Wii Manga Channel: Considering the possibilities

Madden NFL ’08. Mario Kart Wii. Zelda Wii. RPGs from Monolith. Titles from Ubisoft. Tons of games from all the developers who hopped on to the Wii train a tad late. Contrary to popular opinion, there isn’t going to be any shortage of quality titles for the Wii over the next few years. The DS was in the experimental stage up until as late as last year, and it is only now that we’re starting to see what the system is really capable of.

The Wii is probably going to mimic this pattern with a few dry spells along the way, which cannot be avoided due to the nuances of developing for the system’s unique motion-based interface. Overall, I expect Wii owners are probably going to be very happy with the system’s library of titles by 2009. The platform is just a bit more powerful than the original Xbox, cheap to develop for, seems to be the hot topic of gaming nowadays, and has opened up several opportunities for innovation in both the hardcore and casual gaming markets – more so in the latter due to the casual market’s recent growth.

However, despite the surmounting evidence that the Wii is all set for a successful tenure, people still doubt that the system’s lifespan will last beyond two or three years at the most. The 360 and PS3 are far more powerful in terms of hardware, and motion-sensing to the extent that the Wii uses it could easily be integrated into either – or both – systems. The PS3 already uses it to an extent.

However, it is these very same people who fail to comprehend the Wii strategy that Nintendo seems to be following. It isn’t about the games, it isn’t about the motion-sensing ... it isn’t even about the DS/Wii interactivity or the Virtual Console or any of that. What it is about is making the system an integral part of one’s interests and hobbies.

The idea for this article came to me earlier today after a lengthy conversation with a friend, which started off as a discussion on what to expect from Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (amazing how the conversation’s direction slowly inched away from Id Software to this) and QuakeCon. Well, actually the idea first originated from this old post on FWA.

Just in case you’re too lazy to click the link and give it a read, here’s a quick overview: Back in April, a Nintendo employee – specifically a Mr. Imamoto who managed the server design for the Wii Shop Channel – stated that it would be interesting to consider the possibility of making downloadable manga available on the Wii. The exact quote is as follows:

Lately, it's becoming popular to read manga with cellphones, but it may be fun if you're able to download manga using Wii, and able to read it on your TV.

Now, if you would allow me to divert your attention to this article here for a moment.

According to the Anime News Network, a cell-phone-based survey of 5,400 people conducted by an Internet research firm named Infoplant indicated that 40% of manga readers in Japan currently use (or plan to use) manga download services. That’s not all, though. An enormous 61.7% of these readers were women 19 years of age or below. Think about that.

The News Channel. The Weather Channel. The Voting Channel. These aren’t random offerings on Nintendo’s part. They are part of an extremely well thought out strategy – a strategy meant to cater to the interests and hobbies of the average person. The Virtual Console, the upcoming channel for original games and the Demo Channel – likewise, these are part of a strategy to cater to gamers. The one thing these channels all have in common is that they are specifically targeted at a certain type of consumer, be it older gamers who are now parents, gamers looking to pass the time, fans of retro gaming or hardcore gamers.

Similarly, a Manga Channel for the Wii could be the biggest thing since the News Channel. Digital distribution is clearly on the rise. Licensing companies like Viz or TOKYOPOP or Drama Queen that are making headway in the international manga market would jump at the opportunity to use such a popular system to promote their products. The same goes for manga magazines in Japan.

Acquiring the ever-growing manga fanbase would be absolutely fabulous for Nintendo's market expansion strategy. It would even make licensed games based on manga more appropriate for the Wii. Eyeshield 21, Naruto: Shippuuden, One Piece ... the system already seems to have a fair share of manga-based games heading its way. Surely, a downloadable manga service would only benefit the publishers of these games as far as penetration is concerned.

And then there’s the overwhelming majority of female manga readers to consider. If these readers could be convinced to pick up a Wii remote to read manga, who’s to say they wouldn’t care to explore the system’s capabilities further? The DS has already broadened the female gaming market – it’s only fitting for its spiritual successor to do the same.

But, let’s take it a step further. Why stop with manga? As I said before, each channel caters to a very specific audience. In the hardcore gaming department, there is a very large demographic of gamers that actually listen to music from games outside of the actual games themselves. Why not offer a “Game Music Channel” to these gamers? Once again, the rise of digital distribution makes this seem like a perfectly appropriate strategy to employ in order to extend the Wii’s lifespan and ensure its place in the living room right alongside your TV.

And then, there’s that matter of the upcoming DVD-enabled Wii as well. If you really think about it, the Wii is using the same strategy Sony employed for the first PlayStation, only to a far greater extent. The PS One’s success could be, in large, attributed to how it was marketed as a device that was an essential part of your entertainment unit, alongside your television and VCR. Instead of offering an integrated device that allows you to play games, watch high-definition movies, play music and stream videos from various other devices, the Wii could be a device that caters very specifically to gaming as well as non-gaming hobbies.

Neither the PlayStation 3 nor the Xbox 360 would be able to keep up in this regard, no matter how visually stunning content looks on the two systems or how their control schemes evolve. Wii is now an extremely popular brand name; one that is growing in popularity every single day. It targets specific audiences, and at the same time it targets everyone. A well thought out strategy for the Wii Channels, a good library of games, support for larger storage, a drop in price a couple of years from now, and the Wii could be a far more appealing product than anything Sony or Microsoft have to offer.