Two new reports say Nintendo wants to add extra features to its Wii U

Jan 3, 2012 19:41 GMT  ·  By

The Nintendo Wii U is scheduled to arrive in the second half of the year, but this hasn’t stopped a couple of new reports from appearing on the web, claiming that the Japanese company wants to offer applications for the Wii U through its special online service, not to mention extra features, including E-Reader functionality.

The Nintendo Wii U made its official debut last year at E3 2011 and, while it didn't really impress that many people, it still managed to generate a lot of interest among loyal fans of the Japanese company.

Now, after rumors about its internal configuration appeared on the web late last year, we now have some new reports concerning its actual capabilities.

First up, website Forget the Box says that one of its sources, which makes apps for Apple’s iOS platform, was approached by Nintendo to create an e-reader application that might turn its Wii U or even the already available 3DS, into ebook readers.

According to the report, Nintendo wants to offer owners of its consoles access to instruction manuals for their games, strategy guides, or issues of well-known magazine Nintendo Power, not to mention digital books, comics, or other magazines.

The other Wii U rumor arrives from The Daily, which says that various other apps will be available on the Wii U, including the likes of MLB.TV, the streaming service that displays matches from Major League Baseball.

Other apps, according to the report, might also include email, web, or social network browsing, but you can expect other experiences to arrive as developers start bringing their projects onto the console.

As of yet, however, these rumors haven’t even received a ‘No comment’ statement from Nintendo, so do take them with a grain of salt until the Japanese company decides to share some more details about its new device in the upcoming months.