Bad news for all those prospective Wii U owners out there. Wii U's TVii, one of the system's major selling points ,will not be ready for launch, according to a press release issued by Nintendo earlier this morning.
For those who need a refresher, it's an exclusive feature for those of us in North America that basically turns the Wii U GamePad into a turbo charged remote control. It provides television listings, the ability to navigate video on demand if one has access to such content, and also hooks into one's TiVo if the device is handy.
Instead of being there for day one as promised, the TVii will be launching in coming weeks. Furthermore, apps that are dedicated to specific video on demand services, like Hulu Plus and Amazon Instant, will be coming in "the coming weeks" according to the aforementioned press release.
On the bright side, at least Netflix will be available on launch.
One has to wonder what's going on here. The Wii U was seen by many as a test to see if Nintendo was ready to finally service the needs of consumers and their online habits, circa 2012. It would seem, for the time being at least, that they're a bit behind the times once again. At least for launch.
