Wii announces Play History, Message Board details

The concept of family and being connected is one of the philosophical points behind the name “Wii”, and today Nintendo has released more details on how they intend to bring people together through their next-gen console. From the sound of things, the Wii isn’t just looking to take over the gaming market, but they’re taking a stab at your refrigerator as well. Having been a long standing center of family communication (how many notes and reminders do you have on YOUR fridge?), your Kenmore may be taking a back seat.

Satoru Iwata sees the Wii’s message board “helping everyone in the family communicate with each other. These days, because everyone is so busy, it is becoming more and more difficult for people to take the time to sit around the table and chat.” You can also expect plenty on online interaction, including notifications from your friends when they’ve picked up a new game, as well as exchanging data and screenshots.

And you don’t even have to be near your console to make use of the Message Board since it will operate similar to your basic email systems, meaning you can send messages back and forth between the Wii and Mobile phones.

Now on to a feature that may be loved by some, hated by others – especially those of you with homework to do. The Play History feature is pretty much what it sounds like, a data tracking system that can tell you how much a game has been played. All these records can be viewed by parents, so if you’re ditching your chores to play on the Wii, the chances are you’ll be found out. It was even proposed that parents be given the option of having the system shut down after a certain amount of play time, but that idea didn’t make it off the drawing boards.

Was that a sigh of relief I just heard? Read on for the full interview!

(Thanks for the tip, badam!)

The concept of family and being connected is one of the philosophical points behind the name “Wii”, and today Nintendo has released more details on how they intend to bring people together through their next-gen console. From the sound of things, the Wii isn’t just looking to take over the gaming market, but they’re taking a stab at your refrigerator as well. Having been a long standing center of family communication (how many notes and reminders do you have on YOUR fridge?), your Kenmore may be taking a back seat.

Satoru Iwata sees the Wii’s message board “helping everyone in the family communicate with each other. These days, because everyone is so busy, it is becoming more and more difficult for people to take the time to sit around the table and chat.” You can also expect plenty on online interaction, including notifications from your friends when they’ve picked up a new game, as well as exchanging data and screenshots.

And you don’t even have to be near your console to make use of the Message Board since it will operate similar to your basic email systems, meaning you can send messages back and forth between the Wii and Mobile phones.

Now on to a feature that may be loved by some, hated by others – especially those of you with homework to do. The Play History feature is pretty much what it sounds like, a data tracking system that can tell you how much a game has been played. All these records can be viewed by parents, so if you’re ditching your chores to play on the Wii, the chances are you’ll be found out. It was even proposed that parents be given the option of having the system shut down after a certain amount of play time, but that idea didn’t make it off the drawing boards.

Was that a sigh of relief I just heard? Read on for the full interview!

(Thanks for the tip, badam!)