Nintendo Channel Brings DS Demos and Floating Circles to Wii

Wed, May 7, 2008

Has your Wii got a healthy blue glow this morning? Nintendo would like you to download the Nintendo Channel, an in-console game store and info center. Wii owners can get the new channel from the Wii Shop, and start watching trailers, getting personalized recommendations, and downloading DS demos today.

Showing up almost unexpectedly, ahead of the estimated date, the Nintendo Channel uses the Wii’s typical space-age motif, presenting itself amidst a white backdrop filled with floating circles of various size. Once past a disclaimer about the data Nintendo will and will not collect (your gameplay data among the former, your social security number among the latter), users are presented with Nintendo’s latest sales reel, including trailer footage of several new/upcoming Wii and DS titles, and from there, it’s on to the media list.

Gamers can browse lists of Nintendo’s library, sorted by genre, platform, or even “personal recommendations” — ratings provided by other Nintendo Channel users about the games they’ve personally played. Those daily play reports on your Wii Message Board haven’t just been so your parents can punish you for playing Wii instead of doing your homework; the data is now being fed back to Nintendo to scan your playing habits for market research. In addition, any game at which your Wii has clocked an hour or more of play time, you may review for Nintendo Channel’s audience. Upon choosing to recommend a game, I was presented with a six-step questionnaire:

Who enjoyed this game most in your household (Male/Female)?
How old is the person who enjoyed it the most (input a number)?
How much would you recommend this game (move a slider on an arbitrary, unmarked scale between “not at all” and “very much”)?
Who would this game appeal to (Gamers/Anyone)?
What sort of gaming mood is best for this game (Casual/Hardcore)?
Is this game best enjoyed alone or with friends?

Once users start putting these recommendations in place, you can search for titles that match your particular preferences; someone could look for casual games that gamers from ages 26-32 would enjoy, or something hardcore they could play by themself.

Browsing the games will, depending on the title, bring up information about platform and rating, present a trailer, or perhaps even direct you to an online retailer for an actual purchase. In the case of DS games, some select titles have demos available that can be transmitted directly from your Wii into your DS. The process is easy and painless: Select the demo from the game’s info page, and the Wii will instruct you to turn on your DS and select “Download Play” from the system menu. I picked a demo for Cooking Mama 2 and was up and running in about a minute. Presently, the following demos are available on Nintendo Channel: