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Nintendo's awkward TVii service will shut down on August 11th
Remember Nintendo TVii, Nintendo's weird television hub for the Wii U? Don't worry, most people don't -- and in a few weeks you'll never have to think about it again. Nintendo just announced that the service is shutting down on August 11th.
Nintendo's TVii service won't be coming to the Wii U in Europe
Sorry, European gamers: the Wii U's TVii service won't reach your corner of the globe. Nintendo has dropped plans to bring the personalized streaming media guide to the region due to the "extremely complex" task of accommodating multiple services in numerous countries across the continent. The Euro crowd isn't coming away completely empty-handed, though. Nintendo is launching the Anime Channel, a 3DS-specific video service that lets you view Japanese animation (what else?) for free. The focus right now is unsurprisingly on Nintendo-related shows like Kirby and Pokémon, but more content is on the way -- you just need to grab an app from the eShop to start watching.
GetGlue and i.TV combine to create tvtag for iPhone, focus on real-time updates about live TV
After powering second-screen, connected-TV experiences for other companies including DirecTV and Nintendo's TVii app, i.tv acquired TV check-in service GetGlue last year to pull those experiences together. Now, GetGlue is relaunching as tvtag, an advertising-supported, one-stop information and social network centered around television watching, full of information from broadcast partners, augmented in real time by a team of live curators and TV viewers. At launch, the reworked app is available only on the iPhone, but CEO Brad Pelo tells us a version for Android is due in a few days, with a web experience and iPad-ready version launching shortly after that. The i.TV app is sticking around for now, but will be updated in the future, while DirecTV and Nintendo are already lined up for integration with the new platform. The check-in and sharing features -- and built-in user base -- from GetGlue remain, but it's the curated info that the company expects will separate it from other services. The "taglines" are built by more than 50 employees creating high-level tags for live TV (covering the majority of what viewers are watching, on any channel), which users then fill in with additional captures, comments and reactions. It's also why tvtag thinks users will choose to open this app over Twitter and Facebook while they're watching TV, with the ability to search info from sources like IMDb and Google, or add to the tagline with their own notes and doodles. Those taglines are available for browsing later for DVR viewing, but this experience is about live TV. For events like last weekend's Grammys or Pro Bowl, and the upcoming Super Bowl, it can push play-by-play updates, as well as constantly refreshed stats and field positions. Other than the big social networks, competition to provide synced TV info on other screens like your phone, tablet or PC is fierce, with everyone from Google Now, Dijit's recent acquisition Miso and Yahoo's IntoNow offering similar features. IntoNow is one of the most similar, adding the ability to ID TV content via audio and a complete feed of images from live TV channels to the mix. tvtag is more than an app however, and since it can open up access as an SDK or API, we may see its features and content pop up in other apps and on other devices soon. Still, given the following GetGlue has been able to attract we expect to see plenty of tvtag shares popping up in our timelines -- we'll see if its exclusive information and tight TV-focused environment are enough to keep its audience coming back.
Switched On: One box to rule them all
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. When Microsoft introduced the original Xbox, the company had a lot to prove. The console newcomer promised that it was laser-focused on building a great system for games. There wasn't much to distract it. In a time of DVDs and dial-up, "convergence" in the space was focused on the ability for consoles to play back movies rented at Blockbuster. But everyone knew that the new kid on the box had an agenda beyond taking its share of industry profits away from Nintendo and Sony. Particularly versus the latter, Microsoft knew it would be engaged in a war for the living room and the future of digital entertainment distribution including, but beyond games. Nothing came close to matching the processing power that consoles had brought to the living room, but no one had really cracked the broader application beyond disc-based games. It surely wasn't web browsing, as Nintendo and Sony had tried. Still, as streaming services from Netflix, Hulu, Pandora and others began to proliferate across lots of different add-on boxes, it made sense to add them onto Xbox Live (even if the programming wasn't) as well as the PlayStation Network.
PSA: Nintendo TVii live in North America
Nintendo TVii is up in North America for Wii U, allowing users to set up menus of favorite shows, channels, and movies, and manage their broadcast or cable TV through a touchscreen interface. You'll be happy to learn that no download or enormous system update is required: just tap the TVii button on the home menu and setup will begin.The service currently supports broadcast, cable, Hulu, and Amazon Video, and will suggest ways to watch a selected show. Netflix and TiVo support will come early next year.
