New Wii Channel: Wii World?

James Temperton · 03-21-2007, 04:42 PM

MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, Blogger, Second Life and now PlayStation Home, the world of online social networking is growing at a huge rate.

At his recent GDC keynote address in San Francisco Shigeru Miyamoto gave us an insight into how the Mii system came to be. Dating back over ten years, the system has only finally come to light on the Wii. It is clear that this personalised approach to gaming and networking is now seen as the way forward in the gaming industry now.

Sony’s surprise announcement of Home now poses a key threat to Nintendo’s Mii system, but I think that the cute little characters might have a few tricks up their sleeves yet.

Nintendo have been hinting at an expansion to the Mii Channel for a while now. We all know they can do, so for me it is more a question of when. It is the very simplicity of the Mii system that is its biggest asset. It can be manipulated and wrapped around so many things that Nintendo can really begin to exploit it if they are clever enough. Some people have called for the Mii characters to be used in Animal Crossing, which could work very well indeed. But how about we take it on to another level?

MySpace is one of the most popular websites in the world, and love it or hate it, it is a very clever idea. If Nintendo can get around privacy and kiddy safety issues, I’m sure they could use the Wii to create some sort of Mii-centric social universe. By linking together a Mii profile to your Wii, Nintendo would be able to track the games you play, your friends, your interests and your Wii related activities. If your page was only available to people you swap Wii codes with, then it would be perfectly safe. Link in your Wii Sports age, your scores on other Wii related games and some of the Miis you have created.

If you create this all in a little Mii virtual world (similar to a very small Animal Crossing vil-lage) where you can pick up your mail, catch up with friends, perhaps play some basic games and catch up on the latest Mii news and even hang your favourite pictures from the Photo Channel on your virtual walls. Shove it all on a Wii Channel called WiiWorld or something similarly stupid and you’ve got a license to print money in console sales. Heck, they could even do some very evil in game advertising and have posters and clever product placements dotted around from time to time.

Nintendo aren’t stupid and they really do realise what makes the industry tick right now. This would be a great way to make the Mii a more personal place. They have already snagged people with the idea of the Wii, so why not expand on it and make the Wii into a tool that everyone in the family can enjoy? We all love getting mail on our Wiis, so why not get it in a little Virtual World and be able to catch up with friends and see if they want to play you online on Pokémon or Smash Bros?

Companies are trying harder and harder to try and inch their ways into our everyday lives. Nintendo have said right from the off that they want people to ‘turn on their Wii everyday’, but for me they haven’t yet given us a good enough reason. The news, weather and voting systems are all well and good, but there isn’t yet a massive opportunity to connect with other people and feel part of a network. Risky as it may be, I think Nintendo have to embrace it to move the Wii forward. Home will be a massive thing for the PlayStation and we already know how important XBOX Live has become for Microsoft, so Nintendo need to build a hub around which the Wii’s future online services will revolve. A centralised WiiWorld that links together your online persona, your friends, your online gaming and your Wii profile would be a hugely powerful tool.

Link in the Wii Shopping Channel in some way and Nintendo will finally have the Wii Channel system networked and linked together in a coherent and cohesive way. Linking together our lives has become hugely important. Being connected is essential to how we operate, so if Nintendo want people to turn on their Wii everyday, they need to make it part of this connected world. At the moment, the online system on the Wii is a major letdown.

Had it not been for the major stock market deal silencing Nintendo during the GDC they would probably have unveiled a new Wii Channel. As things stand, how the Wii will function online and bring together the great Wii community is something of a mystery. I’m just speculating on what I feel Nintendo might chose to do, but also what they have been hinting they might have in the pipeline. The Wii has a huge amount of untapped potential and I for one can’t wait to see it on show...
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Flagel · 03-21-2007, 04:46 PM

That would be awesome, I like the idea of a wii world, but first they would have to release some extra stuff for the actual miis themselves, so there is a greater difference in overall mii appearances.

Roadrunner32 · 03-21-2007, 05:00 PM

sounds amazing

con77 · 03-21-2007, 05:02 PM

i totally agree i think this is the way nintendo need to go to make online amazing
say they did create a virtual world you can set up online matches and games

please nintendo do this /\

Wii_Smurf · 03-21-2007, 05:03 PM

YEY Finally

Major Tom · 03-21-2007, 05:40 PM

That would be awsome!!!

stewart01 · 03-21-2007, 09:08 PM

Miis are a good idea, but under utilised.

Nintendo needs to produce software to make them used more.

