Reading the news Nintendo style

The video game console manufacture Nintendo has launched Wii.com. It’s a look into how their new machine called Wii (pronounced ‘we’) will perform. Wii online has several channels. (inovative name huh) One interesting channel they have is called Newschannel and Forcastchannel.

Catch up on current events each day with the latest headlines on the News Channel.
*This Channel can only be accessed when the Wii console is connected to the Internet.

This video game console connects to the internet and uses a controller that understands your 3D hand motions. Interestingly one part of the controller is shaped like a TV remote.

From what I can tell from the video the navigation appears simple and easy to use. You select an item from a list and plain text with pictures pops up. It’s laid out like a newspaper page justified left with text wrapping around a rectangle picture. It appears very familiar and usable. Check out the videos for yourself.

This isn’t a new idea but it represents the merging of old tech with new tech and the transformation of the TV into an interactive device. Hopefully you won’t be restricted to Nintendo’s content filter. The Opera web browser is being included in the Wii and should open the doors for this device to browse the whole internet. Including the content you created.

If I was a newspaper owner I’d be looking beyond the multimedia website and even hand held devices like phones and towards video game consoles. Especially if you want to increase the number of younger people who read your paper (15-35). This isn’t just some silly trend but the transformation of media before your very eyes. The construction of the home media center by Nintendo, Sony Microsoft, Apple, and others is seriously blurring the lines between genres that were once held in separate containers. No more.