I've tried the Wii to navigate an EPG created by the BBC's tech team at Kingswood Warren. It wasn't easy and to get the pointer to click on the right box in the EPG (electronic programme guide) and select the programme you want. I would certainly get frustrated with the system I demoed but I can see the potential use of this type of interface. It might help to edge TV back into the life of the avid computer gamer, I just hope the buttons are nice and big when the iPlayer comes to Wii.
Nintendo has already added an official TV channel to the Wii in Japan, which includes an EPG. It's called the Terebi no Tomo (TV Pal Channel) and can be be added for free through the Wii Shopping Channel. The EPG allows browsers to search by genre and keyword in a 3D interface, and then save the programs of interest to individual Mii's. The system even sends an email to the Mii owner 30 minutes before a programme is about to start. This information is used by Nintendo to give programs popularity scores and recommend other programmes you might like.
- Paul Williams
The BBC's iPlayer video service will soon be available via the Nintendo Wii. The video download and streaming service that lets people catch up with BBC programmes will soon be a channel on the hugely popular game console.
The iPlayer on the Wii is currently being tested and the BBC expects to release more test versions in late 2008. An early version of the service is available from 9 April. It is only available in the UK to licence-fee payers.
Nintendo's Wii has rapidly become the world's most popular console largely thanks to its innovative motion-sensitive controller.
In the UK it has become the fastest-selling console ever, shifting more than one million units in just 38 weeks after going on sale.
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