from both Nintendo TVii and fellow users, in addition to a listing of currently popular programming. Channels and programs can easily be added to a user’s Favorites list, or recommended to other Wii U owners.
Given Nintendo TVii’s ability to access live TV and control DVRs, the question of compatibility looms large. According to Zach Fountain, Director of Network Business at Nintendo, it won’t be a problem. Fountain confirmed to Engadget that Nintendo TVii will support “all” cable TV and satellite services in the United States and Canada. Much like the Comcast iOS apps or HBO Go, users will only need to enter their account information on Wii U to get Nintendo TVii up and running (DVR info will apparently need to be entered on the web).
There is no question that Nintendo TVii is highly ambitious, and well outside the kinds of services we’ve grown to expect from Nintendo (during the Nintendo Direct conference, Reggie Fils-Aime called it “the most different non-gaming initiative Nintendo has ever introduced”). It’s also a genuinely exciting addition to the Wii U, and an indication that Nintendo is taking the battle for players’ living rooms as seriously as either Microsoft or Sony.
Ranters, what are your first impressions of Nintendo TVii? Does it affect your plans to buy a Wii U? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Wii U releases November 18, 2012, in North America.
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This is what pissed me off, having all these unique features and abilities but not having them available in any country besides Canada and the US. If this doesn’t eventually make its way to Australia, I won’t be buying one.
I was looking forward to it to begin with, this just makes it all the more sweet. it looks like they have pulled it off! the pricing, I feel, is perfect. the difference in price between the two variations is $50! that is awesome! I’m buying the $349 one because it comes with nintendoland, more memory and bonus membership where you can earn coins to use on digital downloads! cannot wait until the beginning of November.
I agree, Nintendo has really outdone themselves this time.
I would seriously PAY a monthly fee for this service and it is something that just comes with the system. This is a huge bonus incentive IMO. I subscribe to Netflix, Hulu+ and Amazon Prime. To have a cohesive search engine, on tap, for all three AND TV is AWESOME! It is such a pain in the ass when I want to watch a certain movie/show and I need to look through each one, just to see if they even have it. To me, just that one feature alone is worth a monthly fee. BRAVO Nintendo! Just one more thing M$ and Sony have to rip off now.
I think, when you add it all up, 350 bucks is a very fair price for Nintendos new console. You get a $60 game, Nintendo TVii, an actual HDMI cord and not just a composite cable, the Deluxe Digital program, upgraded storage, backwards compatibility, the ability to play awesome exclusives AND a bunch of Club Nintendo coins!
SOLD!
This is the presentation they should have given at E3. I can not wait.
Don’t give them any ideas
Anyways, yeah, the Deluxe bundle is awesome. I didn’t think it would come with an HDMI cable. It’s kind of weird to think that people with standard definition TVs will have to buy a separate cable haha. The tables have turned.
I never even thought of it that way. The Wii U must have a Wii A/V cable port and I suppose Ninty would have to sell them at launch. Probably, some $29.99 composite/component hybrid. That sucks for those still using SD.
Reggie just probably expects them to use the cable from their old Wii.
Why are people so excited about this? Am I missing something? Xbox Live gives all these features too, but people are excited for this and calling it “new.” What am I missing here?
Sure XBL may have individual apps for all these things (I don’t think you’re right about that, but I can’t say for sure since I’m not an XBL user), but the integration of all of them into a single, socially-oriented interface is the key aspect of TVii. The sports aspect looks especially interesting — though it’s not something I’d use, it does looks pretty new.
Xbox Live does have individual apps for all of it. Actually, there wasn’t an app in that trailer that isn’t on Xbox. Also, in the trailer, everything appeared to work instantaneously when an app was selected, but you don’t think that there will be massive load times between each selection, or at least between changing apps? The reason they don’t show that in the trailer is because load times are not appealing, so they cut it out. It’s an identical service to Xbox Live’s media service, but you can select which app you would like from a tablet. I can do the same thing just as quickly by going to “Quickplay” in the guide. As someone who isn’t an XBL user, I can assume you don’t know what that is, but Quickplay shows a list of all games/applications that are downloaded, and also sorts it by recently used, so instead of a tablet, it’s essentially the same thing, just in list format, and also includes downloaded games.