WiiWouldLike2Play · 03-21-2007, 09:18 PM

i digg it! xD

thats so cool.. nintendo should seriously do something like this.
Everyone would LOVE it!

Insane Gamer Kitty · 03-21-2007, 09:37 PM

This sounds awesome. I really like this idea and would love to see this on the Wii.

Extra Life Mushroom · 03-21-2007, 10:50 PM

I think this is a great idea. It would give Nintendo a much needed boost. They have been promising great things with the wii and we have been on the edges of our seats waiting to see what the big N has in store for us. So far the wii has been mostly a novelty. Nothing really amazing out there right now to make you want to grab one, except for the fact that they are rare right now. We've been promised alot of things, and I hope this time we won't be let down.
They really do need something truly unique or to at least put a exciting twist on an already amazing concept. They have done well with the wii shop channel. The virtual console for me and most likely many others is the main thing I love about my wii. The mii idea was neat, but when sony released their version of the idea, I think the mii concept got knocked down from a must-have innovation, to a novelty in comparison to Sony's rendition.
That being said I think there is hope if Nintendo plays their cards right. Right now the best things on the wii that I can see are the price, the welcoming remote controller, and the backwards compatibility. None of the games are truly must have killer apps, not yet at least. And as the other two systems begin to evolve, since they are made with more horsepower and processing power they can add more amazing graphics and such,also having built-in hard drives allows for more content to be saved in the machine.
Now I understand Nintendo's reasoning for their lack of hard drive: The hard drives cost a lot to mass reproduce. And that would've increased the wii's overall cost to the consumer, thus losing their edge. Not being a super-computer like the ps3, the addition of a HDD would really only contribute to the amount of ROMS and channels. The edge the wii has carved is majorly due to the price difference between the Wii and the the systems.
Since Nintendo has always been rather stingy with their online service the fact that we get an updated shop channel of great games is amazing. But would it kill them to add a free, cheaper version of the functions we enjoy so much on the other consoles?
It's nice to see that nintendo has realized that "Holy #^$% there's an internet?! Let's use it somehow.." But we won't be satisfied with simple, cutesy avatars that serve no purpose other than swapping them with other people, and that they've been added into a few games. That coupled with an impressive option to shop for your favorite nintendo games of the past. (although limited to the 512 MB of internal memory, and then how ever big your SD card is..currently 2GB is the biggest size supported. I also wonder how much of that memory do all these sysem updates and free channels take up?)
They better do something amazing, and different soon or else this valiant comeback attempt may become their last 5 minutes of fame.

hexen0079 · 03-22-2007, 01:37 AM

Hell yeah thats an awsome idea they need to do it

Beatle14 · 03-22-2007, 02:12 AM

Yer that would be a great idea!!!

sssaywhat@gmail.com · 03-22-2007, 02:22 AM

i like this idea muchos.

dedpoet777 · 03-22-2007, 02:38 AM

that would be really cool.

wii_cammy · 03-22-2007, 02:14 PM

brilliant

James Temperton · 03-22-2007, 04:25 PM

Glad you all like the idea, I really thought it showed some promise.

Billii · 03-22-2007, 06:43 PM

Not a bad idea? How about your own house?

spazzymcwii · 03-22-2007, 07:28 PM

thats a spazztastic idea

Doc141 · 03-22-2007, 07:41 PM

Would be fun but here are the issues.

1: That would require numerous channels. If everyone was on the same one it would be crowded. And to expand it would take to much space. It would be a fun MMORPG game. But thats a whole other disc.

Calvinhedge · 03-22-2007, 08:32 PM

Nintendo is a great company, and have been stubborn with adapting to the next generation(s). They are a great company, but they need to realize that people's intrests have changed, and the majority want fps and online play. Hopefully Ninty realizes that people aren't going to adapt to them; they must adapt to the people's desires. I think that was part of the reason why da gc failed.

