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Wii Opera Browser is Free Until Next Year
Wowzer writes "Nintendo is serious about giving casual game console users multi-functionality by offering not just a weather, news, and photo channels, but a free internet browser with the Wii at the November 19th U.S. launch. From the article: 'Opera's full Web browser is available for download from the Wii Shop Channel. Nintendo has stated that they will offer Opera free of charge as a temporary promotion for all [worldwide] Wii users until June 2007.'"
I love Opera, but the fact that they were going to want to charge money for it was a little meh, though I was more than happy to pay for it. The fact that it's free until 2007 seals the deal for me.
I'm the guy with the unpopular opinion
Wouldn't this be a 'Wiib Browser'?
Isn't Opera free already ?
Karma cannot be described by words alone.
Did Mario write the headline?
Check out my foes list to see who is so retarded that they can't use the signature line!!!
They already announced this for Japan, so I expecit it to happen. I think it's a great thing to do. I have to wonder what the price will be once the "sale" stops. Still, I can see how this may be useful, but I don't think I'd pay for it. People who may have a Wii and no computer though might.
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
or are they implying everyone will have to buy after July? non-free updates?
I'm getting the Wii but not interested in browsing anyway. the DS browser seemed like a nice idea and was well implemented except for the appalling performance so I didn't bother.
-Eric
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
...someone will have hacked up a free version to use in place of the pay one...
"goodbye and hello, as always" ~Prince Corwin, from Zelazny's Amber series
The headline is a bad grammar.
My new blog
If someone's already bought it for their PC, they can just let Opera and Nintendo know and they'll get a copy sent straight to their Wii, right? I mean, surely a respectable company with IP will have no problem making you absolutely happy with your purchase once you've paid them money, right?
*chuckles* :)
I'm guessing the answer is no, but, will the Wii be able to download software from places *other* than the Wii Shop Channel (without creative network management)? The Wii could graduate from "casual gamer" market if it allowed homebrew games and -- here's the relevance -- apps such as, say, FF for Wii (and screw this commercial browser nonsense).
Terrorists can attack freedom, but only Congress can destroy it.
As other users have pointed out, Opera still not free for non-PCs devices, like cell phones (and the DS); that's where the company makes its money.
The news, as I see it, is neutral; it could have been better (Opera free forever), and it could have been worse (Opera pay from the beginning). I'm not sure it's a good thing for Nintendo, though (assuming that everyone will have to pay net year, even those that have been using it free).
But many of them will pay $20 per month more for broadband instead of dial-up just for gaming. My mother switched from dial-up to DSL literally three days ago.
For what I know, only the Desktop (Lin/Mac/BSD/Sol/QNX/Win) version of Opera is free. Opera Mobile (for phones) costs 20 dollars, and I'm unsure of the price of Opera DS (imports are $50)
"I think an etch-a-sketch with an ethernet port would beat IE7 in web standards compliance."
Can you recommend an affordable set-top PC?
NT
Comment of the year
FF for Wii is planned.
The problem with a blanket endorsement of homebrew methods is that commercial developers will likely try to pass their games off as homebrew without giving Nintendo a cut. This would kill the attach rate.
Opera Broswer for you, is a Free, Sayeth Mario
OSGGFG - Open Source Gamers Guide to Free Games
In canada you can pre order a Wii at Toys R Us.
Got the bundel deal (one wii two controlers and 2 games) under 300 and all for a refundable 50$ cdn
Also put in a pre order for zelda!
Now all I have to do is waite for Nov!
$DO || ! $DO ; try(); > try: command not found
Because... it's a different program for a different architecture that runs on a different kind of device in a different market?
The PC and console versions of the same game are generally separate purchases, and not necessarily the same price. Here one of the prices is $0. That doesn't necessarily mean the other price will be $0 as well.
Okay so I have been super excited about the Wii. You could call me a Nintendo fanboy. But reading that summary has inspired feelings of dread. Great opera will be free as it should be, but then they are going to charge people to download it via their online shop service thing? Oh no please no pllleeeassseeee no. I have had enough of verizon locking me into their central download service. If you want to know what happens when a company can create artificial scaricity in a market go get a verizon phone and look at the stuff you can get online. Lets see... want to read email on your cell phone? Thats going to charge you 14$/month. Now you think wow thats a lot of money for something so simple... I am sure some other company is selling that for cheaper. But you are wrong! Verizon picks the apps so verizon can control the market by limiting your selection to just one companies shitty over priced email program. There is no such thing as competition here. So reading that Nintendo is going to charge me to download a web browser is not a comforting feeling. What other trivial features that should have come bundled are you going to milk me for? I can't believe I just compared Nintendo to Verizon.