If you had watched the demonstration on the Nintendo direct livesteam, you would’ve seen it all working in realtime, with no lag or load times. iirc the framerate got a little choppy once or twice while changing menus, but that’s it. And there was a guy there controlling it and everything, so it definitely wasn’t a pre-made video disguised as a realtime demonstration.
Anyway, so you’re saying that XBL apps can store multiple users’ favorites lists (and doesn’t require logging out and change accounts), tune and keep a schedule for live broadcast TV, connect to your DVR, and have the same second-screen social media functions as we can see in the Nintendo TV demonstration? I guess the social media stuff is inevitable with SmartGlass, but I didn’t know it had any of those other functions.
At any rate, the integration of all those apps into one place, and not requiring you to exit one app and start another, seems like a significant enough advantage to this Nintendo service.
Ah okay, makes sense. Yeah, that sounds like it runs smoother than XBL’s, but I think that with a dashboard update, some of it could be fixed. (This newest dashboard is horrible.) I see what the big deal is now, and it does seem neat and cool, but if someone already has an Xbox 360, this wouldn’t be a major selling point for the console.
Yeah, that’s certainly a fair point.
Plus, it’s FREE! That could save a Gold Member $300-400 over a 6-year life cycle. That’s more than enough to purchase an entire Wii U! I’d call that a selling point.
Can the 360 dashboard do some things better? Sure, it probably can. But, like the points you mentioned above demonstrate, Nintendo TVii can do some pretty cool stuff!
I’m a Gold Member, but I don’t even really know what it is that I’m paying for. I mainly use my PS3 for all my video apps and music. The XMB is far easier, IMO, to navigate and their are no blaring Ads that come on if you just happen to skim over them. Plus, the PSN+ offers so many awesome discounts, I rarely download anything from Xbox marketplace either.
Well, for one thing, Nintendo is doing it better.
…Care to give a reason for why you think that? Or are you just going to give a blatant opinion without basing your thoughts on anything?
Well, Androol pretty much said it all. That fact that there is one cohesive app, or service, that has all your services shows/movies, is pretty great. You don’t have to switch between apps if one of your services doesn’t have a movie you want to watch; you see it on TVii, choose it, and it lists where it’s available, saving you a lot of time. On Xbox, I believe you have to exit the app each time you want to watch something that’s not on there. And I didn’t mean to say it like that, I meant it appears Nintendo is doing it better, I haven’t actually personally tried out TVii myself. But it looks cool.
It really surprises me that Nintendo, which typically has zero interest in anything not game-related (they have yet to release a console that can even play CDs or DVDs, unless you count that Panasonic Gamecube), is suddenly rolling out such a solid TV interface. It looks good.
I’m wondering what the battery life on these GamePads are.
Due to all of the functions and technology going into these controllers, I’d estimate between 6-8 hours.
I don’t know if I should tell you this, with the Nintendo police in full force around here. But, the battery life for the gamepad is only 3-5 hr. If you want to surpass that, unfortunately, it has to be plugged in.
That’s completely believable. There’s a lot of technology going into that controller, and all the functions it will be performing at once will kill the battery. I didn’t know it would be able to be plugged in, though, I thought it only had a charging station?
Haven’t heard anything about a charging station. The jack on the top of the gamepad and the pro controller look like the same USB Mini-B port the PS3 controller has, so I assume you’ll be able to charge it with that same cord.
The charging station will be plugged into a AC cord.
The Gamepad will be set into the charging station when not being used.
When using the gamepad, while still charging, it will use the SAME AC cord only plugged directly into the gamepad.
I know,…that does not sound good.
Not convenient, but thankfully there’s a Pro Controller too. (Am I the only one that thinks “GamePad” sounds too generic?)
No, it’s not too convenient. IMO, it sucks. Honestly, to me, the battery life of the gamepad is the WORST thing I’ve heard about the system so far. But, that’s what the NEW Wii U GamePad XL is for! You know it’s coming. That’s the REAL reason they’re not releasing a retail gamepad.
“GamePad” SHOULD sound generic. That was the official name of the NES controller. Kinda fitting.
I like it.