Viral Videos on the Wii and Media Center

Following up on our previous post on the Wii's viral capabilities, there has been an interesting new development.

At this point, YouTube is the undisputed champion of viral video content. And for that reason, it makes sense for it to be available on every possible medium.

YouTube was actually already able to be used on the Wii, but it suffered from many of the setbacks that were outlined in our previous post. Most notably was the low resolution which makes text nearly unreadable and navigation quite cumbersome.

Enter WiiToob. WiiToob serves as a front-end for YouTube, formatting the site with large, Wii-friendly text and giving users easy access to new and top videos. It follows in the footsteps of other YouTube-interfacing creations such as Yougle, a Windows Media Center Plugin that allows users to view YouTube, Google Video, and other streaming video providers' content from the comfort of their couch utilizing Media Center's 10 foot interface.

Various previous projects have attempted to utilize web content from the couch, and most have seen meager success at best (ex. WebTV - now msnTV).

The major difference here is that the newer devices that we have discussed are being initially purchased for other purposes, including gaming or using as a personal video recorder. These added functionalities serve as a bonus, and for that reason consumers may feel more positive about them and be more receptive to them. They also serve to promote the original device - which can assist in maximizing adoption rates.

It also helps that consumers have something to use their Wii for when they've came down with a bad case of Wii elbow. As they still continue to sell off of the shelves, this is a hot time to be promoting content on the system.