Wii and DS

The odds are pretty good that you or someone you know owns a Nintendo Wii or DS. These two systems are insanely popular. But to reach that large of an audience, they are in the hands of people who don't know about or even care about their full potential. How many of those Wii owners bought the system because they heard about this "bowling game" or "fitness board thing" and haven't done anything with them since? One study showed that only 54% of Wii systems have ever been connected to the internet. Since it's WiFi only, it might be a bit trickier to set up than just plugging in a cable. But once you get online, is there really much to do? You could buy old Nintendo games from the Wii Shop Channel or Wii Ware but then you have to deal with those stupid points. You could play games against other people. But without voice chat, it's sort of pointless. The only time I've tried to play MarioKart with friends we ended up using Xbox Live to be able to talk while playing.

And how many DS handhelds were bought to pet puppies or solve puzzles, only to be set on the shelf after the owners grew tired of those games? The DS is great, but other than some Brain Training games it can't seem to shake the stigma of being a kid's toy. What I'd really like to see is some Wii/DS integration. I think all they've managed so far is are demos of DS games that you can download from a Wii channel. The same sort of thing you can do from DS kiosks at stores and airports. No, I don't know what kind of integration would make sense. But I just think of all the people that have one of each and think there must be something that makes sense and would be fun.

So bring it on, Nintendo. Entertain me.