Don't get me wrong, I love nintendo, but people have changed since the 8-bit era, and nintendo needs to meet these wants to stay successful. They have been a bit stingy with online, but i just know they can pick up the pace. Hopefully they will keep their origionality and yet add another creative online element to the wii. They have also been putting us through a dry period gamwise. As long as they don't delay anymore, and make the games amazing

, i'm not complaining. However, the VC is the only thing that keeps me coming back to the wii day after day

.
P.S. Surrie fer ze missspellinz ya no wat i meen

03-21-2007, 04:42 PM	#1
James Temperton WiiChat Feature Writer Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 26 Friends: 0	New Wii Channel: Wii World? MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, Blogger, Second Life and now PlayStation Home, the world of online social networking is growing at a huge rate. At his recent GDC keynote address in San Francisco Shigeru Miyamoto gave us an insight into how the Mii system came to be. Dating back over ten years, the system has only finally come to light on the Wii. It is clear that this personalised approach to gaming and networking is now seen as the way forward in the gaming industry now. Sony’s surprise announcement of Home now poses a key threat to Nintendo’s Mii system, but I think that the cute little characters might have a few tricks up their sleeves yet. Nintendo have been hinting at an expansion to the Mii Channel for a while now. We all know they can do, so for me it is more a question of when. It is the very simplicity of the Mii system that is its biggest asset. It can be manipulated and wrapped around so many things that Nintendo can really begin to exploit it if they are clever enough. Some people have called for the Mii characters to be used in Animal Crossing, which could work very well indeed. But how about we take it on to another level? MySpace is one of the most popular websites in the world, and love it or hate it, it is a very clever idea. If Nintendo can get around privacy and kiddy safety issues, I’m sure they could use the Wii to create some sort of Mii-centric social universe. By linking together a Mii profile to your Wii, Nintendo would be able to track the games you play, your friends, your interests and your Wii related activities. If your page was only available to people you swap Wii codes with, then it would be perfectly safe. Link in your Wii Sports age, your scores on other Wii related games and some of the Miis you have created. If you create this all in a little Mii virtual world (similar to a very small Animal Crossing vil-lage) where you can pick up your mail, catch up with friends, perhaps play some basic games and catch up on the latest Mii news and even hang your favourite pictures from the Photo Channel on your virtual walls. Shove it all on a Wii Channel called WiiWorld or something similarly stupid and you’ve got a license to print money in console sales. Heck, they could even do some very evil in game advertising and have posters and clever product placements dotted around from time to time. Nintendo aren’t stupid and they really do realise what makes the industry tick right now. This would be a great way to make the Mii a more personal place. They have already snagged people with the idea of the Wii, so why not expand on it and make the Wii into a tool that everyone in the family can enjoy? We all love getting mail on our Wiis, so why not get it in a little Virtual World and be able to catch up with friends and see if they want to play you online on Pokémon or Smash Bros? Companies are trying harder and harder to try and inch their ways into our everyday lives. Nintendo have said right from the off that they want people to ‘turn on their Wii everyday’, but for me they haven’t yet given us a good enough reason. The news, weather and voting systems are all well and good, but there isn’t yet a massive opportunity to connect with other people and feel part of a network. Risky as it may be, I think Nintendo have to embrace it to move the Wii forward. Home will be a massive thing for the PlayStation and we already know how important XBOX Live has become for Microsoft, so Nintendo need to build a hub around which the Wii’s future online services will revolve. A centralised WiiWorld that links together your online persona, your friends, your online gaming and your Wii profile would be a hugely powerful tool. Link in the Wii Shopping Channel in some way and Nintendo will finally have the Wii Channel system networked and linked together in a coherent and cohesive way. Linking together our lives has become hugely important. Being connected is essential to how we operate, so if Nintendo want people to turn on their Wii everyday, they need to make it part of this connected world. At the moment, the online system on the Wii is a major letdown. Had it not been for the major stock market deal silencing Nintendo during the GDC they would probably have unveiled a new Wii Channel. As things stand, how the Wii will function online and bring together the great Wii community is something of a mystery. I’m just speculating on what I feel Nintendo might chose to do, but also what they have been hinting they might have in the pipeline. The Wii has a huge amount of untapped potential and I for one can’t wait to see it on show... <script type="text/javascript"> digg_url = 'http://www.wiichat.com/nintendo-wii-articles/20959-new-wii-channel-wii-world.html'; digg_title = 'New Wii Channel: Wii World?'; digg_bodytext = 'Does Nintendo have a social networking channel in the pipeline? The possibilities of a Mii World explored.'; digg_topic = 'gaming_news'; </script> <script src="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js" type="text/javascript"></script>

03-21-2007, 04:46 PM	#2
Flagel Soul of highest Calibur Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Posts: 399 Friends: 0 4883-9225-1818-3903	That would be awesome, I like the idea of a wii world, but first they would have to release some extra stuff for the actual miis themselves, so there is a greater difference in overall mii appearances. __________________ Post is there ^^^ How dare you state a different point of view, you complete fanboy! /sarcasm

