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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'?
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.
not an opera that works on the wii.
the original plan was to charge for it (the opera for the DS will cost money)
...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
I believe it was about a year ago that they stopped charging for it. I know this, because I bought a license about a month before they made it free... (a quick google search reveals it was 1 year and 6 days ago :)
This is a good move by Nintendo I think, but I will hope that in June they change their minds and leave it free.
Is there heaven? Is there Hell? Is that a Tuna Melt I smell?-Primus
Only if you want free ads...
Always been free? Its been free for a year, maybe 2. It was a for pay product for many many years.
I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
Nintendo is temporarily offering me a free copy of a program that has always been free before. What a bargain!!
Opera has not "always been free". Prior to Version 5, it was pay software only. From 2000 to 2005, a "free" version was available, but was ad-sponsored. It's only been in the past year or so that a free-and-clear version of the browser has been available on the desktop.
The headline is a bad grammar.
My new blog
It's fun to be smug but only when you know what you're talking about.
Got it Eric?
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* :)
And they STILL charge for 'embedded' web browsers. (Ones for cell phones, etc.) Although some cell phone companies pay for it to be included.
Another non-functioning site was "uncertainty.microsoft.com."
The purpose of that site was not known.
When was the last time you checked Opera's website? Any time in the past year since they released it free? :)
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).
Opera for PC is free. Opera for embedded systems like your phone, PDA, or Wii costs money, but usually that cost is hidden in the price of the product.
"They redundantly repeated themselves over and over again incessantly without end ad infinitum" -- ibid.
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 $50)
"I think an etch-a-sketch with an ethernet port would beat IE7 in web standards compliance."
Can you recommend an affordable set-top PC?
FF for Wii is planned.
The problem with a blanket endorsement of homebrew methods is that commercial developers will likely try to pass their games off as homebrew without giving Nintendo a cut. This would kill the attach rate.
Opera Broswer for you, is a Free, Sayeth Mario
OSGGFG - Open Source Gamers Guide to Free Games
ya quick, someone post this on slickdeals! :)
It's fun to be smug but only when you know what you're talking about.
Got it Eric?
Nah, it's always fun to be smug, dude.
In canada you can pre order a Wii at Toys R Us.
Got the bundel deal (one wii two controlers and 2 games) under 300 and all for a refundable 50$ 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.
That's kind of like saying that using Linux requires you to compile everything by hand. It may have been true once, but the info is out of date.
Oh, Linux lets you use a compiler now, instead of forcing you to compile everything by hand? Whew, that's certainly going to make things much easier!
What a fool believes, he sees, no wise man has the power to reason away.
"Only if you want free ads..."
Opera isn't ad supported.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
Opera costs money on handheld solutions. Not everyone wants Opera. Not everyone should pay for it. Hence...those who want it can pay for it. Speak to the Opera guys if you have a problem with that.
"Thanks for all the money you paid to us. We've used it to buy off ISO among other things" -Microsoft
Absolutely! I nearly got carpal tunnel syndrome from moving those magnets around, flipping bits on the disk. (Though it did help me with fine motor control.) And don't get me started on the piles of scratch paper I used to go through!
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.
Funny... Why didn't they announce that on Slashdot? :P
On the plus side, it's nice to see someone making the opposite of the classic mistake, taking current information and assuming it was true in the past, rather than taking outdated information and assuming it still applies to the present.
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/08/30/143324 2
Be careful of your thoughts; they could become words at any minute...
I have no idea :)
---- Den ene knappen er powerknapp, den andre er Bender voice knapp "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass"
Let me add that Opera Mini is free as well.
http://www.opera.com/products/mobile/operamini/
They did. Here is the story.
Everyone's jumping on one part of your comment, but I'm curious about the other bit. I wonder if one might be able to use Firefox on one's Wii?
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)
The last version I saw was 1.0 from a long time ago. Since then, Opera been off my radar screen until I saw this article that it's going to be on the Wii (which I'm planning to pre-order).
Funny. Why didn't they announce that on Slashdot, and then again the next day?
If something I said can be interpreted two ways, and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, I meant the other one.
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."
We have always been at war with Eurasia!
