Nintendo Ready to Launch Video on the Wii?
December 26, 2008
Reuters is reporting that a video distribution service will be launched on the Wii by Dentsu, a Japanese ad agency, in Japan in 2009.
Video content will be created specifically for the Wii with cartoons being cited as the first example. There will be a mix of paid and free content.
There are a few interesting points to note:
- I’ve been waiting. The Wii has the most intuitive channel (as in TV channel) interface. It’s easy enough that my kids would probably prefer watching video through the Wii than flipping through the cable remote.
- Is this a partial story? I’m assuming a December 25th story means either it’s bad news (not the case) or it was leaked the Reuters rushed by print it (my bet)
- The are launching with a cable like model of paid premium and free entertainment.
- The article implies that Nintendo and Dentsu are matching the content to the demographic. They are producing for the Wii so that, like the video game strategy, they are not being all things to all people, but offering a specific type of content to the Wii demographic (just as casual and easy games are specific to the Wii demographic).
- A video distribution service by an ad agency? Does this show a new era of monetization where you don’t create and pray for money, but create with the money?
And what are the implications?
Bandwidth providers have to change their models. I’m betting them get out of the entertainment game and end up providing tiered bandwidth along with partner devices…similar to where wireless carriers have been heading. So, the next generation may decide they want AT&T bandwidth with the entertainment that comes along in a Wii set top box just as today we choose AT&T Wireless with the content and services that come with an iPhone or Blackberry.
Is Google Old News? XBox, PS3 and Others Prepare to Leapfrog Search
July 8, 2008
Google dominates search on the PC screen, is making a play to dominate no the mobile screen but so far has shown little momentum on the screen that delivers, and will probably continue to deliver, big advertising revenue - the television screen.
Why?
- Ads still look best on television and they will become as interactive as online advertising. IPTV and interactive TV platforms will allow increased targeted and clicks and purchases right from the couch (couch potato purchases).
- People want TV. Remote clicking couch potatoes don’t want to become desk potatoes but they do watch Hulu when that’s the only way to get TV on demand (and we are in a when-we-want-it era). As online video become increasingly accessible through the TV (fast, high quality, TV interface etc), many web video hours will revert to TV watching hours.
- Your set top box will increase it’s share of Web features and technology while retaining that couch potato optimized TV interface and remote control controllability.
For an example of where we are heading, just plug in an XBox and you can download a variety of HD content for television watching using a remote control. Plug in a Sony Playstation 3 (or Nintendo Wii) and you can watch video through Web video sites using your remote control for the console. I particularly like the PS3 video in a Web browser experience as it shows the equivalent of unlimited TV on demand. From a media perspective, it’s the equivalent of being able to launch unlimited video channels just as you would as Web page (since it’s all Web technology designed for the bigger screen).
Now, in addition to the XBox 360’s and PS3’s (to be launched) video download stores, there are rumors of Netflix (and a few wishful rumors about Hulu) being made available through these consoles.
Now add in a video advertising network to these platforms and you have a whole new world of television media. Instead of watching a Netflix movie on a pay per view basis, you can watch a free one with commercials or in-video ads (which you can click on to purchase goods or get more information.
In the end, consumers, entertainers (would you rather be a TV star on a 17 inch screen or a 62 inch screen), media companies, brands and advertisers all are big fans of television. When they can combine TV screen size with Web type interactivity, choice and features, the hype momentum and dollars will likely swing back to focusing on the large screen. Set top box makers, cable and IPTV companies and the video game console makers are planning for that day.
