Nintendo of Japan has just introduced a new Wii channel that offers the best reason yet for the Wii to have any sort of photo functionality built-in: the Digicam Print Channel. In short, through a collaboration with Fujifilm, Japanese Wii users can order up prints of their digital photos – accessed via the console's SD slot, of course – along with special photo books for ¥1,575 ($14.71), super deluxe Mario-flavored photo books for ¥2,480 ($23.16), or meishi (think Japanese business cards) sporting the user's very own Mii, available at ¥500 per 30 cards. Watch the video tour of the service above (don't mind the Japanese), or sit tight for the service to launch in the West ... any day now ... just a little bit longer ... keep waiting ... almost there ...

[Via Nintendo Wii Fanboy]

Nintendo of Japan has just started a new Wii channel that allows users to view and even print digital photos from the Wii. Through a collaboration with Fujifilm, Japanese Wii users can now order prints of digital camera photos through the Wii for 30 yen (28 cents) each. Users can also purchase special Wii Photo Books for 1,575 yen ($14,71), or deluxe Mario-themed Wii Photo Books for 2,480 yen ($23.16).

In addition, the service offers meishi (like Japanese business cards, but even more prevalent) in multiple colors, emblazoned with the Mii of the user's choice, at a rate of 500 yen per 30 cards.

We think this is a really cool and unique feature that we wouldn't mind trying out oursel -- oh, wait, we're supposed to be "hardcore gamers." We almost forgot to hate it and blame this new service for the death of gaming! Oh, man, how embarrassing.

Update: Now with more video!

[Via NeoGAF]

Depending on what you download, you might have quite a few channels on your Wii. Aside from the Disc, Mii, Wii Shop, Photo, Weather, and News channels (which can't be deleted), you might also have the Nintendo, Check Mii Out, and Everybody Votes channels hanging around on your menus.

Then, there's the Internet Channel, not to mention whatever VC or WiiWare titles you've downloaded. Some games even have their own channels, like Mario Kart and Wii Fit. Then, it's possible you have some unofficial ones lying around, too.

How many channels do you have on your Wii? Which ones do you utilize the most, and which do you utilize the least? Are there any channels you wish to see from Nintendo in the future?

We couldn't stop telling ourselves all day yesterday how cool the newest feature in Band Brothers DX is. That got us to thinking about our lovely little chat topics we have every day and what some of you wonderful readers might have knocking around your noggins.

So, in line with what Band Brothers DX is doing, what upcoming game would you like to see have something like this? In fact, what ideas do you have period? Whether it's just as simple as in-game currency exchanging between a Wii and DS game or for a special Channel on the Wii (we envision something like hosting a Pokémon tournament and having live stats tracking through the Wii), we want to hear it. Hit us with your best ideas!

That blue glow from our Wiis can only mean one thing -- time for an update!

This wasn't just any old update, though. After months of coveting the service, the Nintendo Channel (known in Japan as Everybody's Nintendo Channel) is finally available for download via the Wii Shop Channel. The download is free, but will take up a few blocks, so make sure you have enough space. You'll also need to have updated your Wii since March 20th in order to get it, according to Nintendo.

We're pretty pleased with what the channel has to offer so far. There's already around forty videos available for your viewing pleasure. Most of them are just trailers for upcoming Nintendo games, but there's also a nice little Miyamoto interview.

Aside from watching videos, make sure to click on the "Find Titles for You" tab. Here, you can check out the newest titles for Nintendo consoles, and also download demos for DS games.

These are just our initial impressions from browsing around the channel, so if you notice any other neat features, be sure to let us know in the comments! Nintendo also posted a video of the various things you can do with the channel, which you can check out here.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

We've known for a while that Mario Kart Wii would support twelve-player online races, but given Nintendo's less-than-stellar online record, we were a little worried about how smooth the online experience would be. Well, we're a little less worried now that the Nintendo UK web site has revealed some details of how online racing on the Wii will work. Among the details discussed:

• Spectator mode - When you join a room in progress, you can watch the race unfold while waiting for a new one to start.
  
• Global friend view - Lets you view your friends' locations and online status.
• Room structure - Host chooses race type, but player votes determine course selection.

The site also revealed a dedicated Mario Kart Wii channel, which can be run independently of the disc-version of the game. The channel lets players view global rankings, share and download ghost data, and download daily missions (similar to those found in Mario Kart DS). Can we suggest a mission dedicated to arranging dropped banana peels into jaunty patterns? That would be awesome.

[Via WiiFanboy]

In all the excitement about the Wii's planned Virtual Console gift giving service we somehow missed another important channel announcement in Nintendo's recent graph-packed financial results briefing. The TV Program Schedule Channel will ... wait for it ... let Wii users view the TV program schedule! On their Wii!

According to the briefing, the Channel will allow for searches by genre or actor and let various members of the family register their favorite shows. "We want Wii to become a kind of a friend to the TV set in the living room," Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said. "So it will be nice if people will turn on the Wii console when they want to search for interesting TV programs." Or, y'know, they could just turn on the TV and use the integrated on-screen guides included with most cable systems. Then again, we thought the Wii Forecast Channel couldn't compete with cable's Weather Channel, but we still love spinning that on-screen globe, so what do we know?

