Gizmodo: wii browser

Nintendo Stops Charging for the Wii's Browser, Emulates an Apology

John Herrman — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:20:00 EDT

You know what was dumb, until just now? That you had to pay, at least in Wii Points, to download the console's Opera browser, which isn't very good. Today, Nintendo would like to let you know that they're (somewhat) sorry!

The deal, according to ElectricPig, is as follows: If you never dropped those 500 Wii Points on access to the Internet Channel, you can now download it for free. If you for whatever reason had, you're entitled to free access to "a Virtual Console NES title worth 500 points," which, despite the vague phraseology, is pegged with an October release date. In other words, it's a specific game, instead of a simple 500-point credit, or at least a range of titles.

To be fair, they didn't have to give users anything, and no matter how marginally useful the browser is, whenever it was free—like at launch—it felt like a nice value add. [ElectricPig via Kotaku]

Wii's Opera Browser 2.0 Update Gets Detailed

Jason Chen — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 22:30:00 EST

Game Reactor has the scoop on Wii's Opera Browser 2.0, coming this December for 500 Wii Points ($5). It's got Wii Speak compatibility, updated buttons, a maximum of six tabs, Wii Mail support and will be free for people who already paid for the first. Those of you who love surfing the net with a motion stick are going to be thrilled. [Go Nintendo via Kotaku]

Wii Browser Enters Release Candidate Stage: Arrives Friday

www.gizmodo.com — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 17:50:40 EST

Nintendo is finally starting to round out the Wii's promised features — earlier today we were graced by the weather channel, over a month after the system's launch. Now, Opera and Nintendo have announced that a trial version of its browser for the Wii will be available this Friday, Dec. 22, with the final dropping sometime around the end of March. Also revealed was the price for users who download the browser after June: 500 points. Ninja-filled Opera press release comic and more thoughts after the jump.

While it looks to be far more capable, less clunky, and easier to maneuver than the red-headed stepchild DS version, hopefully a keyboard attachment isn't too far into the future because we have a feeling that the onscreen keyboard is going to turn into a real pain in the ass after a while — that is, after about two minutes. On the upside, the beta (let's call it what it is) is Flash-enabled from the get-go, meaning YouTube goodness is now available on the standard boob tube. – Matt Buchanan

Nintendo Press Release
Opera Press Release
[via Ars Technica]