The Revolution will be Televised!

There’s no denying the amazing success seen by the Wii. Despite criticisms of its power, games, and audience, the system sells phenomenally month after month. While hardcore gamers may not be receiving the attention they deserve, the casual audience is reaping benefits tenfold. For Japan’s Wii gamers, Nintendo is scheduled to hit a new benchmark in casual later this year.

Spring 2009 will reportedly usher in Wii’s video on demand service. According to 1up.com, several Japanese television executives are as frightened of the Wii’s audience as Sony is. Representatives of Fuji Television (Japan’s largest commercial broadcaster) have been quoted saying that the idea of the Wii as the “centerpiece of the living room is the stuff of television producers’ nightmares.”

So why all the hubbub? If you’ve watched videos on any of Nintendo’s current streaming services then you’ve noticed the mediocre video compression. Also the Wii isn’t exactly a bandwidth aficionado with its hit and miss online support and lack of significant storage space.

All these issues aside, the fear stems from the channel’s content. Nintendo’s partnering with Japanese advertising firm extraordinaire, Dentsu Inc., to produce original content for the (currently named) Wiinoma Channel. This original programming will include cartoons, brain games, cooking shows, as well as educational and lifestyle shows. In a nutshell, Nintendo’s target TV audience will be the same as its gaming audience.

If the trend of success seen by Wii games translates to the Wiinoma channel, Japanese television could suffer losses not seen since the great Pokemon incident of ’97. It’s hard to sell toys to kids enthralled in grand mall seizures.

Source: 1up.com