there's a good wroteup about it here
http://www.cubed3.com/news/9800
Could it really be possible? Can the underpowered little Wii really stand a chance at beating the big boys at the big money game? Whilst Sony, Microsoft and Apple (along with countless other players) battle it out to dominate the on demand video sector, the BBC have come along and thrown a rather large spanner into the collective works.
Called the iPlayer it is totally free, easy to use and packed full of great BBC content. Anyone in the UK with broadband can use it and it is already becoming ludicrously popular. With the PC and Flash versions already proving a major success, the BBC is looking to move its iPlayer system onto various other platforms. Their first two targets are the iPhone and the Wii. Surely more will follow, but for the time being, it would seem the Wii has a nice little monopoly to play with.
Apparently both Microsoft and Sony were approached with the iPlayer proposal but an agreement could not be reached as both companies wanted to ‘control’ the system and have it implemented into their own online shops with a specific look and a specific style. The BBC didn’t want this. Nintendo, it would seem, were more than happy to welcome the iPlayer with open arms. All it requires on their part is some clever trickery to get the Wii to support the Flash coding used in the iPlayer, something it can’t currently do. Whilst for the time being the iPlayer will only work on the Internet Channel, there is talk of the BBC developing and launching an iPlayer Channel for the Wii. Exciting times.
The man who made the announcement, the wonderfully named Erik Huggers, (the BBC’s Group Controller for Future Media and Technology) had this to say at the time:
Our partnership with Nintendo marks another exciting milestone for BBC iPlayer. It underlines our commitment to reaching new audiences by making BBC iPlayer available on as many platforms as possible. The BBC’s catch-up TV service can now be accessed on an increasing number of different platforms – from the web and portable devices to gaming consoles and coming shortly to TV.
David Yarnton (General Manager, Nintendo UK also had something to say, but I'll give you the abridged version:
Yay, more money!
This move serves to bridge the gap between web and TV even further. With the Wii offering free web browsing on your TV and the BBC offering free TV on your web browser the marriage is a perfect one. No cost, no hassle, no technical trickery and nothing illegal. Having spent the last couple of hours scouring the web for comment and opinion it would seem that nearly everyone is positive about this move, providing the BBC can provide a high enough video quality and streaming rate for the service on Wii. Indeed, for some it is seen as another fantastic reason to buy the Wii.
So, just how big is this news? From my point of view, it is potentially massive. When you look at Microsoft’s XBOX Live service (which is far superior to Nintendo’s), it does suffer from one key problem. It is very rigid. No browser, no flexibility and everything exists inside the confines of the XBOX Live brand. The Wii is far more ‘open’ and thus implementing an iPlayer Channel isn’t really a big deal for the system. Plonk that claim in big letters on the Wii’s packaging or start up a marketing campaign of any note and the console will fly off the shelves in even greater numbers. Microsoft and Sony both have the problem of having a set brand identity. They have a style, a sheen and a sleekness to them; the Wii is more eclectic and thus capable of attracting many more differing opportunities. A comment on a BBC blog discussing the launch of the iPlayer on the Wii sums it all up pretty well:
In my view, this is yet another example of Wii listening to its audience and giving them the content they want and not trying to control it.
The Wii has already become something of a free for all. With flash games for its Internet Browser popping up all over the place and the WiiWare section soon to go live, there are endless reams of content for the system that are exciting, fresh and hugely varied. The inclusion of the iPlayer on the system will only serve to make it even more multifunctional and multifaceted. In my view, this is the last piece on the Wii jigsaw and also the most crucial piece. The world is hungry for media, it is hungry for on demand content and it is positively ravenous to have it delivered to them for free in an easy to use system with minimal fuss and minimal wait. The iPlayer on the Wii can deliver on all of these key points and in the race to be number one in this hugely competitive market, it could possibly be the tiny little underpowered Wii that makes the biggest inroads.
