I've been doing a lot of thinking about WiiConnect 24 and why it hasn't been utilized much since it was first discussed before the Wii's launch. I have since come to the following conclusion.

WiiConnect 24 was planned to be used as a Bit Torent esq download service.

Why else would Nintendo create a mode on the Wii that allows it to go into a sleep mode and send and receive data? To cut costs of course! The easiest way to cut costs and provide a great service is to create a bit torrent like client on every Wii system. I have a strong suspicion now that when we see the storage fix implemented we are going to see a lot of changes happen to the Wii in the form of an opt in service.

Nintendo will ask you some basic questions to make sure you qualify to run their full WiiConnect 24 service such as: Does your service provider have a bandwidth cap? Who is your service provider? Etc.

WiiConnect 24 will be used to send a lot of data, the cheapest way possible for Nintendo. They already do this with their online system by using a "link" system that links your Wii directly with your opponent. This allows Nintendo to get away with not running any servers for games. Your game acts as the server and gamespy acts as the link.

I won't speculate as to what they will do with their bitt torrent esq service but to me it's quite clear that this was the original intent for Wii Connect 24. Hopefully we'll know more soon.

Where can I get a tinfoil hat like yours?  ^_^

Thanks... I appreciate your obviously intelligent sarcasm.

Thanks!  I think it'd be cool if it were true, but it sounds really really really farfetched. 

add a radioactive toaster AND the bread, then you might be on to something.

Makes sense but Wiiconnect24 already has a cap on it. XD

actually, I think the bit torrent idea could be pretty cool. with nearly 26 million people with a wii already, even if it's just a 1/3 that have a constant net connection and half of those that leave it in connect24 mode, that's still better than 4 million people that could act as seeds for bitorrent downloads.

Only problem is that Wii doesn't have a harddrive, no harddrive means people are less likely to keep the downloads on the built in memory of the Wii, which defeats 99% of the point of using torrents.

You may be more correct than you imagine. This quote from Sean Malstrom fits very nicely. 

"You may think the revolution has come and gone, but I am here to tell you it has just begun. So far, the Wii has been little more than tidal waves slamming the shores and sweeping over the industry. Every month, people stare at Wii NPD numbers in wonder. “Oh heavens, PLEASE be a fad. Please!” This Fall is as critical to the success of Wii as the launch. It is from here that those irregular tidal waves will become a longstanding flood. Many people sold their DS systems the first year because “there were no games”. Now, the DS has “too many games”. For those who sold their Wii systems, good luck trying to buy another one this Fall. This Fall will begin to have ‘too many games’. Nintendo will also unveil hardware you already have (but didn’t know about) in order to ‘surprise’ the market.

"Drowning in the Blue Ocean by Sean Malstrom"
http://malstrom.50webs.com/drowningintheblueocean3.htm

Perhaps the surprise using equipment we already have is the bit torrent launch pperhaps with a harddrive. That shouldn't be too big a challenge, inexpensive high capacity, high speed portable USB harddrives are pretty common.

Malstrom is conroversial but he seems to be the one commentator that really understands and anticipated Nintendo's success.s

Can someone dig up the old conference where they talked about WiiConnect 24 being used to spread data such as wallpapers, videos, games etc? I think I might be right in my assumption as to it's actual purpose.

Yeah, WiiConnect basically acts as a distributed file server - that is the core purpose of it.

Ironically, it may not "function" while the Wii is running, or running games (not sure what the BIOS is capable of doing while in active/background mode).

@Shams: My Wii still receives data while I play games... My Blue light flashes when messages arrive and I'm playing non online enabled games.

Now that it seems some people are in agreance that I might be right.  What will Nintendo use the service for when it's finally put to better use?