New Wii channel lets users rate videos and ads

JAPAN-- A new video download service for Nintendo's Wii console will allow users to rate videos, ads and product samples.

Nintendo has teamed up with advertising agency Dentsu to introduce the Wii no Ma channel, which is set to launch in Japan this week.

The channel will show original content, some paid-for and some supported by ads. But it will also act as a research and marketing tool – collecting information from users including their age and blood type (which some in Japanese culture believe to be linked to personality), and allowing them to rate the videos they watch.

Viewers will also be able to watch and rate promotional videos from partner companies, and request product samples and coupons.

Some online commentators are less than impressed with the idea of a channel that will only show advertising and Nintendo's own programming, and have questioned what value it has for users.

Wii no Ma is currently only being made available in Japan.

Author: Robert Bain