Game|Life is reporting that the previously Japan-only Minna no Nintendo Channel will finally be coming to U.S. shores, and is set to launch May 12th — the same day Nintendo’s miniature digital-delivery platform WiiWare will also arrive. Sporting a Nintendo game release calendar and user-submitted game reviews, the channel also turns the Wii into a virtual DS Download Station that can wirelessly send game demos to nearby DS units.
According to Game|Life, the channel also supports all-new integration with WiiWare:
For instance, if a user has played a WiiWare game for at least an hour, they will be able to review the game on the Nintendo Channel, said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president, during a meeting with Wired.com editors Wednesday afternoon. The reviews will be available for other Wii owners to read.
Since Nintendo won’t provide free demo versions of WiiWare games, the Nintendo Channel is how customers will be able to get a feel for games to help them make purchasing decisions, said Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime.
We’re hoping that the Nintendo Channel will also sport some as-yet-unconfirmed features of its Japanese counterpart: namely, the abilities to watch video (Minna no Nintendo Channel had developer interviews and game trailers) and download user-generated games.
Game|Life notes that while the Channel accompanies WiiWare, it may do so in lieu of some WiiWare games: Nintendo president Reggie Fils-Aime said that the US release schedule for WiiWare would likely be more staggered than in Japan, so as to avoid their recent experience of having no new titles available for an entire month.
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