Wii Forecast Channel Live in PAL Regions

Wii

by Mike Sklens - December 19, 2006, 8:30 am EST
Total comments: 23 Source: ShackNews.com

For once the PAL gamers get something first! Updated!: The Forecast Channel is now available in the US as well!

If you're lucky enough to live in Europe or Australia, go turn on your Wii and check out the Forecast Channel. After a system update, you'll be able to check out the weather all around the globe. Those of us in North America will have to wait for Wednesday the 20th to roll around before we can stop going to weather.com and start spinning the Wii's weather globe.

Check out ShackNews for some images of the Forecast Channel in action.

Update: As of the morning of 12/19, the forecast channel is now available in the United States as well.

PRESS RELEASE

Wii Opera Browser Beta Available December 22

Final version to go live March 2007, and will be free until June 2007; after that it'll cost you 500 Wii Points.

Free Opera Internet Browser Connects the World to Wii

Starting Dec. 22, Beta Version Lets Users Surf

From the Comfort of Their Couches

REDMOND, Wash., Dec. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Nintendo's wildly popular Wii™

home video game system not only revolutionizes how people play games, but it

also entices new people into the world of gaming. On Dec. 22, Nintendo and

Opera Software bring the Internet to the living room couch with a free beta

version of the Opera Web browser. Wii owners who are connected and have

activated the Wii Shop Channel can download a free beta version of the Opera

browser to activate the Internet Channel of the Wii Menu and begin surfing the

Web.

"This newest Wii Menu channel provides yet another feature to draw

non-gamers in," says Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. "All

kinds of people already have discovered that Wii is like nothing they have

ever tried before, and our red-hot sales reflect this public enthusiasm."

"Our software brings the power and reach of the Internet to the hottest

video game system available," says Scott Hedrick, Executive Vice President,

Devices, at Opera Software. "Wii's unique interface adds a new dimension to

our browser, making it a useful tool that the whole family will enjoy

operating with ease."

The final version of the Opera browser will be available at the end of

March 2007, and will be free for all Wii owners to download through the end of

June 2007. After June, users who haven't already downloaded the Opera browser

can go to the Wii Shop Channel to download it for 500 Wii Points.

The Internet Channel provides an optimal Web browsing experience on

people's home television. The Adobe Flash-enabled beta version of the Opera

browser puts the Internet right onto owners' television screens and lets them

browse with ease, enabling them to check sports scores, plot maps or visit

their favorite Web sites. Multiple family members can gather around the

television to plan a vacation or make online purchases. The pointing

abilities of the Wii Remote™ allow users to click on links they want to see

or to zoom into any part of the screen through the motion of the controller.

In addition, the Wii Remote can be used with an on-screen keyboard to make

text entry as easy as point and click.

The Internet Channel joins the four already-live channels: Disc Channel,

Photo Channel, Mii™ Channel and Wii Shop Channel. The Forecast Channel

goes live on Dec. 20 and provides current and future weather information that

can be accessed using a text list of cities or by using the Wii Remote to zoom

in on a 3-D interactive globe. Weather information is provided by

Weathernews. The Internet Channel, Forecast Channel and Wii Shop Channel are

available at no charge, though they require Wii owners to have a high-speed

Internet connection. For more information about Wii, visit www.Wii.com

Talkback

King of TwitchDecember 18, 2006

"If you're lucky enough to live in Europe or Australia..."

WPack911December 18, 2006

Any word if that Dec. 23rd date leaked by one of the Euro Nintendo higher up's on the Internet channel is gonna turn out to be true?

CericDecember 18, 2006

I hate you all even more now...
(not really but I really wanted that channel at launch. It's now not as nearly as useful...)

Shift KeyDecember 18, 2006

Yeah, I got home today to see my Wii glowing in that blue neon disc tray way. So I fire it up and see that there's a new message. Blah blah blah new channel blah blah blah Forecast? Oooh, not bad at all.

System update and some configuration later, I check the weather. 12 degrees celsius? Hardly. Considering it was a maximum 33 degrees today and it was still light out (around 25 to 30 would have been believable).

I hope it is more accurate than that. Aside from that its a very sexy interface. I can drag the world around and see what the weather is like in the middle of nowhere, which is the safest part of nowhere.

NephilimDecember 19, 2006

You guys need to do a more in depth on it

COuntrys and locations are baised on were your home country is set to:

example:
Australia: can see all of australia's city and popular towns, yet can only see minimal Europe and USA states
UK: can see alot more of europe and local weather such as manchester
Macedonia: unavailable

personaly I wish you could see all the locations, also seem the "current weather" system is broken or not 100% working yet... was 35c today, yet said 11c at 4pm

Bad_ReligionDecember 19, 2006

I woke up to that great blue glow and my Wii updated and we have it in the states now! Kinda cool to play around with, now we just need that opera browser......

dave

otimusDecember 19, 2006

and now the Opera Wii trial has a date.. 22nd.. and it's soon. These are good days ahead!

