New Nintendo Channel for the Wii

Nintendo has announced that it is launching a new Wii channel in the United States. It's called simply the Nintendo Channel and it will offer gamers a variety of news and information about the upcoming Wii and DS titles, alongside video content. The big news is that it will also feature downloadable demos for most of the Nintendo DS games which are already out.

Such a channel could become the main source of news for the Wii and DS players in the United States. In this way, Nintendo gets a way of communicating directly with the players, without the mediation of gaming magazines or gaming sites, while the users of the channel can look forward to exclusive content from the games giant.

Such a channel has been around in Japan since November 2007, with the most important attractions being a series of videos that featured TIME's 100 Most Influential Person of the Year Shigeru Miyamoto, as he took the time to present the way the Wii Fit was designed at Nintendo.

The move also has a direct commercial application. As interest in one title is peaked by the content on the Nintendo Channel or by the demos that are available, the Channel has links in place that will take players directly to shopping sites like Amazon, Wal-Mart or Best Buy to make the buying process much easier.

There's also a rating option that allows users of the channel to rate a game that they are shown to have played for more than one hour. The feedback loop is much shorter and will help other users make an informed decision about the games they buy, while also enabling developers to know, at a glance, the way their games are appreciated by players.

The Nintendo Channel is now free to use for all United States Wii owners. Also, be sure to mark May 12 in your Mario-themed calendar, as that's the day that WiiWare launches in North America.