Nintendo To End Its Video Service on the 3DS and Cease Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Services on Wii and DS...

Nintendo has announced through their official Japanese website that after nearly an entire decade of offering unique downloadable content for various Nintendo games, Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, will be coming to an end. This means the end of online functionality for over sixty Wii and Nintendo DS titles.

The service is expected to end on the 20th May 2014, and includes online applications such as:  online play, matchmaking and leaderboards for many Wii, Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi games such as Animal Crossing: Wild World, 100 Classic Books, Mario Kart DS, and Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass to name but a few. A full list of the affected titles for both Wii and DS can be found here.

Nintendo have stressed that not all online services will be affected and that applications such as The Wii's Internet Channel, Amazon Instant Video, Netflix, Nintendo DS Browser, Nintendo DSi Browser, Nintendo DSi Shop and YouTube will be completely unchanged.

There was further bad news for fans of the Nintendo Video Service on the 3DS. The application which allows users to watch and download free 3D film trailers, animated shorts, SKY 3D trailers and various 3D videos will also cease its services on the 31st March 2014. Purchased and downloaded 3D videos from the Nintendo eShop will be unaffected by the cessation of this service.

No reason has so far been given for why these services have been discontinued, but we can all hope that these changes may hail the arrival of some newer and more exciting services from Nintendo in the near future. Fingers crossed!

Netflix Launches in UK: Still No Joy For 3DS Fans Though...

The American film rental company Netflix has officially launched its UK and Ireland service. As well as allowing PC downloads of all the latest film titles, for a rental fee of £5.99 per month, Netflix has also promised that its services are compatible with the PS3, Xbox and Wii home consoles as well as the Apple iPad and iPod devices.

However, one group of gamers who are sure to be disappointed with the recent launch details are 3DS fans, who had expected to start receiving Netflix on the Nintendo handheld as well...

As yet, there does not seem to be any clear plans to bring the Netflix service to 3DS customers outside of North America, (where Neflix customers have been allowed to stream film content to their 3DS consoles if they had a pre-existing Netflix account since July 15th 2011).

However, Nintendo did originally promise 3DS fans that it was 'in talks' with Netflix, and it could still be that Netflix will eventually be streamed to UK 3DS consoles via an eShop application, as originally suggested, although at this point, that is still pure conjecture.

So, what do 3DS users now feel about the Netflix UK service, now that the 3DS doesn't seem to have been included in the launch plans? Will 3DS users ever really get the full 3D films that they were hoping for, or is this nothing more than a pipe dream? For those 3DS users amongst us who  happen to live outside of North America, it seems as though it will be a game of 'wait and see' for the foreseeable future at least...

Nintendo Launches European Video Service For The 3DS

It's finally here! Nintendo has launched its much anticipated Nintendo Video Service throughout Europe tonight.

The video service, (which is available to download  for free from the Nintendo 3DS eShop), will provide short  2D and 3D video clips and films to 3DS users. The video service in the UK has already provided two separate free video samples - 3D Magic and Oasis Cup, which will both be available until the 20th of July 2011.

3D Magic is a very short video clip showing an unknown Magician doing simple card tricks for the camera. The use of 3D is quite subtle in this clip, but still looks amazing on the 3DS screen. The magic tricks aren't that bad either...

Oasis Cup is a seven-minute short film about a little lizard called Oscar Oasis. This quirky and humorous little film is definitely worth a look. It shows how Oscar and his friends cope whilst they are lost in the desert.

The 3D is amazing and certainly sets the pace for any future short films which might appear on the new Nintendo 3DS Video Service.

The Video Service also includes Internet links to the videos that it uses where available. This means that if you wish to find out more about Oscar Oasis, you can click the 'Oscar on Internet' link and be taken to relevant web pages about Oscar Oasis and TeamTo - the very talented Production Team behind the animated series.

Spotpass notifications for the Video Service can also be set to 'ON'. This means that new videos can be downloaded even when the console is in Sleep Mode.

It may not be the full 3D film service that many users had been hoping for, but the new Nintendo Video service provides an extra interactive element for the 3DS, and, if the two video samples are anything to go by, the service is shaping up to be something very interesting indeed.

HAVE YOUR SAY...

What do you think of the Nintendo Video Service so far?

Does it live up to your expectations?

Do you like the two sample videos?

What suggestions do you have for future 3DS videos?

Please leave us a comment in our 'Comment's Box' and let us know what you think. We'd love to hear your thoughts.

Nintendo 3DS eShop: Is 'The Green Lantern' 3D Trailer A Sign That 3D Movies Are Coming To The 3DS?

When Nintendo  first showcased the new 3DS console back in January this year, they mentioned the fact that the new console was capable of showing 3D TV programmes and films, which could be downloaded using the 3DS SpotPass feature.

Amongst the television production companies said to be involved at that time were Eurosport, Sky TV 3D and Aardman Animations, who would apparently be responsible for producing a set of exclusive fifteen-minute  short films in full 3D, starring Children's TV favourite, Shaun the Sheep.

 Several Hollywood movie studios were also said to be partenering with Nintendo in order to stream 3D movies onto the console. A trailer for a 3D version of Disney's Tangled was shown during the Nintendo Press Conference in January as an example of this.

However, nothing further has really been mentioned about the possibility of using the Nintendo 3DS to stream TV programmes and films since that time.

Now, however, a trailer for the new Warner Bros film,  The Green Lantern, (which is set to debut in cinemas across the UK on friday) has recently appeared in the Nintendo 3DS eShop.

The trailer looks incredible when viewed in full-3D on the Nintendo 3DS and certainly gives a good indication of the kind of quality gamers could expect from 3D films that might be shown on the console in the future.

Nintendo is currently said to be in negotiation with an American firm called Netflix - the company which allows films to be streamed onto the Nintendo Wii console. The idea is that the Netflix company will stream 3D films directly onto the 3DS console via the newly-launched Nintendo eShop.

The NetFlix film service is expected to be available from July/August 2011 in North America, but as Netflix is largely unsupported outside of the USA, it is likely that another similar service, such as LoveFilm, will have to be used in other countries.

However, we should also point out that, as yet, there have been no dates given at all for the commencement of any such equivalent film-streaming service for the 3DS in the UK or the rest of Europe.

Thus it looks like gamers in the UK have a little while longer to wait yet until we can actually enjoy films on the 3DS. Until then, we can expect to see more 3D film trailers in the near future.

If you haven't seen the 3DS version of The Green Lantern trailer for yourself yet, it is well worth a look. It can be downloaded for FREE from the Nintendo eShop now.

Please note that Nintendo eShop content is currently updated every Thursday, and therefore items in the eShop may subsequently be added or removed at this time.