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Rumours are spreading that “unannounced” Wii Channels will show up in the days leading up to Christmas, presumably to bolster the existing Channels that are scheduled to start going online on December 20th. This means that we may be able to get weather, news, and other goodies from our consoles. While I don’t have the link handy, I also stumbled across a report that we may get a youTube-esque Channel.

Of course, the whole Channels functionality is little more than access to the web; they’re like OS X widgets which, though easier than surfing to a web site, don’t really do anything that one couldn’t do in a browser. The real asset, then, is whether or not Wii’s Opera browser will fully support the various technologies we need for the Wii to become a viable web machine, such as Flash, video codecs, and media players.

More than a Video Game

The recent trend of consoles doing more than playing games is an interesting foray into maximizing the possibiities consoles possess. This is interesting because though consoles were capable of these things before, only now are they becoming acceptable. It wasn’t long ago, for example, that Microsoft refused to associate the XBox with anything remotely resembling a computer, and online fora were filled with naysayers comparing the XBox to a PC, failing to realize that all consoles of the era were computers.

While Microsoft could easily have allowed users to plug in a USB keyboard and mouse, make a browser available, and allow for PC-esque gaming over XBox Live!, Microsoft made a valiant effort to disassociate its console from the company’s PC roots, which was arguably necessary for Microsoft to carve a place for itself in the console gaming industry. Today, with Microsoft’s previous console success behind us, it’s time for consoles to take on roles that they could have been doing for years.

As a sidenote, the Sega Dreamcast was, perhaps, the first console with the tools necessary to take over various PC roles. Adapters existed to use keyboards and mice (Typing of the Dead, anyone?), and even had a Sega-branded keyboard/mouse available. In typical Sega fashion, however, the Dreamcast was way ahead of its time, and its broadband adapter, MMORPG (Phantasy Star Online), and other PC components never registered with consumers.

These days, things are different for consoles, and though Maxator and others proclaim that Sony’s efforts at releasing more than a gaming system is a horrid decision, it is not a trend Sony alone is guilty of. Rather, Sony simply went too far.

Nintendo, up until the Wii, was the only player who maintained that their systems were for pure gaming. The PS2 and XBox both included DVD playing functionality, and the latter even supported a hard drive which was, arguably, little more than a novelty that raised the console’s price unecessarily. Sony’s decision to incorporate Blue Ray pushed the mark on unecessary novelties, and this risk is something they did to trump HD DVD. Though bundled into their core console, Microsoft too is supporting non-gaming functionality, with their “add-on” HD DVD player.

Certainly, the mindset between Sony and Microsoft is different when one considers bundling versus aftermarket, but the important factor here is that none of the three console players have released pure gaming machines. It is, in fact, worth noting that even the hold-out from last generation, Nintendo, has given in to the trend, even though the Wii continues not to support DVDs, which is curious given that the Wii-mote is a more suitable controller than those offered by Sony or Microsoft.

A New Battle

The distinction in this generation is that while Sony and Microsoft are fighting on a battlefield for dominance of a video standard, Nintendo is silently bidding on the World Wide Web (WWW), which is a front one would expect Microsoft to defend zealously. Nintendo anticipated that this front would be important for the current generation, else they wouldn’t have invested in Opera, and instead would have thrown together an in-house browser with limited functionality, like Danger’s Sidekick.

So far, Microsoft hasn’t responded, perhaps because they’re too busy trying to keep one step ahead of Sony. No one really thought Nintendo could survive last generation’s onslaught, and perhaps the Gameboy DS is what kept Nintendo’s mindshare afloat, but whatever struggle occurred, Nintendo is clearly on top right now, even if they don’t stay that way after the holidays. The point is, if Nintendo can build mindshare that the Wii is an online workhorse and multimedia machine, then Microsoft will have a conflict ahead that will force competition on both Sony’s front, and Nintendo’s. While Microsoft may have the resources to fight at two places at once, it will not be easy. Nintendo could very well emulate Apple’s mindshare where it counts, and even if the XBox is technically more capable, the software itself will ultimately determine which console is better suited to the task. So far, the Wii’s simplicity is already better suited for the average consumer, while the XBox dashboard is typical Microsoft clutter.

One choke-point that both Microsoft and Nintendo will invariably meet at is online gameplay. Sony too will eventually have a workable online multiplayer system in place, but at this point, it doesn’t seem that Sony and Nintendo will come to blows anytime soon, since their aims are very different at this point; Sony needs to show the industry that their more expensive console is more expensive for a reason, and Nintendo needs to show the industry that their lightweight hardware is more than capable of redefining how we use our consoles. Arguably, Nintendo and Sony have one strong commonality, however: a need to trump Microsoft.

Unfortunately, only the XBox 360 has an online multiplayer system in place, and its the headset that will remain the kicker. For Nintendo’s mission of exploiting the WWW and everything online, a headset will become a vital factor, given that it will open the doors for other possibilities, including audio messages across Wiis, a Skype channel, and other social networking, non-gaming pursuits. Microsoft may have the hardware, but they don’t have the desire as of yet, while Nintendo is simply missing the microphone.

Like a Ninja

It was somewhat remarkable that Nintendo was able to keep its gyroscope-controllers under wraps for so long, and like Apple, Nintendo has done a great job of keeping the details of the Wii hidden until the last minute. Nintendo needs to keep doing this - deals with third-parties, new Channels, etc. In this way, they can repeatedly leap up in consumer mindshare, and not give Microsoft enough time to respond effectively. If Nintendo gets a head-start long enough, Microsoft will keep duking it out with Sony, and will forget about adding various online, non-gaming features until the 360’s successor. By then, Nintendo will have a superb springboard for their own successor, even if that successor doesn’t have nearly the innovation present in the Wii.

In order to pull this off, however, Nintendo has a limited amount of time to make right what currently isn’t: online gaming. The Wii needs a steady flow of virtual console games, the ability for homebrew developers to distribute their games (ala XBox Live! Arcade), and a headset with games that utilize it. Perhaps future Wiis sold will no longer bundle just Wii Sports, but a wireless headset also, making for the best out-of-box bundle since the original NES (with ROB!).

Nintendo also needs to keep its mindshare up with developers, regardless of what consumers are saying. Nintendo needs developers like Rockstar, and needs to push the motto that graphics are secondary to fun titles. Alll of this is doable, it’s simply a matter of how quietly, and quickly, Nintendo can execute these plans.

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