Nintendo Is Charging People to Change TV Channels (No, Really)

Kotaku: With Nintendo TVii, the Kyoto-based game maker is bringing streaming video to the GamePad. Starting on December 8 in Japan, gamers can watch the pictures as they fly through the air via the comfort of the Wii U GamePad. But if you want easy channel changing, you must barf up extra cash.

[1upgamer99]

That is just stupid. What a pain in the butt. $1.22!$!$!$!
Nintendo this should just be free!

[PopRocks359]

Read the article. The title is without context.

[daclynk]

Typical N4G routine.always quick to talk trash on titles without reading the article.
Stupid Trolls.

[BitbyDeath]

1upgamer mentioned the price which can only be found in the article...

"The Wii U GamePad can be used as a television remote control, but if you want to use that same function for Nintendo TVii, Nintendo is charging a ¥100 ($1.22) flat fee."

[1upgamer99]

I DID read the article. And I still think its STUPID to charge a $1.22 how do you think I came to the conclusion it is STUPID. This function should have been a perk to sell the system.

[ddurand1]

if this is an app its really no different than offering a lite vs pro version ala the android/ios market.

show the functionality, then pay for it.

if you spent 300+ on a wii u, you shouldnt complain about 1.22 for an app.

unless this was promised to be a free faeture.

[Axonometri]

So what is Xbox excuse then? Right.

[ddurand1]

excuse for what? where was xbox mentioned anywhere? youre reaching.

[Buff1044]

Exactly.

[stuntman_mike]

@ddurand1

I hate those hidden faeture!??

j/k

[Feralkitsune]

@Axo, please clarify what you meant by your statement. What does Xbox have to do with this at all?

[AfricanGamer9ja]

I wonder how many people will comment without reading the article. Afrter so many years on N4G somethings just dont change.

[N4g_null]

I'm already changing channels, volume and turning inputs on and off for free!!!!!! LoL.
That is all I need if for!

[ChrisW]

This is obviously only in Japan.

Nippon Television is government owned and if you have a device that receives a TV transmission, you are legally obligated to purchase NHK1, NHK2, and NHK-E channels.

They're respectively like CBS, NBC, and PBS, but you are forced to pay for them.

This ￥100 flat fee (NOT PER CHANNEL) must circumvent the necessity for people to draw up a new contract for their Nintendo TVii.

[WiiUsauce]

what the hell do you care?? it's free in North America, so who gives a sh*t??

[ElectricKaibutsu]

I do?

[PopRocks359]

You're angry over a one time fee of $1.22...? For an app on the Wii U? A charge, by the way, that may only apply to Japan?

[stragomccloud]

I assume this is just because the mega media company over there... can't remember the name... charges every one some stupid extortionistic fee just for allowing one to watch TV.

Anyway, at least it's a flat rate.

[ddurand1]

read the article next time?

[stragomccloud]

The funny thing is I read the article just after I posted. Then I thought to my self... I should probably change that post. Then I realized I was too lazy to. lol

[megamanX2]

lol this will be hacked soon.

[GreenRanger]

Yentindo is more like Micro$oft than i thought.
I wonder if $on¥ will do something similar?

[Pillsbury1]

Tommy, your still under Rita's evil spell, be a good green ranger!

[GreenRanger]

$ill¥ fanbo¥$, di$agr€€ing with m€.
@ Pillsbury1
I'm not under a spell.
Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony fanboys are.

[SegataShanshiro]

He doesnt get the joke........ok here we go, the red ranger was originally a slave of rita and used to attack the other power rangers....

[swice]

""He doesnt get the joke........ok here we go, the red ranger was originally a slave of rita and used to attack the other power rangers...."""

It was the Green Ranger. Not the Red

[IRetrouk]

Green not red, sillly putty

[KwietStorm_BLM]

Been waiting a long time for that one, huh?

[Nodoze]

The article makes no sense whatsoever. Perhaps the author needs to put down his glaucoma 'medicine' and work on forming something that makes sense...even to those who are not medicated.

Kotaku..sheesh!

[ddurand1]

not for nothing but dismissing the medicinal qualities of cannabis is extremely ignorant. if you were diagnosed with a disease wouldnt you want the full compliment of medicines that could make you more life more bearable avaiable to you and your doctor?

educate yourself and others before you post such nonsense. Medicinal marijuana has changed and saved many lives.

on topic: youre right though, the article and the headline are at odds with each other. strange choice by kotaku

[Deku-Johnny]

If there's one thing marijuana is good at it's definitely saving lives...

[ddurand1]

educate yourself. im not going to do the work for you. if you see one first hand account about someone who was going to die from chemo without medicinal MJ youd change your mind.

if you actively choose to be ignorant, youre already hopeless. and if you dont have a heart, your already hopeless.