03-21-2007, 05:00 PM	#3
Roadrunner32 WMFL Commisioner Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Ohio Posts: 185 Friends: 0 5919-7119-9790-6555	sounds amazing __________________ Wii60 is me Xbox Live Gamertag: NinjaMonk3y2 I mostly play Halo 3 Can't Wait for Mario Kart

03-21-2007, 05:02 PM	#4
con77 Joined the dark side Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Manchester Posts: 612 Friends: 0	i totally agree i think this is the way nintendo need to go to make online amazing say they did create a virtual world you can set up online matches and games please nintendo do this /\ __________________

03-21-2007, 05:03 PM	#5
Wii_Smurf No.1 Smurf Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Manchester Posts: 3,956 Friends: 0 0000-0000-0000-0000	YEY Finally __________________ No Longer Have A Wii


Wii News Wii Forum Wii Friend Codes Wii Groups Wii Blogs Wii Arcade

03-21-2007, 05:40 PM	#6
Major Tom Uss Clan ***** Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: The Command Cluster Posts: 1,247 Friends: 0 5935-0595-2673-3600	That would be awsome!!! __________________

03-21-2007, 09:08 PM	#7
stewart01 WiiChat Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 137 Friends: 0	Miis are a good idea, but under utilised. Nintendo needs to produce software to make them used more.

03-21-2007, 09:18 PM	#8
WiiWouldLike2Play CU Guild For Life! :DDD Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Clearwater, Florida Posts: 2,145 Friends: 34 2881-3576-4343-5770	i digg it! xD thats so cool.. nintendo should seriously do something like this. Everyone would LOVE it! __________________ ♥_December 19th, o8`_♥ My amazing Games CounterStrike \|\| Left 4 Dead \|\| World of Warcraft: Lich King. Steam ID: APPLExCHiCk Wanna play CounterStrike/Left4Dead? Hit me up (: WoW - Realm/Vashj \|\| Character/Zaduka \|\| Horde, ftw! Status - O_o Just got back guys. Nice to see you all again!

03-21-2007, 09:37 PM	#9
Insane Gamer Kitty Devoted Nintendo Nerd Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: On a computer Posts: 23 Friends: 0	*This sounds awesome. I really like this idea and would love to see this on the Wii.* __________________ *Nintarded*

03-21-2007, 10:50 PM	#10
Extra Life Mushroom Just That Great Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: In a world controlled by greed Posts: 548 Friends: 0 3210-5733-2914-1432	I think this is a great idea. It would give Nintendo a much needed boost. They have been promising great things with the wii and we have been on the edges of our seats waiting to see what the big N has in store for us. So far the wii has been mostly a novelty. Nothing really amazing out there right now to make you want to grab one, except for the fact that they are rare right now. We've been promised alot of things, and I hope this time we won't be let down. They really do need something truly unique or to at least put a exciting twist on an already amazing concept. They have done well with the wii shop channel. The virtual console for me and most likely many others is the main thing I love about my wii. The mii idea was neat, but when sony released their version of the idea, I think the mii concept got knocked down from a must-have innovation, to a novelty in comparison to Sony's rendition. That being said I think there is hope if Nintendo plays their cards right. Right now the best things on the wii that I can see are the price, the welcoming remote controller, and the backwards compatibility. None of the games are truly must have killer apps, not yet at least. And as the other two systems begin to evolve, since they are made with more horsepower and processing power they can add more amazing graphics and such,also having built-in hard drives allows for more content to be saved in the machine. Now I understand Nintendo's reasoning for their lack of hard drive: The hard drives cost a lot to mass reproduce. And that would've increased the wii's overall cost to the consumer, thus losing their edge. Not being a super-computer like the ps3, the addition of a HDD would really only contribute to the amount of ROMS and channels. The edge the wii has carved is majorly due to the price difference between the Wii and the the systems. Since Nintendo has always been rather stingy with their online service the fact that we get an updated shop channel of great games is amazing. But would it kill them to add a free, cheaper version of the functions we enjoy so much on the other consoles? It's nice to see that nintendo has realized that "Holy #^$% there's an internet?! Let's use it somehow.." But we won't be satisfied with simple, cutesy avatars that serve no purpose other than swapping them with other people, and that they've been added into a few games. That coupled with an impressive option to shop for your favorite nintendo games of the past. (although limited to the 512 MB of internal memory, and then how ever big your SD card is..currently 2GB is the biggest size supported. I also wonder how much of that memory do all these sysem updates and free channels take up?) They better do something amazing, and different soon or else this valiant comeback attempt may become their last 5 minutes of fame.

