Anyway, about a week or two ago, Nintendo released an Opera-based Internet Browser for the Wii. Reactions were decidedly mixed. Most people, myself included, felt that a browser was nothing but a slight, but wholly unnecessary, diversion. especially considering that 90%-100% of people who own both a Wii and a wireless router also own a computer and tend to browse the internet on that.
On the other hand we have the cripplingly lazy. These fervent defenders immediately praised the fact that they no longer needed to get up off the couch to check Gamefaqs to find that last piece of heart container in Zelda. The reality of this, of course, is that to do so they would actually need to quit out of the game and boot up Opera to do so, which would take roughly as much time as just going over to your PC to check the same page. Factor in the fact that without keyboard support, you’re forced to hunt-and-peck out the address on an onscreen QWERTY display (which, to be fair, is not 100% horrible as long as you’re not trying to send an email or post a blog or something) it ends up taking about twice as much time as using a computer terminal in another room, or a full four times as long as using a couch adjacent laptop (in case you were wondering the science behind my discoveries, cease all pontification…I’m making this up as I go along.)
Oh and in case you were wondering, on an 42” HDTV running at 480p (which is not the resolution you get with the standard set of Wii cables) the internet looks like complete and utter shit…which, if you think about it, sorta makes sense since the internet is pretty much comprised of complete and utter shit…but I digress.
Now, I’ll admit, I bought into the Wii browser strictly for the novelty factor. As a free piece of software, it works pretty well, and certainly stands to extend the life of a console with an anemic batch of launch games and the inevitable Gamecube-esque drought that’s sure to follow. So then, the question is: Now that you’ve taken the plunge and downloaded the browser, just what in the hell do you do with it?
- If you’re anything like my friends and I, the first thing you do is try and find porn…I mean, it is the internet after all. Now, of course, we’re not the only people that thought of that. That’s why (at least according to this guy at Ars Technica) the fine folks at www.tiava.com (NSFW, btw)have designed a Wii friendly version of their site. Regardless of my personal feelings towards pornography, I’m very impressed that the Wii is already having that much of an effect on how people are designing their websites, especially considering that the browser has only been around for about two or three weeks now. It’ll be interesting to see how many other sites and blogs will start coming up with Wii-friendly layouts if console browsing really does take off. Then again, anyone remember WebTV? Yeah, me neither.
- Another site that’s been specially designed for the Wii-web’s crap resolution. Large fonts and big, colorful GUI buttons make this Pandora-lite internet radio “station” worth checking out…just make sure that you hate good music before visiting.
- I have to admit, quality aside, this is the site that I’m most impressed with the design of. With an interface built to mimic the Wii’s startup screen, this little collection of Flash games does a reasonable job in simulating an actual (albeit, somewhat sloppy) Wii minigame experience by offering point-and-click versions of games like Simon and Duck Hunt. Sure, they don’t run as well as games specifically designed for the system but, like Nintendo’s entire online approach, you get what you pay for! The best thing about this is that if you weren't lucky enough to score a Wii console at launch, you can just bring this site up on your computer and totally front like you've got one...at least until someone asks to play...
- Finally, the best of the best. The fine folks at Red Kawa bring us Sofatube, a way to effectively browse and watch YouTube videos on your couch via Wii or PS3. Now I personally was never bitten by the YouTube bug as hard as a lot of people I know (mostly due to the fact that I can’t get it at work and by the time I get home, I’m loathe to sit in front of a computer monitor any longer than I have to) but I’ve got to admit, this is pretty fucking cool. In addition, if you’re planning on using your Wii as a media hub (I don’t know why you would, but that’s just me) check out Red Kawa’s video converter here. It should let you convert all of your .avi, .mpeg, and .divx files into Wii-able files. I haven’t had a chance to try it out yet, but if anyone else does, let me know.
Hell, if anyone even has a Wii, for that matter, let me know. I’ve got some Big Lebowski Miis with your name on them…
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