Nintendo has announced its decision not to launch the long anticipated TVii service for Wii U in the UK and Europe.
TVii was initially launched in Japan when the Wii U console went on sale in December 2012 acting as a hub to a variety of streaming services with searchable programs and movies that can be viewed of the main TV screen of the Wii U GamePad. It followed to the US and was intended for a much wider audience by now and could have offered European console owners similar free access to popular on-demand platforms such as Amazon Instant Video and Hulu which are among the available services in the US version of TVii.
In the statement Nintendo says it didn’t anticipate the challenges involved in releasing TVii on an international level but will strive to continue developing its Wii U and portable consoles as an entertainment platform.
In an attempt to end the bad news on a positive note Nintendo says it is now able to offer the Nintendo Anime Channel to 3DS owners in the UK and Europe instead, but we must admit we’re a little underwhelmed by the consolation prize.
With next gen games consoles such as the Xbox One and PS4 becoming used equally for the purpose of TV watching as for the actual gaming, the loss of Nintendo’s TVii will likely come as a disappointment to some owners. It could also put Nintendo at a disadvantage in the entertainment market – a key point made when the console was given a full unveiling at E3 in 2012.
Thankfully they still churn out some great games and Netflix is available through its own app on the Nintendo Store.
The full details of the Nintendo TVii cancellation can be read on the Nintendo website.