If you happened to look upon your Wii yesterday morning, you may have noticed a little blue light indicating there is a new download running on your Wii console. Well, this new download is in fact a new channel released today by Nintendo in North America. The Nintendo Channel is a comprehensive channel dedicated to giving you the chance to preview games in the form of videos, developer documentaries and demos for both the Wii and DS. Read more below...

After entering the channel, you are introduced to a video interview with Shigeru Miyamoto detailing some aspects of the Wii Fit title recently released. You are also asked if you’d like to opt in or out and receive information from first and third parties. I estimate this would be about receiving updates of when new videos and demos are available. In one area of the channel, you are given a re-direct link where you can buy currently released titles from online websites such as BestBuy, Amazon and more through the Internet Channel. 

Most of the videos you may have already seen elsewhere, like Youtube, but some may be new. One of them even introduces you to WiiWare. You can also sort through titles and see a page for each game. Each page provides players with information about how many players can play, developer and publisher information and any videos available for the title.

If you’d like some demos to play and you have your DS handy, just head on over to the DS Download section of the channel. Here you can browse through a good amount of titles and download them directly to your Nintendo DS. These demos come straight from Third Party and First Party developers and you can expect to see games like Crosswords DS, Cooking Mama 2, and Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword. Unfortunately these titles only stay on your DS until you shut the handheld off, but at least you won’t have to find a local DS station when your out and about.

Finally, one of the features available is the ability to recommend games to other players around the world. If you have a broadband connection, you should have no problem downloading these demos and videos. The process of getting these videos is a smooth ride with the DS connectivity. Even viewing trailers of various games and developer interview videos was a painless task.

Overall, the connectivity and initiative Nintendo is taking with this new channel is quite exciting. The Nintendo Channel has taken the features of the Xbox Live Marketplace, but wrapped it in an easier to use interface. Take note gamers, the Nintendo channel is something to behold.