Nintendo Bringing Wii Shopping Service, 3DS Demo Event To Japan

Nintendo today announced a new online shopping service for its Wii console in Japan, as well as a three-day event showcasing the Nintendo 3DS to potential Japanese customers. The Wii-no-ma Shopping Service, built on top of the system's Wii-no-ma video-on-demand service, will launch in Japan November 1 with over 10,000 unique items including "foods, daily commodities, fashion items and furniture," according to an investor presentation made this week by Nintendo President Satoru Iwata. "TV shopping and net shopping are nothing new today. However, with Wii-no-Ma Shopping, using the intuitive Wii Remote, you can enjoy shopping 24 hours a day on your TV at home," Iwata said. "We are aiming to offer 'fun shopping from your living room' that even those who are not accustomed to online net shopping can feel comfortable to use." Certain offered products will be featured in video presentations, Iwata added, and the service will include multiple payment methods, including a pay-by-phone option for the "many people who have hesitated to actually start net shopping in spite of their interests in doing so." Iwata also used the investor briefing to announce a massive demonstration event for Japanese consumers interested in viewing the glasses-free 3D effects of the upcoming Nintendo 3DS first-hand. The Nintendo president said he hoped the hands-on event, which will take place in Makuhari Messe convention center January 8 through 10, will help players see the unique features of the system in a way that can't be conveyed through other means. "We are hoping that our consumers come to the event to experience and understand what kind of new gaming experiences are waiting for them when they can view these experiences in 3D without the need for special glasses," Iwata said, "how different it will be from playing Nintendo DS games, and which software is going to be available for them at the launch and immediately afterward." Iwata added that the company hoped to hold similar events around Japan before the 3DS' February launch in the country, but that these plans had not yet been finalized.