Wii Channels

Nintendo's Wii menu revolves around 4 screens of a 4 x 4 grid of options called "Channels." This was to give users a similar experience of flipping through channels on TV. By default, all Wii consoles have the Disc, Mii, Photo, Wii Shop, Forecast, and News Channels built into the console. By using the Wii Shop Channel, users can download additional channels. Virtual Console and WiiWare games also take up their own Channel space. Users can move around the Wii Channels and customize the Wii menu anyway they want, with the exception of the Disc Channel which must be in the upper left corner of the first screen at all times.

List of Wii Channels

Pre-Installed Channels

These are Wii Channels that come pre-installed with every Wii.

• Disc Channel
• Mii Channel
• Photo Channel
• Wii Shop Channel
• Forecast Channel
• News Channel

Downloadable Channels

These are Wii Channels that can be downloaded through the Wii Shop Channel.

• Internet Channel
• Everybody Votes Channel
• Check Mii Out Channel
• Nintendo Channel
• Television Friend Channel
• Digicam Print Channel
• Today and Tomorrow Channel
• Wii no Ma
• Demae Channel
• BBC iPlayer Wii Channel

Additional Channels

These are a list of Wii Channels which can only be acquired by purchasing a related product.

• Mario Kart Channel
• Wii Fit Channel
• Wii Fit Plus Channel
• Daigasso! Band Brothers DX Speaker Channel
• Wii Speak Channel
• Rabbids Channel

Retired Channels

This is a list of channels that are no longer available to downoad.

• Metroid Prime 3 Preview Channel

Related Features

Wii Message Board

Using the Wii Message Board, Wii users can communicate with each other. Wii consoles can communicate either between each other with an e-mail address. It is necessary for Wii users to exchange Friend Codes before they can communicate from console to console. For e-mails, the recipient is sent a confirmation e-mail asking for permission to communicate with the Wii console. Wii users can have up to 100 contacts stored in their Address Book. In the address book, the contacts can be given a custom nickname and a Mii avatar from any of the Miis stored on the console. It is also possible to send photo attachments through the Wii Message Board. When a new message has arrived, the Wii's disc slot will glow blue although it is possible to turn this off in the Wii's Options Menu.

In addition to the Adress Book, Wii users can leave memos to themselves if they feel they need to be reminded about something. Memos are not restricted to the present day and can be posted on past or future dates. If a memo is posted on a future date then, like a new message, the Wii's disc slot will glow blue to remind the user to check the Wii message board.

The Wii tracks a record of time spent with games and channels and posts the data on the message for each day it was used under "Today's Accomplishments". This also tracks who you sent messages to that day. There is also a calendar that Wii users can browse if they want to see what days they recieved messages or posted reminders which are marked by en envelope icon. Initially, the calendar also tracked what days had Today's Accomplishments posted but as that cluttered the calendar and there was no other way to filter it to see which days actual messages were received, it was no longer marked after a firmware update in mid-2007.

SD Card Menu

Following complaints that the Wii's limited storage was causing issues among the userbase, Nintendo introduced the SD Card Menu in March 2009. This allowed users to play games stored on any SD Card up to 32GB. It looks similar to the Wii's main menu except for the black background and because SD Cards can hold more data then the Wii's internal memory, there are now 20 screens of 4 x 4 grids. Although it allows users to play their games stored in the SD Card, there must still be an available number of blocks free that the game takes up before it can be played.