Nintendo TVii gets TiVo support in January, hoping to support other DVRs 'in the future'
Nintendo TVii is scheduled for arrival on North American Wii U consoles at some point today, but it's lacking a few key features Nintendo promised when the service was first revealed back in September. Most notably, TiVo support was delayed until "early 2013," though Nintendo of America Director of Network Business Zach Fountain reveals a January launch in the first ever "Reggie Asks" (headlined by ... you guessed it, Nintendo of America president / interviewer Reggie Fils-Aime). Nintendo TVii's co-developer i.TV, represented in the interview by company head Brad Pelo, confirms our fear that TiVo DVRs will be the only supported DVR in the near future on the Wii U. Pelo thankfully adds, "In the future, of course, we hope to add support for other DVRs." The group also discusses a main feature of TVii's second screen integration: "TV Tags." Beyond just viewing shows on the Wii U's GamePad controller, many shows (starting with "the top 100 shows in the US market," including sports, and evolving to integrate "what Nintendo TVii thinks is hot, what we think has momentum, and what we think our audience might find interesting") will feature social interaction and rich content (think: Miiverse-esque chat and stats for sports). Should TVii be as successful as Nintendo believes it will be, Pelo sees producers of popular television shows working with Nintendo to speak to their show's audience more directly. We're just hoping for a chance to talk about those crazy outfits Cee-Lo wears on The Voice in real time on the Wii U -- let's make it happen, people!
Nintendo TVii app launches on Wii U in US and Canada on December 20
Nintendo of America announced this morning that its delayed Nintendo TVii service for the Wii U will launch on December 20. Nintendo TVii, first introduced back in September, intends to tie all of your currently balkanized media services on the Wii U -- various streaming services, your cable box, and your DVR -- into a single, cross-searchable application. At launch, the service will tie in Hulu Plus and Amazon Instant Video, but Netflix and TiVo are skipping the party until some time in "early 2013" (January for TiVo). Nintendo TVii was given a December 8th launch date in Nintendo's home country of Japan, lining up with the launch of the company's new console; the TVii service notoriously missed the launch of the console everywhere else in the world, remaining absent ever after its various support services were added (Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant, etc.) as individual apps. Like those apps, Nintendo TVii wasn't built by Nintendo itself, but in a partnership with i.TV. It's unclear what lead to the delay of the TVii service, but we're glad to see it arrive ahead of the various big present-giving days.
Wii U 'TVii' service launching in Japan Dec. 8
Originally announced for the US and Canada, the Nintendo TVii service is already expanding to Japan (and it's not technically available in the US and Canada yet). The service launches in Japan with the Wii U on December 8, and allows users to view a program guide and supplementary information about shows.In Japan, TVii is a partnership between Nintendo and Rovi Corporation, who will provide a Wii U-based version of its "G Guide" interactive program guide.The TV remote control function of the GamePad, which allows you to turn on your TV and change channels, inputs, and volume, will be a ¥100 eShop download in Japan. It's free with the North American Wii U, and part of the initial system setup. It's also great.
Nintendo TVii will launch with the Wii U in Japan on December 8th, IR remote costs $1
Nintendo's Wii U has yet to launch in Japan, but over there it's been revealed that the innovative Nintendo TVii app will be available when the console launches December 8th. Interestingly, the IR remote functionality that we've already seen packed in will cost 100 yen ($1.21) from Nintendo's eShop. The TV guide data will be pulled from Rovi's G-Guide service, ready to pull up even when you're not using the console, or in the middle of a TV show or video game. We still don't have an exact release date for the i.TV-based feature in North America (it's due in "select" European regions next year) but at least gamers can enjoy their Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and YouTube access until then.
Nintendo's TVii comes to 'selected regions' in Europe next year
Nintendo's TVii is scheduled to launch in "selected regions throughout Europe" in 2013, an official product page displays. TVii was previously described as a feature exclusive to the US and Canada, and is set to hit these regions in December.TVii is an enhancement for existing television features, throwing a programming guide on the GamePad that allows navigation of cable and satellite shows, as well as YouTube, Netflix, Hulu Plus and other on-demand services. Netflix, YouTube, Hulu Plus and Amazon Instant all have separate, functional apps on North American Wii U consoles right now.
Wii U's Miiverse, Chat, TVii, and eShop features will arrive in a day-one software update
Are you ready for Nintendo's Wii U console to arrive in a couple of weeks, packing not only a GamePad but also extensive online-enabled features like the Miiverse, Wii U Chat, TVii and eShop? Good, because as IGN mentions, the Wii U isn't. Not unlike many games shipping lately, the console will see a software update available at debut that downloads all of those features for the first time. That shouldn't be a problem for early adopting gamers as long as everything goes smoothly, but so far early-arriving review / preview units don't have the functionality, although it should be delivered in an update before the launch. It's been a few years since we had a new console launch (relive the PS3 fat, pre-RROD Xbox 360 and Wii here) and quickly-changing software is certainly the name of the game, we'll let you know as soon as we can how the Nintendo Network delivers.
Nintendo TVii supported by 'all' major US and Canadian cable companies, dish services
Nintendo TVii will support "all" cable and dish carriers in the US and Canada, Nintendo director of strategic partnership Zach Fountain told Engadget this afternoon. He said that no major carriers are excluded, and the only requirement for signing up is inputting your cable company's account information to the Wii U. DVR and TiVO functionality are plugged in similarly, where users input information via web, and services resultantly pop up on the Wii U. Nintendo TVii launches with the Wii U on November 18 in the US and Canada for free, and remains exclusive to North America for the time being.
