Wii News Channel launched -- doesn't cost $1.99
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Jan 26th 2007 9:01AM
posted Jan 26th 2007 9:01AM
[Thanks, Alex]
posted Jan 26th 2007 9:01AM
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...for now.
I have to say, it's really impressive how nintendo says that they will have a feature out by a certain day, and give it out even earlier!
@John Doe
Yea, it seems that the norm is the exact opposite these days. Props to Nintendo for 'breaking the mold'
I am fairly certain that the news feed will stay free, internet users can get RSS feeds for free from AP, I have them on my homepage, among a number of other news sites, like google, CNN, and Fox, (yes, I have both cnn and fox, my own little soap opera). That exclusive deal was probably just a way of getting the AP to give a thumbs up to loading the feed instead of ripping it and having repercussions later. The Big N must maintain the good and 'play nice' image in the midst of all the bad gamer corporations.
Nice lamp.
wow i am very surprised nintendo would do this a day early.. doesn't seem like the wii news channel would be a priority to them but looks impressive. Will have to play with it when i get home woot.
http://www.wiiuser.org
Not that I'm sticking up for Apple necessarily but Nintendo's update is software, not hardware, related. And, it was something that was promised with the initial purchase of the Wii unlike Apple's 802.11n hardware that was an unannounced "bonus." So, your dig at Apple was pretty weak.
Anyway, kudos to Nintendo for following through with their promise and continuing to improve upon their already outstanding product. :-)
Hardware updates aren't downloadable. Apple simply charged people to turn on hardware that they already installed on the computers. The dig at Apple was perfectly valid.
And I was pleasantly suprised to see the lovely blue glow on my Wii this morning. Playing with Wii News almost made me late for work this morning. Damn you, Nintendo! Damn you and your Wii goodness!
Apple's update is firmware and a driver which IS software.
ROFL GAAP violations *zing*
Wow! Early and free. I'll have to give it a try when I get home.
Oooh, that's why the blue light was blinking this morning.
I almost unplugged it. :-S
The saddest thing is seeing that lovely glowing blue light in the morning as I rush out to catch my bus, and knowing that I have to wait 9 hours to play with it.
How come my wii doesnt have a blue light? i cant get it to stay on. even when doing updates
Whether or not you think Apple should charge $1.99 for the upgrade, this isn't remotely the same thing. The News Channel is just additional software, just like the additional software that all computer makers (Apple included) will often distribute for free. If the Wii could read DVDs and Nintendo unlocked that functionality for free, then it would be a good comparison.
Only AP news? Be glad that it doesn't only feed articles from Fox News.
Why?
I put some pics up in case anyone's interested:
http://maosaywhat.com/blog/2007/01/26/news-channel-arrives-on-the-wii/
First my new straps came in less than a weeks time, now I get my Wii news update a day early? Cut it out Nintendo! You are raising the bar on good service and its going to bankrupt the rest of the Corporate World!
Make sure you check out the slideshow! Just press 'A' when you want to read one of the news articles :)
I wondered why my Wii was glowing blue this morning. I will have to check it out when I get home tonight.
I like this new feature! Ahh I better stop looking at it or I'll be late for work...
Lets see...
Apple: Doesn't tell anyone their WiFi has added features when they sold it, doesn't activate it at launch.Three months later, activates and officially announces feature, claims it will cost $1.99.
Nintendo: Tells everyone the Newschannel is a feature when they sold it, but didn't activiate it at launch. Three months later, activates feature, doesn't charge anyone.
Yeah, great comparison there, guys.
Looks great....i think this could easily become my main news source...
...love the slideshow..
I too awoke to the warm blue glow...and then encountered the harsh reality of my network being down and not being able to actually download the news channel. Brutal, guess I have something to do after work.
> Best of all, the new functionality somehow skirts around generally accepted accounting
> practices -- it won't cost you a thing.
It does not enable new hardware, it is a simple software update such as say 'iChat Update (PowerPC)' or 'Security Update 2007-001' or 'iTunes 7.0' all things Apple has never charged for.
