Tektodo

Nintendo has finally launched a service that many gamers have been clamoring for, the ability to download DS demos wirelessly from the Wii.  This new service comes in the form of the Nintendo Channel, a new channel that can be downloaded through the Wii Shop Channel.  I recently downloaded the newly released channel and will lay out some of its features below.

It took me about two minutes or so to download Nintendo’s newest channel.  After the download was complete and I opened it up, Nintendo offered a brief description of what the Nintendo Channel is all about and proceeded to ask me if I would like to receive commercials via the Wii Message Board.  It also asked me to agree to let Nintendo collect anonymous information about my playing habits.  I was then treated to a two and a half minute video, showcasing some of Nintendo’s products.

After all of the introductory bits, I came to what’s called the “Video List” a list of about 40 videos, ranging from an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto to trailers for various games.  It wasn’t quite clear where to download DS demos from this main screen.  In order to get to the demo list, I had to click on a large button at the top of the screen titled “Find Title for You”.

This presented a menu with a variety of choices: “View New Titles”, “Search by Category”, “Search by Name”, “Make a Recommendation” and at the very bottom, “DS Download Service”.

There are currently eight DS demos available: Brain Age 2, Flash Focus, Crosswords DS, Jam Sessions, Rayman Raving Rabbids 2, Cooking Mama 2: Dinner with Friends, Disney Friends and Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword.

I decided to try out Ninja Gaiden.  Clicking on the title of the game will automatically start the process, but you can click on a button labeled “Information” to learn more about the game (and which will also stop the transfer process).  Getting the demo on my DS was very simple and was no different than receiving a demo from a friend or from a retailer like GameStop.  After about a minute and a half, I was slashing monsters and tossing shurikens.

I’ve been looking forward to this service for months now (the service was released in Japan in November).  I was quite pleased with how simple the process was.  Downloading a demo from my Wii is much more convenient than having to travel 30 minutes to my nearest GameStop.

However, DS demos are not the crux of the Nintendo Channel.  It is quite clear from the appearance of the channel’s main page that promotional videos are what this new service is all about.  From trailers to informational spots, the Nintendo Channel is all about informing consumers about the latest and greatest Nintendo products.  The Shigeru Miyamoto interview was quite interesting, although it didn’t reveal anything new for me (I’ve read all of the Iwata Asks articles about Wii Fit and have stayed up to date on all the latest Wii Fit news).  I also checked out the Mario Kart Wii Info Video, which is definitely targeted to a casual audience (as is to be expected).  Nintendo also has a short video outlining its forthcoming WiiWare service, and, as with the Mario Kart Wii Info Video, it was very simplistic and geared towards the casual crowd.  The trailers showed off some decent gameplay footage for various games and the commercials speak for themselves.  There’s even a five minute tutorial video on how to use the Nintendo Channel itself.

All in all, Nintendo’s new channel has plenty of content to look at, but it’s definitely aimed at a casual audience.  Nevertheless, videos like the Shigeru Miyamoto interview should prove interesting for everyone, and the ability to download DS demos is very cool.  Hopefully Nintendo will add more demos to the list in the near future, as well as more behind-the-scenes videos like the Miyamoto interview.