CericDecember 19, 2006

I figure the country bias would be because each country or region has a different primary provider for the weather so they'll only have limited out of country places.
(Oh I'm updating my Wii as we speak with the Forecast center... Ah ha it came slightly early)

Little Sun progress meter is cool.

Boo... The future place I'm going to live isn't in there even though my current city of residence is...Go figure...

I sort of wish there was a way to put country borders up.

It's interesting how they are trying to make it look like a Weather News Forecast on all the parts.

All my Weather was from 12AM and what happened to the channel label itself showing the weather like the original demo did. Not as handy now...

BloodworthDaniel Bloodworth, Staff AlumnusDecember 19, 2006

Well you can still see the current weather in the menu when browsing channels, but yeah the thumbnail version isn't there anymore.

Dark_SlothDecember 19, 2006

Quote
Originally posted by: Ceric

I sort of wish there was a way to put country borders up.

Definately. I could use some brushing up on my geography.
Weather is pretty cool. I was spinning the globe for a few minutes at 2 in the morning. The south pole is amazing.
My town wasn't on there either. Which kinda sucks. I was hoping they would have added it by the morning. Oh well, Los Angeles is close enough.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorDecember 19, 2006

Neat, but I'm not impressed. Gimme the internet channel, pls.

CalibanDecember 19, 2006

Dudes, I've got the forecast channel, I'm in Canada btw. Holy sh!t, hahahaha, it's wicked btw.

Webcam shots:
uv index

today

tomorrow

5 day forecast

globe

globe zoomed out

globe earth

wii forecast channel

MarioAllStarDecember 19, 2006

I am in the proccess of downloading. I'm sure the channel is neat, but I hope this doesn't count as our holiday surprise (that Reggie announced). I mean, it is somewhat of a suprise, since it was released a day earlier than it was supposed to in the US (this page says December 20), but I am expecting more!

Edit: Nintendo needs to update their new software message. It is still saying that parental controls were added and that we can change them. They were added a month ago!

BranDonk KongDecember 19, 2006

Forecast channel = REEKS OF AWESOMENESS.

decoymanDecember 19, 2006

I tried it before I went to work this morning, and agree: My Wii Awesomeness Level has risen by 3 or 4.

And I also agree: current weather is janked at the moment.

JonLeungDecember 19, 2006

Quote
Originally posted by: Caliban
Dudes, I've got the forecast channel, I'm in Canada btw.

That's the confirmation I was looking for. Quit ignoring Canada, you Americans! We have more land mass that you! And more beavers!

I'm at work right now, and I have no windows here. Is someone able to tell me what it says about Edmonton this afternoon when I get off from work? Or does it not that give that kind of detail unless it's local?

CalibanDecember 19, 2006

JonLeung, it doesn't give a temperature for the afternoon (12pm to 6pm), all it shows is a picture representive of the weather, in your case it was a bright sun so I guess it's going to be Sunny, 6pm to 12am it will be clear (shows a moon).

I'm in Toronto btw, and I could still check Edmonton with the exact same settings that I can locally, unless I missed something of course lol.

Edit: Actually, the moon is only indicative of it being night time, so if it has a bright sun it is still clear but it is indicative of day time.

couchmonkeyDecember 19, 2006

I can actually see myself using this...the computer takes too long to boot, the weather network takes too long to get to the local forecast...it's kind of handy.

Plus, the globe is just fun. Any astronomy buffs know if the stars in the background are accurate? I saw a couple of constellations that looked approximately right, but I don't know that much about it.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorDecember 19, 2006

Quote
Originally posted by: JonLeung
That's the confirmation I was looking for. Quit ignoring Canada, you Americans! We have more land mass that you! And more beavers!

What's a 'can did ah'?

CalibanDecember 19, 2006

Dear UncleBob,

if I could, in some sci-fi manner, access your physical self through my monitor then I would surely have already pulled your nipple hairs, to which you would twist in agony and shame.

SheckyDecember 19, 2006

6hr forcasts are also available for some areas (click the current condition graphic)

BranDonk KongDecember 20, 2006

Constellations are accurate in the globe view. Keep in mind you have to be looking sort of from the opposite of the globe to see them correctly, since it's a space-to-earth view.

CalibanDecember 20, 2006

So far I've managed to identify Orion's Belt, I was trying to find the Big Dipper but I had no such luck.

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