03-22-2007, 01:37 AM	#11
hexen0079 wiibater Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Taylor Tx Posts: 101 Friends: 0 2962-0112-2367-0514	Hell yeah thats an awsome idea they need to do it __________________ i need a sig.

03-22-2007, 02:12 AM	#12
Beatle14 WiiChat Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: England Posts: 267 Friends: 0 8450-7414-5993-5063	Yer that would be a great idea!!! __________________ My Codes Animal Crossing - 0086 - 8056-9621 Mario Kart - 3608 6761 4607 Wii- currently not accepting adds for my Wii

03-22-2007, 02:22 AM	#13
sssaywhat@gmail.com addict for dramatics Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: in a box with 3 other hobos. Posts: 20 Friends: 0 1394-7437-0031-0860	i like this idea muchos. __________________ ADORKABLE is my word. You may not use it without permission, unless you are referring to how cool I am for making it up. Said rule remains until the person who I stole it off provides written notification of wanting it back. Have a nice day

03-22-2007, 02:38 AM	#14
dedpoet777 \/\/ii'd Out For Life Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Surfside Beach, SC Posts: 324 Friends: 0 0792-2476-6769-9631	that would be really cool. __________________ \/\/ho's Got Wii: Super Mario Galaxy, Zelda:Twilight Princess, \/\/ii Sports, \/\/ario \/\/are, Tiger \/\/oods:07, \/\/ii Play, Super paper Mario, Prince of Persia, Game Party//-//3 Remotes, 2 Chuks, Retro Skin DS:Zelda Phantom hourglass, New Super Mario Bros, Tetris DS, Brain Age, Brain Age 2, Touchmaster, Big Brain Academy, Mario Kart DS, Castlevania:Portrait of Time//Retro Skin, Switch&Carry Digital Camou Case.

03-22-2007, 07:28 PM	#18
spazzymcwii NoT a PoTaTo!! Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Melbourne, Australia,the world,the galaxy,the universe Posts: 201 Friends: 0	thats a spazztastic idea __________________ Fry cracked corn and I dont care, Leela cracked corn, still dont care, Bender cracked corn and HE IS GREAT... Take that you stupid corn!!! Thanks to demonflair for the sig!!!!!!! Spoiler Alert! BEHOLD, THE AWESOME POWER OF... THE MOUSTACHE

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)

03-22-2007, 02:14 PM	#15
wii_cammy Banned Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: In Scotland Posts: 1,902 Friends: 0 7340-2535-0641-6266	brilliant

03-22-2007, 04:25 PM	#16
James Temperton WiiChat Feature Writer Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 26 Friends: 0	Glad you all like the idea, I really thought it showed some promise.

03-22-2007, 06:43 PM	#17
Billii WiiChat Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 308 Friends: 0	Not a bad idea? How about your own house? __________________ How many licks does it take to get to a tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop? Spoiler Alert! 447

03-22-2007, 07:41 PM	#19
Doc141 Super Mario Bros. MASTA! Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 101 Friends: 0 2478-2768-0821-6129	Would be fun but here are the issues. 1: That would require numerous channels. If everyone was on the same one it would be crowded. And to expand it would take to much space. It would be a fun MMORPG game. But thats a whole other disc. __________________ I love Mario....

03-22-2007, 08:32 PM	#20
Calvinhedge WiiChat Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Colorado, USA Posts: 157 Friends: 0 8160-5319-6257-2561	Nintendo is a great company, and have been stubborn with adapting to the next generation(s). They are a great company, but they need to realize that people's intrests have changed, and the majority want fps and online play. Hopefully Ninty realizes that people aren't going to adapt to them; they must adapt to the people's desires. I think that was part of the reason why da gc failed. Don't get me wrong, I love nintendo, but people have changed since the 8-bit era, and nintendo needs to meet these wants to stay successful. They have been a bit stingy with online, but i just know they can pick up the pace. Hopefully they will keep their origionality and yet add another creative online element to the wii. They have also been putting us through a dry period gamwise. As long as they don't delay anymore, and make the games amazing , i'm not complaining. However, the VC is the only thing that keeps me coming back to the wii day after day . P.S. Surrie fer ze missspellinz ya no wat i meen __________________ Thanks ssbb_lover! Still trying to get skillz @ siggy makin SUCK IT FANBOYS Last edited by Calvinhedge; 03-22-2007 at 08:43 PM.

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