Please, for the good of Humanity, vote Obama.
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?
It offered me pure web browsing on a Nokia 7650 which has (in real life) 2 MB of memory, running Symbian series 60 OS.
:)
;)
They can charge for sure.
Lets not get into fact about it costs like 2 high quality mobile games or something. If this thing ships for usual $30 (not sure), it will cost half of a decent console game and it will offer you Slashdot on your TV
Wouldn't you blame nintendo for picking opera over say over firefox or konquer? They picked the browser. Its not like wii is underpowered and couldn't support a full browser. 512 megs of ram, powerpc chip. I have feeling nintendo didn't want the eat the development costs of getting a browser onto the wii so they just gave to opera and allowed them to charge after 6 months.
Have you ever been to a turkish prison?
As a ex Opera for Windows (moved to OS X,Omniweb combination) customer, I know what would happen when a new product from Opera ASA ships or they announce a major breakthrough. The famous "Why pay for browser?" guys. I'd generally explain myself in 100 lines to them but as I am bored, I say "I am a moron,that is why I pay for a browser" and they shut up.
:)
Not to mention "QT framework should be free even if my application is commercial" types. Those are the developer types who didn't see the story yet. Even if they charge $20.000 from the company they coded custom application for, QT should be free of charge since it is open source!
You know, Trolltech and Opera ASA guys are sort of robotic creatures who doesn't eat or need money to live
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.
Really? The ads didn't come in until version 5. Before that, it was straight shareware.
You probably mean http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/09/20/121723 2
The story you linked to was the celebratory free license giveaway they did about a month before they dropped the registration requirements entirely
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...
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.
You must be new here...
Opera for Nokia Series 60 phones is also free.
Theoretical browsing is the best kind.
The PC (windows at least, linux too i think) edition is free yes. I suspect they realised there was little money to be made in the saturated PC browser market and therefore they may as well make it free to try and get more web developer mindshare (which is good for the value of thier embedded versions).
the embedded versions are operas main products nowadays. They have a good browser core that they can sell customised versions of to either the manufacturers or the users of other platforms (like phones, pdas and games consoles).
note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
right, but the opera for the wii is a cheap download (i forget the exact price), while opera is supposed to be something close to a full-priced game.
Magnets? MAGNETS? We used a dull fork because we couldn't afford a proper keypuncher!
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
It's on probation?
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
Which is fine given a standard DS cart with Opera browser on it + a non-standard GBA cart with higher quality memory costs a whole lot more to make than a normal game cart. Opera on the Wii will just be the code to run it since you ahve the necicarry hardware allready and we all know code can be replicated for next to nill (bandwith + electricity). Any money they make off the Wii Opera will be more for upkeep of the browser I believe.
it'd have to be modified to work with whatever OS the wii is running, which requires development time thats not being used to develop the non-wii opera.
I'm pretty sure that is what happened myself. And really, I can't blame them for wanting to eat the dev time, which I suspect to have been more important than the cost at the time.
"Thanks for all the money you paid to us. We've used it to buy off ISO among other things" -Microsoft
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?
You missed the point of my post. Considering how barely readable my post was I am suprised you got that much out of it. Its not about opera costing money. As far as I am concerned Opera could cost 200$ to download. Imagine if opera cost 20$ to download for PC, this is a non issue. One day ICANN says that it is now illegal to surf the web with any other browser but opera. Where before Opera had to keep their price down to stay competitive with free browsers now they can charge whatever they want. If you want to surf the web you have to pay opera.
This is what happens with a central download service. If nintendo gets part of the money going through their service then it is in their best interest to reduce or remove all competition to the various services they offer. Competition drives down prices and thus reduces that amount Nintendo has coming in. You can see this happening with Verizon's software portal. Prices are insane and software is poor quality. But as a cell phone user you do not have a choice because you are locked into the software Verizon deems fit to run on your phone. Ideally Nintendo should make every effort to accept all software developers hand them. Run it through a few predefined tests for quality and stability and put it up. Their bottom line (on the short term) should not prohibit them from offering their customers more choices. Unfortunatly I am sure someone will tell me I am unrealistic to want a coporation to think about its customers instead of its stock holders but I can dream.
Dooom