Dooom
Does that mean that once you download it it is yours forever, or is it yours until it becomes non-free? Does it check each time it starts or what? It's not like the Wii has a massive storage area anyway, so I can see that if helpfully decides to "make room" by deleting your browser that you are screwed.
Er... I hate to break it to you, but by FF, I'm pretty sure the GP ment Firefox, not Final Fantasy.
I know, we're excited that Squeenix is supporting Nintendo, but that's another story.
No, Mr. Green. Communism is just a red herring.
Considering the mount of times the first letter of the lph bet ppe rs in text, this m y m ke re ding sl shdot difficult with the free Oper web browser for the Wii.
Spending Resources on Defense leaves Less to defend.
So Nintendo is going to bundle The Best Tool Humanity Has Ever made To Access Porn on a family games console, for free? Pretty big risk there, dudes. One day mom comes home and finds out the older kids have set the page to scat pron to gross the children out. Unlesss they lock it down, this will be a PR disaster in the US the first time a wailing mom is on the news saying how she trusted Nintendo to create a kid-safe experience, and then it wasn't.
Nåhja, men hvis jeg alligevel er i færd med at bestille maskine kan jeg lige så godt bestille spil.
Desuden har jeg kigget lidt på priserne, og som regel bliver spil+fragt fra Lik-sang billigere end at gå ned i en lokal forretning for at købe det.
På plussiden er det fremme før det har premiere i Danmark, på minussiden risikerer jeg ofte at spillet kan være på Japansk.
OTOH, there's been differing reports on whether or not there will be a region setting at all. We shall watch... and pray.
(To all non-Scandinavians: Sorry, but it'd have been uninteresting for you anyway if I'd written the first part in English)
Has anyone thought to consider that things like this keep Opera in business? And ultimately keeps Microsoft and Mozilla competitive?
And How would someone browse the internet with the Wii? Sounds like Nintendo plans to release a Wii Keyboard. If not, they screw themselves over with potential additional profit.
\
At first I thought it said Opera Bowser which made me think they had some singing game at the Wii launch.
I don't think they had the option.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W
...because "hacker" sounds way sexier than "code drone."
So where does this Opera browser get downloaded to? Flash memory - or do you burn a CD?
Unless I'm wrong and the Wii has a hard drive, but I don't think it does, right?
Anyone care to speculate what kinds of wiimote gestures will make pages refresh, go forward/back, etc? This has the potential to be really slick.
Don't flame me please, but Nintendo are making a profit on the Wii right? Which is not a bad thing by any means, but surely they could swing a deal with opera to get users free perpetual licenses. My phone comes with opera. I don't pay for that.
:)
For goodness sake, even the PS3 ships with a built in web browser that is free. Although not sure exactly what that thing is... probably sOnyWEb 1.0 or something like that
Opera's mouse gestures must get a whole new 'feeling' with the wiimote, which must feel very nice.br Speaking of which - i'd love to be connect a wiimote-like device to my PC, and use it e.g. for firefox' mouse gestures. Anybody know of a device like that? can't be taht hard to build, taking into account that really small accelorometers seem to become really affordable nowadays...
Only if a decapitated Muhammed is on your homepage.
http://www.gyration.com/en-US/Products.html
"You will soon be more aware of your growing awareness." - My first recursive fortune cookie!
Well, the last time I heard of a company releasing a software product free for one year was from a very large well known company and a certain popular software development product. They seemed to have changed their minds within a couple months.
The same as it ever was.
... and we can port it to whatever platform we want. There we have Minimo, that only works on WM and it's awfully slow... but we can theorically. The fact we can't do it practically doesn't matter.
If this Opera version reaches five million downloads... Will their CEO have to swim to Japan?
*ducks and runs*
It's on probation?
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
Matt Cassamassina at IGN likened this to the XBLA "free weekend" of Texas Hold-Em. If you download it during the free period, it's yours forever, you never have to pay for it.
A little bonus for early adopters?