I’m curious again… Are you a Nintendo Wii owner?
Were you an early adopter? Someone who studied the game’s unusual online configuration and anticipated the service the company calls WiiConnect24?
Have you been to the official Nintendo web site and read that “WiiConnect24 enables Wii to stay online 24/7 and download updates - even on standby”?
Have you checked out the WiiConnect24 description on Nintendo of Europe’s website? The description that states that “WiiConnect24 delivers new content even while users are sleeping or not at home, presenting ‘new experiences that anyone can enjoy every day,’ and laying the foundation for a lifestyle in which everyone in the family can relate to Wii on a daily basis.”
Did you ever read a May 2006 interview with Nintendo president Satoru Iwata back and see his comments on WiiConnect24?
Iwata: I’ll give you a specific example we are planning for. Let’s say your Wii is connected to the Internet in a mode that allows activation on a 24-hour basis. This would allow Nintendo to send monthly promotional demos for the DS, during the night, to the Wii consoles in each household. Users would wake up each morning, find the LED lamp on their Wii flashing, and know that Nintendo has sent them something. They would then be able to download the promotional demo from their Wii’s to their Nintendo DS’s. This will, of course, be possible in gaming stores too, but I think users will enjoy being able to do this within their homes. The key merit here is having promotional material delivered to your home, instead of having to go collect it yourself.
The plan quoted above came to be in Japan in late 2007, as part of a service called “Everybody’s Nintendo Channel.” That channel is now being prepared for launch on U.S. Wiis.
I’m wondering: Nintendo promised gamers the benefits and unique opportunities of a system that could be connected to a live Internet connection for 24 hours a day.
They’ve delivered the service, but has the service delivered? How has Wii Connect 24, met, exceeded or failed your expectations?