Japan's Wii-no-Ma
This is an interesting article about Wii Japan’s new community TV viewing channel, Wii-no-Ma. The name comes from Ocha-no-Ma which refers to the traditional social act of sharing tea. In this case what is shared is not tea but TV shows from a select group of stations, and these experiences can be shared among 8 people. The free-service is supported by selected advertising, and there is even a DSi “on the go” option. I’ll admit, it is still a little confusing, and not probably coming stateside, but it is intersting to see how the home of Nintendo takes advantage of the powers it has. On a side note, Japan has been a wide-screen TV country for quite a while, which has probably slowed the HD revolution (Japan is not scheduled to make the all-digital transfer we went through this week until 2011).
By Sci-Guy-John
June 15th, 2009 - 6:17 am
OK… so to combat the lack of family television watching, they have managed to come up with a way to simulate the family getting together for television? And if you are out on a walk, you can join by your DSi? I actually think that this concept could be sold here in the USA.
I was impressed, though, that Nintendo included a feedback/review feature for those watching television through the service. I’m sure advertising and television execs are eagerly awaiting that data!
June 15th, 2009 - 12:43 pm
http://wii.ign.com/articles/978/978670p1.html