Opera Wii browser free to download at launch

Wii News | For a limited period.

Pleasing news for prospective Wii owners: Norway-based developer Opera, the firm behind the Wii's web-browsing software, has announced that the browser will be available as a free download as soon as the console launches. That won't always be the case however. See, from July 2007 those who want to acquire the Opera browser will have to pay for it in Wii points, the currency used to purchase downloadable content on - can you guess? - THE WII!

“Nintendo has stated that they will offer Opera free of charge as a temporary promotion for all Wii users until June 2007,” revealed a spokesperson for Opera. No further information was revealed regarding the eventual price of the browser, but nevertheless, 'tis good news for the early adopters. We'll keep you updated.

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25 Comments

onggie

5 years ago

Thats some pretty good news to hear!!!

Echo

5 years ago

Until July? Thats a fairly long free period.

Oh well, all the more for me (kind of)

ugh the boot

5 years ago

I'll be able to browse the net thru a console (psp sucks for internet but I haven't tried the ds)? How awesome is this? Man Microsoft are idiots for making the xbox 360's full functionality only compatiable with Windows Media Centre Edition. I don't even think you can browse the net with that either....just watch videos from your computer.

Infested Jibbs

5 years ago

The 360 is needing some sort of Internet Explorer upgrade/add-on.With the glut of competing FREE browsers hitting the market and ie's marketshare dwindling, it could have really strengthened the ie brand and made it a household name.

Alas, another chance left begging.

Klawrence

5 years ago

Yep good news, its awesome that the opera browser is a work off of opera 9 and that it suports flash!

Googol

5 years ago

This has been known for a fair while. Still, backed up by an official press release, there's no denying it's a good thing.

Sunrider

5 years ago

Actually, Nintendo originally said you would have to pay for it.

As for IE on 360, you never know what one of their dashboard updates will bring.

onggie

5 years ago

Sunrider wrote

Actually, Nintendo originally said you would have to pay for it.

Yeah that's right, like in the article originally you had to pay for it, even before June 2007.

chriharr

5 years ago

awsome news, im getting mine at launch, an ext ra freebie is good news!!!

Jellyfish

5 years ago

And here I thought people played consoles to get away from the PC.

Surfing the web from the couch isn't going to be suddenly magical just because it's on the Wii. You'll have to enter all the addresses with a virtual keyboard, which is nice and slow.

cycosippius

5 years ago

I agree using the next without a keyboard could be difficult and frustrating, but thats not to say their wont be dedicated websites specifically for this style of browsing . May be even sites like pal gn could work on this basis, you know once you have it set in your favourites you need not really type that much again. Except for posting like this.

Just a thought

But I agree Ive got a computer to search the web and thats what I would still use, but if their were sites ala minclip etc I think their is huge potential in that.

Spanca

5 years ago

nikack wrote

And here I thought people played consoles to get away from the PC.

Surfing the web from the couch isn't going to be suddenly magical just because it's on the Wii. You'll have to enter all the addresses with a virtual keyboard, which is nice and slow.

Not to mention the Wii isn't going to be outputting HD resolutions, so the viewing experience will be terrible. Pop your monitor into 640x480 and imagine that blown up to TV size and all nice and blurry.

Cerebral

5 years ago

Agreed. Until HD sets are the norm, surfing the web on the TV is going to be a tedious experience compared to a PC.

Klawrence

5 years ago

Spanca wrote

nikack wrote

And here I thought people played consoles to get away from the PC.

Surfing the web from the couch isn't going to be suddenly magical just because it's on the Wii. You'll have to enter all the addresses with a virtual keyboard, which is nice and slow.

then sit 5 meters away, then it will be comparable to web browsing on your Wii

Jellyfish

5 years ago

^ It'd be like web browsing on MS-DOS more like. SD resolution is too small for proper web surfing. The web browser is just a box for Nintendo to tick, so they can say "We have this ...".

ZNMS

5 years ago

Note to self: But a Nintendo Wii in March 2007.

onggie

5 years ago

nikack wrote

And here I thought people played consoles to get away from the PC.

Surfing the web from the couch isn't going to be suddenly magical just because it's on the Wii. You'll have to enter all the addresses with a virtual keyboard, which is nice and slow.

Ture, but it's nice just to have that feature there, then again I wanted a DVD player in the damn thing, but these days everyone has a dvd player. Well in my case it's a bit more than 2 dvd players per person in the house. But still......

sonicwired

5 years ago

nikack wrote

^ It'd be like web browsing on MS-DOS more like. SD resolution is too small for proper web surfing. The web browser is just a box for Nintendo to tick, so they can say "We have this ...".

Exaggerating a bit don't you think?

I don't think Nintendo ever intended people to use the Wii as their primary access to the internet but it's certainly workable. Opera can dynamically scale websites in proportion to the screen resolution so that text is readable while also maintaining as much of the layout as possible.

rodvcpetrie

5 years ago

You know how there are voice activated computer programs that can type what you speak? Well does anyone know if there's a program which allows you to speak out web addresses and the computer types them into the address bar of your browser?

If there isn't I reckon if its developed that could be a good way to enter web addresses while browsing the net via consoles without having to buy, or the companies making a keyboard attachment.

Anyway I use Opera as I think its a great browser, I like its features so using it via the Wii will be nice and easy. I'll be buying a Wii at launch no buts about it, I cannot wait to tell you the truth. I don't have an Xbox360 so the Wii will be the first next gen console I purchase.

Qbert

5 years ago

It will be usefull to many I believe. For instance, I could have a friend over to play some Wii Tennis, then feel like going to the movies. Why go on the computer (which a family member will most likely be on anyway) when I could just check movie times through the Wii Opera browser (while impressing my friend

DancesInUnderwear

5 years ago

Is it confirmed if we can open up the browser while a game is paused? If so, I could see a couple of nice little slightly-easier-than-normal applications for it, such as being able to check FAQs / walkthroughs / cheats etc if you get stuck.

Nothing that will change the world, but not bad things at all, really.

wobbler

5 years ago

rodvcpetrie wrote

Dragon can do that but you need a quiet room and the microphone distance and level to be constant for speech recognition to be accurate. I don't think speech recognition would be accurate enough in a lounge room situation plus it also requires a modern CPU to run properly

ugh the boot

5 years ago

Whoever said console internet browsing would become the norm? People are being needlessly negative! It's a free browser for your console.....take it or leave it. I personally think it'll be extra handy! Not that it'll become the main source of web surfing for me, but places like ebay, youtube and other similar sites could be very user friendly on consoles.

Dare

5 years ago

^ i whole heartidly agree with you there

News, weather, funny videos, online auction sites, all that jazz will all feel VERY user friendly on consoles.

I'll use the service, but not as my main source of web-browsing, unless of course there is some type of keyboard attachment

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