While no U.S. plans for the service were announced, the Interactive Program Guide service Nintendo is using includes U.S. data from Gemstar-TVGuide, so a domestic release seems possible. Japanese users can look forward to the service in Spring '08.

PAL gamers-- welcome to 2007! Oh, that doesn't work, because it implies that it's later than 2007 here and just now 2007 where you are. Okay, let's back out and start again.

PAL gamers-- welcome to August of 2007! There we go-- burn. Of course we're kidding, and it's all done with love for our Fanboy friends in Euroland. The point is that the Metroid Prime 3 preview channel is now available in your region. Chances are you've already watched all of the videos featured on the channel, unless you've been avoiding spoilers. But now you can watch them on your Wii via a somewhat different interface!

Much like Super Metroid, just because you're getting it a bit later doesn't mean it's not awesome. Go enjoy some videos!

If you've been wondering what to do with all that space from Wii channels you don't use so often, you can stop -- you're about to start spending a lot more time clicking around the home screen. This latest enormous press conference unveiled an avalanche of channel-related content that will should satisfy even the pickiest of Nintendo fans.

From DS demos to strutting around with your Miis, channel content is about to blow up ... at least, in Japan. We can only hope that the new channels are soon to follow for Wii owners in the rest of the world. Until release dates are confirmed, however -- or even rumored -- we'll have to settle for checking out what's to come, and we've got a ton of information for you after the post break.

We're taking a break this week from our usual Mii Spotlight format to discuss the future of Miis, including the forthcoming Mii-focused channel, and what we would like to see in the way of updates to the Mii creation process. We hope you don't mind ... and anyway, we're short on Miis! We can only guess you guys were far too busy immersing yourselves bodily in E3 videos and news to create any new little people this week.

But no worries! Not only will we have new and interesting ways in which to wield our Miis in the near future, games like MySims seem to be running with the super-cute avatar idea, and soon we'll be able to expand our tiny armies of near-lookalikes to epic proportions. Miis even turn up in Wii Fit, though there it seems they must do battle with faceless VR mannequins who threaten to take over our exercise plans.

Actually, Miis v. Mannequins could be an excellent game inside Wii Fit. Too bad we're mostly sure it isn't included. We do love our cartoon violence ... perhaps a little too much.

Well, you're not ugly, but there are a lot of ugly Miis out there. We just can't resist moving facial features around and into places they're not supposed to be. Sure, sometimes you do that and you get Admiral Ackbar, but other times, it looks more like what's under the hockey mask in the Friday the 13th films. Not pretty.

But even ugly Miis need a little time in the spotlight, so we're dedicating this week's edition to the worst of the worst. Check out the parade of awful after the jump!

Even with a diminished E3, there's no controlling the wave of rumors that hit the Internet every year before the show. Why fight it? From now until E3 hits, we'll be posting one piece of wild speculation every day. Some may be patently ridiculous, and others just might turn out to be true. Even some of the ridiculous ones might turn out to be true! Rest assured, everything will be totally made-up and unfounded. Except, of course, when we speak about all the ass Reggie is going to kick. That part? Totally true.

Rumor: The Mii Popularity Channel will be the only new thing Nintendo shows off at E3.

Chris Kohler of Game|Life interviewed Nintendo of America VP George Harrison about the future of the Wii system, and his responses were, well, generally unsurprising. We wouldn't expect Nintendo to suddenly change their strategy in the midst of such success.

Harrison said that because of the high prices of the Wii's competitors, he expected the Wii to have a lifecycle longer than the traditional five years. (Would that mean more than 35 million installed units in the US?) And it'll continue to have a pack-in for some of that lifecycle, since Wii Sports is a "cultural phenomenon" that is helping to draw people in to the system.

Harrison also mentioned that more Wii software targeted at Nintendo's new "expanded" audience would be revealed at E3, and that a game download channel is in development.

There's more, including some weird comments about localizing Virtual Console games and a response to the continuing shortages. Go read the whole thing, if you are so inclined.

Besides the disc channel, of course, what channel gets the most screen time on your Wii? Are you a Mii-maker, or do you prefer to browse from the comfort of the sofa when you're not gaming? Do you like to get into the voting, or are you constantly window shopping for new Virtual Console titles? We'd like to know how you spend your Wii time.

Hot on the heels of the received word the Wii Shop Channel would be making this title available a few days ago, new gameplay details have made their way onto the net. These new details document a variety of different game modes the player will be able to, well ... play. These include:

• New Mode: The original game, only completely reimagined, with updated graphics, music, effects and some new levels thrown in for good measure
  
• Classic Mode: This is the Impossible Mission you remember
• Merged Mode: A mixture of the old and new, with updated graphics and the original gameplay

So who's ready to prove this mission is anything but impossible?