If Ninentdo, for instance, offered an update to enable dormant DVD playback hardware (which afaik doesn't exist in the Wii) then they would be in the same situation of either having to re-state all earning since the launch of the Wii or charge a negligible (let's call negligble $1.99 for the sake of argument) fee to enable said hardware. They could choose either course, or do neither and risk the government investigating them for accounting practices.
> Hardware updates aren't downloadable. Apple simply charged people to turn on hardware that they
> already installed on the computers. The dig at Apple was perfectly valid.
No, Apple had absolutely no reason to EVER enable the 'n' functionality, and no one had any reason to ever expect it to be enabled - they were sold machines that were b/g compatible. They got what they paid for. 'nuff said.
Considering the hot water everyone expects them to be in with the SEC over the option-backdating issue they don't want to add to the problem (remember back-dating is not illegal, not accounting for it properly when it happened including the tax implications is the issue.)
They have two choices, restate all earnings since the first 'n' capable hardware was shipped (3-4 quarters) and charge nothing, or let the 5 people who will really use it pay a nominal fee. I think if Apple had any say they would rather do neither and provide the update for free without wasting their time (and money) pandering to GAAP.
No. If anything we got shafted. You simply don't get it do you? G hardware and draft N hardware are different. If for no other reason then N has a third antenna. I PAID for Draft N hardware.
Just because Apple doesn't tell you that you are sporting Draft N doesn't magically make the hardware G. Jobs's RDF is strong. It ain't that strong. At the end of the day anyone with a C2D has Draft N hardware in there system that was not enabled. This is NO different then Apple enabling right clicking on the touchpad with 2 fingers. Did that advertise that as a feature? I thought not.
I'm so fucking sick of the fanbois making excuses. If Apple would simply come out and say "Hey we are covering our assets because the SEC is snooping around. We want all of our T's crossed and i's dotted so we aren't screwed by the DOJ."
That I could except. That I would understand. That I would be willing to drop a couple bucks on. But as it stands Apple's excuse is flimsy at best. I'll download this from bittorrent, and feel NO regrets about it considering I spent about 3 grand on my MBP.
for all the people apparently upset at the Apple 'dig': dudes, it's a joke. sense of humour anyone?
"for all the people apparently upset at the Apple 'dig': dudes, it's a joke. sense of humour anyone?"
Apparently the Apple-heads don't have a sense of humor, unless it's targeted at either a PC or a Sony product.
I've been waiting for this for a while. I just hope the news are not as late as the weather updates. I'd hate to read something at 6 AM telling me it's the latest as of midnight.
Wait a goddamned second. Why the hell is Nintendo getting props for bringing something out ?They're perpetually late with every game they have thats worth buying . Zelda being a year late is the worst. I don't think anyone should get credit for doing something as simple as this, when Metroid 3 and Mario Galaxy will be late as usual. Gimme a break. BTW, turn to CNN or the "interweb" and you already have this feature.
What, no Pixburgh?!
We won the dang Super Bowl last year [while sucking it up this year], doesn't that qualify us a spot on the map?
Or is it because there's no news for the 'Burgh today?
has any one else had a problem with their wii not being able 2 play youtube content any more?!?
Oh boy, the extremely accurate and unbiased reporting of the AP! :rolleyes:
I *heart* the news channel. I thought the weather channel was cool but this trumps it. But how do I win?
>How do I win?
This is one of those part-virtual/part-reality games. To play, you've got to get your face in the news. There are lots of ways to do this; part of the game is figuring out how. Once you do this, there are various achievements you can claim: getting your face in the most articles, staying in the news the longest, etc. You "win" when more people recognize you than anyone else.
Don't just sit there; go get started!
Does Engadget hire writers who's only talent is to insert an Apple reference (either good or bad) into every post?
The argument over 2 freakin' dollars is starting to get a bit old. And the bashing of every popular tech company, has also grown weary.
Focus on the real tech news, and leave the bashing of certain companies to the comments section.
Either that, or you can change the name of this site to "Engadget Editorial"...just a thought.
I love how the words resize with the zoom buttons. Very Nifty.