Ajax Based Websites in Wii

Wii is the family favorite game console because of its simplicity, revolutionary user interaction and a highly competitive price. If PS3 and XBOX360 will lower their prices like that of Wii, Sony and Microsoft would be bankrupt. Wii has apparently caught everyone’s attention and their pockets and everyone wants to have a piece of that profits. More and more companies are coming out with innovations for Wii the latest of course is WiiFit. Personally I never dreamed of a day that my gaming console would eventually be my Yoga instructor but here it is right now in front of me and it is telling me to balance my body more.

Aside from these gaming innovations, web developers have also found an opportunity in Wii. Among the applications and games found inside of Wii, this game console comes with Wii Internet Channel. Basically, Wii Internet Channel is just another name for internet browser. So yes, aside from having fun with the games that comes with Wii, you can also browse websites with it. It is a great innovation considering the community of Wii is getting bigger everyday.

Wii’s browser is basically a custom designed Opera 9 browser. With this browser, users are supposed to visit great websites even those that are Ajax based. But the reality is totally different. Wii Internet Channel is limited to a number of websites most of them of course are there to support Wii users and enhance interaction with another user. These websites are basically Wii-enabled and works great with the browser.

In order to have an Ajax based website that would be friendly for Wii, there are certain things you have to change. An Ajax based website is possible in Wii internet channel because Opera 9 that was customized for Wii has a strong JavaScript reader, much like its original counter part.

However, there are things that you should remember when building an Ajax based website. It is not in the coding because Opera 9 is powerful enough to support it, but on the layout. Remember that Wii will be used on a television and clearly it is not the same with the PC. But you still have to ensure that your Ajax base website will still be viewed properly in PC. Developers of Wii Internet have limited the layout of websites by creating borders in all sides of a website. That means your website will have to be smaller when it is rendered in Wii. It also means an Ajax based website would need to have bigger fonts. The fonts that seemed reasonable in a PC or laptop may not be seen on a TV screen because naturally, users do not want to be really close to their TVs.

When Wii Internet Channel was launched, it was very limiting since it only relies on simple controls. But the Wii Internet Channel was upgraded and now it can support keyboards through USB.

Do not think however that Wii will become a TV based computer with the console as its CPU. You can browse and look at the information and the only other thing you can do is bookmark which is limited to 56 sites only.