Possible Wii upgrades and a new Wii channel

Your Wii may soon get a voice of its own. According to Nintendo's Takeshi Shimada, the company is working on a text-to-speech tool that can read news and weather headlines out loud. The feature can also be used to read e-mail and system messages while you kick back and enjoy your (momentary) superiority over machines. Let's hope Nintendo includes a game where you can argue with your Wii via the microphone.

Also from Shimada, Wii motion sensing could get an upgrade that learns from your movements and predicts your next action. It won't play Twilight Princess for you, but a few shortcuts in the menu interface could be helpful.

Finally, a new Wii channel was revealed that lets users vote for their favorite Miis. Pairs of Mii characters strut into the spotlight and you choose which one you like best. The Mii Popularity Channel will launch in late April, though it's unclear if this is worldwide or Japan-only.

Soon the Wii could be talking to you, listening to you, predicting your movements and humiliating you with high school popularity contests. Is this the precursor to the Man vs. Machine war we've been warned about?

[Via NintendoWiiFanboy, WiiNintendo]