[DivineAssault]

i dont get it. To change channels on the tv itself u gotta pay a one time fee of $1.22? or to change cable channels? or am i way off lol

[Jadedz]

Epic fail on Kotaku's part.

[tiffac008]

Did we expect anything less from Kotaku?

[animegamingnerd]

"see's the title of the article"
"goes and reads the article"
"see's that it is kotaku"
well that explains a lot

[Instigator]

I can honestly just take a gander at the title and instantly know if it's from Kotaku.

This could easily have been free though, but it's such a small sum it's really no biggie.

[ajax17]

Huh?

[MegaLagann]

Nice attention grabbing headline. As expected most people didn't read the article. But then again it's Kotaku so I can't blame them.

Also, you'd be surprised at some of the ridiculous shit Japanese have to pay for.

[Kos-Mos]

And in america you have to pay gazillions if you spill hot coffee on a random person. I`m SURE of it.

[MegaLagann]

Never tried it due to me not liking coffee. I'm SURE of it.

By the way, what's your favorite Xenosaga game?

[_LarZen_]

Should be a free app, but it's almost free...

[DragonKnight]

Again people, vote Kraptaku down.

see kotaku.com+

click on it.

select "WTF?!" for story quality
select "No" for "Do you like this website"

That is all.

[mshope10]

or you could just use the free option it come with and they say that.

but any thing they can say to put it in a bad light.even if they leave stuff out.

and my four friends and me who have wii u love it.and everyone who I talk to through the miiverse loves it. the only people who hate it are people who don't own it and maybe played a in store demo.

[TrickyMic]

who cares about this? its $1.22. either pay it or dont! if you need the money just sit on a street corner with a empty coffee cup and you will make it about 15 min!

[IWentBrokeForGaming]

How many people bashing this are people that pay for LIVE or PSN+, not bashing... just saying, we ALL pay to utilize the best out of our consoles!

[PopRocks359]

Plus... it's less than $2.

It's less expensive than the DLC for New Super Mario Bros. I mean come on (to everyone who's complaining about the one time fee).

[SonyNGP]

Isn't this for Japan only?

[WeAreLegion]

This may be irrelevant, but you can't use the Wii U for channel surfing on most televisions in the US. Most US families have Comcast, which uses its own box to surf. You even have to use THEIR remote. The Wii U cannot bypass that.

The function is useless unless you have a crappy cable provider.

[Rainstorm81]

Comcast IS crappy cable service..... Fios shyts on Comcast, and my Wii U works perfectly fine with Direct Tv

[WeAreLegion]

You actually have DirecTV?!?

I mean, Comcast is absolutely terrible, but DirecTV is just...

[MattS]

I love how people bitch and moan about the quality of games journalism, but when an article turns up with a horrifically sensationalist headline (like this one), everyone suddenly excuses the bad journalism because it lets them launch into some fanboyism (on both sides).

Bad journalism extends beyond Doritos photos.

[Drainage]

people complaining about 1 dollar when they are buying $60 dollar games that end after 6 hours of linearity

[Shnazzyone]

You mean nintendo made an app that integrates netflix, hulu, amazon digital, and your cable service options into a touch screen app and nintendo wants maybe around 2 bucks for it? My goodness, those monsters. /s

[joeorc]

I mean is this the first time people have used these console extra functions that are non gaming related or something?

some Applications cost money, its not a requirement but you cannot sit there and say, that should be free when you may not know the full reason its not free.companies have to pay licence fee's some things An it may not be free Because of it. The fact it is an option instead of not a requirement is a good thing. That beats a hidden fee anytime.

[RFornillos4]

obviously, if you bother to read the article, you will see that this only in Japan.

the article was obviously (also) translated from the Japanese text using (probably) Google Translate or something similar, coz it has "...gamers can watch the pictures as they fly through the air...". if Wii U does that, that would truly be next-gen. pictures flying through the air.

anyway, it has already been mentioned that in the US, TVii is free. of course, this does not mean you don't pay for the services you get when using Netflix, Hulu, etc.

[Qrphe]

> obviously, if you bother to read the article, you will see that this only in Japan.

What about the one who wrote the article?
I know we can blame people for not reading but this would happen a lot less if authors such as the ones from Kotaku tried a bit less at troll-baiting with their headlines.

[RFornillos4]

my point exactly... and the article, if you can call it that: quoting a description, and literally copying an electronically-translated set of text without even bothering to fix the context of the content, is just well, like you said troll-baiting.

[zavierkai]

It is a one time fee stop craying about it or go to xbox live paid monthly

[Moncole]

1.22$ is out of my price range for an app.

/s