The Daily reported on Thursday that the Japanese gaming giant is working on a "full-blown app store" for its next-generation Wii U, which is set to arrive in late 2012.
Though the company currently operates digital applications stores via its DSi Shop and Wii Shop, the publication claims the next-generation store would go "far beyond" its predecessors. A personal familiar with the matter said the new store would offer a "wider variety of apps" than the selection of games and simple utilities on Nintendo's current stores.
Given the console's role in the living room, applications on the Wii U could pose a threat to the Apple TV. For instance, the report specifically cites MLB.TV as an app that could arrive on the console. Apple added MLB.TV support to the Apple TV earlier this year, with live and on-demand baseball games and stats, scores and standings.
The Daily also noted that developers may build apps designed specifically to run independently on the Wii U's tablet-like controller, potentially offering direct competition with Apple's iPad and App Store ecosystem. Even with the Wii U controller's major limitation of having to stay within range of the console to operate, it could still challenge the iPad's dominance in the living room, as one recent study revealed that 70 percent of all iPad use occurs in front of a TV.
Nintendo's next-gen 6.2-inch touchscreen controller drew immediate comparisons to the iPad when it was unveiled in June. However, Nintendo executive Satoru Iwata dismissed the connection, claiming that the company had already begun designing the controller before the iPad was announced in January 2010.
The Wii U will arrive at a critical time for Nintendo. It 3DS handheld gaming system got off to a slow start this year, resulting in widening losses for the company. According to one study last month, Apple's iOS and Google's Android have struck a sizable blow against gaming incumbents Nintendo and Sony, with the two smartphone plaftorms capturing a combined 58 percent of portable gaming revenue in the U.S.
Investors have begun calling for Nintendo to bring popular franchises such as Super Mario over to iOS in order to restore growth, but the company has been adamant in its hardware and software strategy.
For its part, Sony released its own tablet-like gaming device in the form of the PlayStation Vita earlier this month. Sporting a 5-inch touchscreen as well as a range of other input methods, the PS Vita arrived first in Japan and will launch in the U.S. and Europe next February. However, software bugs plagued the handheld's launch, even as initial sales failed to match the 3DS launch, which itself was viewed as a disappointment.
19 Comments
Before the debate begins, let's just agree that dedicated consoles do games very well, while Apple's devices provide a satisfactory gaming experience, which may be good enough for most. I'm looking very forward to the Wii-U although the non-gaming aspects depend on the success of one area that Nintendo is weak at (online) and another that Japanese companies in general seem to be weak at (software).
PS Vita looks to have flopped already perhaps - it did really badly in it's second week. I thought there would be enough dedicated gamers out there to see to it the device was a moderate success, but (very) early signs do not look good. Also, the PS Vita is hardly a 'tablet-like' gaming device (I guess you're just side-stepping iPad like), if I recall it got there first with the original PSP!
If Nintendo is not going live until at least the end of 2012, they are likely still in the planning stage. The difference between theory and reality is much greater in reality. At least they have a good model to copy.
The Japanese were so good at taking American ideas, refining them and making better products. Look what they did with the car industry. They had a lead in the electronic gaming industry for the last 30 years. But we have seen much stagnation in the console gaming industry in the last 10 years. There's no way they could expect to put out a gaming console once every 6 years and expect to live on that. I have a PS3 in the living room I hardly ever turn on anymore. My AppleTV gets used more. I play most games on my iPad. The table has now turned and the Japanese have to again borrow American ideas in order to survive.
I have a Wii and will buy the new version when it comes out. Apple's Airplay competes with the consoles but I don't know how well it works. Anyone have any good experiences with Airplay?
Sounds like "full-blown" as in, they'll offer a greater variety of apps and media, because I gather they already have a pretty well put together digital store. I would hope they move away from the silly points system, I only see it as making the process more complicated than it needs to be, at least, I could never appreciate it when confronted with such a system elsewhere.