PixlBit

A unique user interface that stood the test of time and provided some fresh ideas about content on a game console.

Informational

Forecast Channel:

Now that most everyone has a smart phone, the concept of the Forecast Channel seems silly, but when the Wii was young
smart phones were still a rarity and checking the weather required looking at an actual computer, television news program, or (gasp!) a newspaper!  So, making a channel available with weather info on it seemed like a good idea.  The Forecast Channel gives you pretty much everything you could ask for: the current weather and a forecast for your area.  The unique feature it provides is manic spinning of an on-screen globe with the Wii Remote to check out the weather around the world.  Searching the globe will reveal that Japan has cartoonish icons for weather conditions (sun, clouds, etc.) and the rest of the world has realistic versions of these symbols.  This has never been explained and we’re still waiting for Japan to accept the harsh reality of weather representation and suffer the same as the rest of us.

RATING:  Fun to take out for a spin

News Channel:

The News Channel, launched soon after the Forecast Channel, lets you relax on the couch and read news provided by the Associated Press.   Anyone who is still reading a real newspaper can tell you that the AP pretty much provides local papers with all of their content anyway, so this service could potentially replace a newspaper subscription.  If you were able to get used to reading on your TV, that is.

To help raise the appeal of the channel, as news is downloading to your system a small cat scampers around for your entertainment.  It’s strangely engrossing, and before you know it the news is all loaded and ready to read.  There are a couple of ways to view news stories – either from a list of categories or a “slide show” that moves around the Forecast Channel’s globe and gives a snippet from the news story at that location.  It’s unlikely that this channel was ever very popular, but perhaps some retirement homes enjoyed it once the Wii Bowling League folded and Beatrice continued to eat the front page of the Times.

RATING:  Kittehs worth won poyntz