Nintendo Channel Review - 8.7/10
Nintendo Channel Review
By Matt Kelly
In between our Wii's drive buggering up this week we thought we'd sit down with the Nintendo Channel and see if it's been worth all the fuss. If you don't already know, the Nintendo Channel is a new piece of software that you can install on your Wii which will allow to to browse through game titles, videos, Nintendo DS demos and get game recommendations. As with most things that Nintendo does at the moment, it may have taken a while to arrive but upon launching you'll find the classic seamless Nintendo Wii experience.
Of course the channel is basically a marketing tool for Wii and DS software but neither the Xbox 360 or the Playstation 3 can compete with the fact it's a sheer joy to use. After launching it for the first time and going through a few privacy and data sharing acceptances, the channel launched the video digest, a break down of all the new content that has been added. While the video was noticeably low res it was also very quick to get going. If you've ever downloaded a game trailer before you'll be familiar with the long download and no next to nothing in payoff. While the Nintendo Channel doesn't meet the resolution of it's competing consoles, the fact is there is only a few seconds wait before the video starts up, which in our books is more worth while than getting the content in super sonic HD. The video digest itself was a bit iffy with it's sound editing but for the first one out the door, it did a pretty decent job showing off the various launch content, including a chat with WiiFit designer Shigeru Miyamoto.
Once we'd got through the digest it was onto the main menu showing off all the latest video. As a quick idea of launch content, you've got a whole bunch of trailers and TV spots for Nintendo titles such as Super Mario Galaxy, Wii Fit and Brain Training, along with the aforementioned chat with Miyamoto. To watch, simply click with the Wii remote and the video will boot up in seconds. One thing that was really cool was that if you jump back to the main menu and browse for other content, the video will minimize into the top right of the main menu and keep on playing. The only issue with the video that we could pick so far was that during the Miyamoto talk some info pop ups ran straight over his subtitles. While it's strictly an editing room issue, hopefully we won't see a repeat of this in the future.
So beyond the video on demand features, you've also got game info and recommendations. The experience gets a little bit rougher here but not by much, and is purely a user interface thing and will be fixed next release no doubt. The most immediate way to get related game info is through the video playback screens, which feature a 'more info' button. From there it'll take you to a scrollable screen featuring some basic info, release date, additional video content and related games. If it's a DS game and has a demo, you'll also be able to check that out. These info pages however could use a bit of refinement, as you don't currently get a 'from a glance' overview of what content is available relating to that title. Instead you have to scroll down through a couple of pages just to see what's there. It's not a huge pain in the ass but it does kind of take away from getting the info you want right then and there with out having to go through other stuff.
The other option you've got is the fairly comprehensive search features. You can search title, genre, publisher, peer ratings and a whole bunch of other things. While the majority of them are a no brainer as to what the search for, one cool thing is the demographic search tools. Say you want a game for a 24 year old female who likes playing with friends, the Nintendo channel will feed you back a list of games based on peer reviews from other users and no doubt their own internal target market data. The search tools are all there, the only thing we can fault at the moment is the limited library of titles in the database. We tried putting a few titles in that would probably make Miyamoto cry like 'Action Girlz Racing' and got no results. Again it's only just launched but if Nintendo wants it to be seen as a serious tool in the long term, things like that will be the key.
The peer recommendations system is going to be something that will show its worth in the long term but basically it allows you to make recommendations on who should be playing a game that you've played. It'll allow you to input which gender in your house hold enjoyed it more, their age, casual or hardcore gamer, along with a general score of the game. The stuff they're questioning you over is valid and has a real potential to give some genuinely useful meta recommendations but only time will tell. The only restriction on what you can give recommendations for is that you must have played the title for at least an hour.
Finally the DS Download Service which is probably the most wanted feature on the Wii fullstop. You can get to demos either through a demo list or a game info page. Once you're there just tell it you want to download the demo and it will run off to fetch the demo from the net. When ready, the Wii will disconnect from the net and start broadcasting a DS wireless signal which you can pick up on your DS exactly like you do at download hotspot. Curiously it actually allows two to download simultaneously. Just like the video on demand features the whole process is speedy and fuss free, although at the moment you'll either end up with Brain Training or Mario Kart, and doesn't everyone already have those? The DS Download Service could potentially turn into a very cool feature if the content supports it. While playing sudoku is great and all, the love for this feature won't last long if regular content doesn't get shuffled through.
So in its debut month where does the Nintendo Channel sit? Although it has some minor UI issues and lack of content, both of these are pretty normal for the first launch of a feature. The shop channel has gone through its revisions and no doubt the Nintendo channel will too. The biggest benefit right now is it does make up for the somewhat slack nature of the Wii Shop Channel when it comes to screenshots or game info. The fact that the Nintendo Channel cross links with buttons into the shop channel only adds to that. Now only if they added the content. It's not 100% there but this is what will probably become its most useful feature. Yes, the Nintendo Channel is a glorified marketing tool but from what we've seen already, it's slick and fast and a hell of a lot more enjoyable than the competing console options. Content is it's biggest enemy in the long term, be it trailers or game info, but if Nintendo manages to pick it up then you will find yourself returning to the channel more and more for the latest info. The score we're giving today isn't taking content into account, but more design, interface and speed.
Score: 8.7
Looking towards the future, the Nintendo Channel has the potential to ultimately take over for the vast majority of what the shop channel does. And unless there's some overly technical issue, it wouldn'tsurprise us if the Shop Channel eventually gets replaced by the Nintendo Channel. Between its snappy interface and media services, the Nintendo Channel has a lot of places to go.
Screenshots borrowed from N-Europe
Submitted by Robtot
02/06/2008
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