Wii Browser In Pictures And Clips, Coming In ...

Wii Browser In Pictures And Clips, Coming In April

Sony aren't the only ones deserving our anger these days, as you've probably heard about Microsoft's mishaps with the hijacked Xbox Live accounts due to their inapt customer service. And quite frankly, we still can't get over the fact that Nintendo have yet to launch the Internet Channel / browser for their Wii console. The wait is almost over, however, because a few days ago Nintendo and Opera, the browser's maker, have issued a press release confirming - or rather delaying (yet again) - the launch of the Wii Internet Channel in April 2007 (as in the final version, since the trial has been out for a while).

The Wii Opera browser was last supposed to be inaugurated in late March, after it failed to be readied in time for the console's launch late last year. Previously, the two companies also announced that the Internet Channel would be made available free of charge until June or July 2007, but we'd sure like to see that offer extended in light of all these delays.

In the meantime, you can kill some time by reading a lengthy Internet Channel preview published this week on Nintendo's Wii website, in which several developers share their thoughts along with some of the browser's features - also depicted in some screenshots and clips. The mini-trailers show the zoom function, scrolling through a page, and the toolbar displayed at the bottom of the screen, which will be equipped with an auto-hide feature.

Included in the full version of the Wii browser will also be a quick search function, and the ability to display cursors of multiple Wiiotes at the same time. But don't worry, only the primary controller can actually do the browsing, while the others just point at things on the page.

The examples and media shown by the devs in this preview relate mostly to the browser's Japanese version, but we can expect the English one to look pretty much the same. Minus the kana and kanji.

(N.B. Archive text, links removed)