Not content with its large share of the gaming console market, Nintendo have revealed plans to launch a TV channel called Wiinoma for its Wii platform in Japan this year with international expansion under consideration.
Wiinoma will be available to those with both a Wii console and an internet connection and is expected to feature cartoons, lifestyle shows, brain-training quizzes and educational programming that will be produced exclusively for Nintendo and be entirely original content.
Nintendo is hoping to make a shift into content-based services, generating profits from the accompanying advertising revenue – which could be a wise move at a time when most major Japanese electronics manufacturers are slashing earnings forecasts due to lower sales volumes.
Dentsu, Japan’s largest advertising agency will deliver content and advertising for the service upon its launch in spring, while a premium paid service is expected for mid 2010.
The television service, if successfully launched internationally, could offer some tough competition for even the world’s largest broadcasters. Of 40 million Wii owners worldwide, the company believes around 18 million of those consoles are already connected to the internet and ready to use the video-on-demand service.
Sources:
Times Online and Telegraph and New York Post