Opera has released details about its browser for the Wii. While up to now Nintendo has maintained that the browser will cost Wii points to download, Opera has officially stated that Wii owners will be able to download it free of charge until June 2007. Starting from June 2007, the browser will be available for purchase for an unspecified number of Wii points. Wii points will be available for purchase from wherever the console is sold, and will be used to purchase content on the Virtual Console as well as other software such as Opera.

The browser seems to be very full-featured, in that it will support Flash and AJAX-based content. They’ve cited Google Earth as an example of an advanced web application that will work with the browser. It seems they’ve managed to create a full port of Opera 9 Desktop for the Wii, and have also included a Zoom function to ease the reading of small text on fuzzy standard-definition television sets. An obvious feature is the inclusion of gestures, which make browsing the web a matter of flicking the Wii remote around.

Our Comments

It’s always good to hear of something you thought would cost money now being given away for free. But, you might ask, why would you pay for a browser in the first place? Well, Opera certainly wouldn’t do all that work and give it away - it’s not benefiting them to do that. This is different to the PC situation where Microsoft gave away Internet Explorer with Windows to fight off a potential platform. So Nintendo would have to compensate Opera if they were to include it with the console, which would mean either charging you and I a higher price for the console, or making slightly less profit from each sale. From what little I understand of Nintendo’s thinking and business model, they prefer to keep things simple and charge the user a fair price for the base unit such that they still make a decent profit off each and every sale. Purchasing extras, such as a browser, are left completely up to the consumer. It’s similar to not having mp3 playing functionality in the DS - their thinking is that not everyone will use it so why include it in the base system and increase the price for everyone.

But then again, they are including some extra software on their console this time around, in the form of Wii Channels, so their thinking seems to be changing slightly. The Wii Channels are likely to be used by most Wii owners, and I would guess that the browser would be too (at least in the highly connected Japanese market). Still, being the very spendthrift company they are, they don’t seem willing to license the browser for every Wii system sold even though it would increase the value of the console to just about everyone. I think for them it is a case of “It’s not necessary” - they seem pretty confident that Wii will self itself. Now, thanks to Opera, if you buy your Wii early enough you’ll get the browser free.