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The Wii's American debut is set for the
19th November, yet a recent article on gamesindustry.biz
suggests that two planned channels will be missing from the Wii at
launch, as well as the web browsing capabilities.
The Wii's web browsing software in
development by Opera software, the makers of Opera Web browser
(duh!), still has not received an official release date. The Opera
web browser is set to be free until June 2007. Nintendo have stated
that we can expect more information on the web browser in the coming
months, so stay tuned for that.
One of the missing channels on the Wii
will be the news channel. Set to display the latest press news
headlines this channel will not be seeing the light of day until
January 27 2007.
The Wii's weather forecast channel will
also not be seeing release on the Wii's debut but will instead be
released on the 20th of December. Just in time to see
whether you will be receiving a white Christmas.
I can quite honestly say that the lack
of those two channels doesn't bother me that much, they are hardly
necessary functions for a games console. I am actually rather
surprised that Nintendo even plan to include them, as this is the
company who did not even use a DVD drive, as they want to focus on
the gaming. On the other hand the Opera we browser could be a great
idea, especially if they work on interactivity with the Wii
controller, for browsing pages.
Luckily enough the most important on
line feature of the Wii will be available from launch: the Virtual
Console. Nintendo have confirmed that the virtual console (which
allows users to download classic games), will have a total of 12
games at launch. With a further 30 due before the end of the year.
The games to be released at launch include the Nintendo Entertainment
system's original Donkey kong, and the Nintendo 64's flagship title
Mario 64.
The Wii is set for US launch on the
19th November at the price of $250 and the title prices
should all be around $50. The titles for the virtual console vary in
pricing between console, they can be bought with special Wii points. Source: GamesIndustry.biz
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