At Nintendo’s US and UK Wii U pricing and release date announcement, the company has just announced the latest feature to come to the Wii network of devices in the form of Nintendo TVii.
The company’s COO Reggie Fils-Aime announced the Nintendo TVii streaming service for the Wii U and stated that it will help users find and watch television, movies, and sports all using their Wii U console.
TVii will feature content from Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Instant Video (all of which are mainly US based) but the service will also integrate with TiVo DVRs. The Wii U console will be able to communicate with TiVo boxes in the US, and users will be able to use the GamePad for viewing channel listing and remote control for the TV.
The service offers the ability to create multiple profiles where users can explore TV channels and their favourite TV shows and associate these searches and watched to individual profiles and the save, share and recommend programs to friends using your profile.
When it comes to sharing, the Nintendo TVii will also have access to Twitter and Facebook with IMDB and Wikipedia integration built in so you can look through what actors have been in what (putting an end to the “where have I seen him before?” question!) or just to find out what the next episode is of CSI is about.
Nintendo also showcased a new TVii functionality built around sports where you will be able to simultaneously watch a live game while browsing for statistics and searching for instant replays on the GamePad, much like the recent Sky Sports iPad app.
You can see a video of the service below:
Nintendo Wii TVii will roll out in the United States and Canada, and the company is looking to bring the service to “other parts of the Americas.” It will be included with all Wii U consoles with no additional cost and no monthly fees.
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