Nintendo have announced that Netflix will be coming to the Wii sometime in the Spring. This means it's a hat-trick for Netflix as the service is already available on the Wii's competitors, the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

Netlfix subscribers who pay at least $9 per month who have the Wii hooked up to a broadband connection will be able to watch Netflix movies and TV content on demand at no extra cost. Like Netflix access on the PS3, Wii users will need to use an "instant-streaming" disk that will be mailed out to them by Netflix.

Don't get too excited though as unlike the PS3 or 360, the Wii cannot output content at more than 480p, so HD streaming at 720p or 1080p is out of the question. Despite this, the addition of Netflix on the Wii is a major boon for the company as the Wii currently has a US console market share of around 40-50%. This will Enable Netflix to enter the homes of potentially millions more consumers without them having to buy extra hardware.

Source: Yahoo News

The BBC and Nintendo have today revealed that the Wii will be getting it's own dedicated BBC iPlayer channel. Previously the BBC offered the service through the Wii Internet channel. The new channel will provide users with an enhanced and better quality iPlayer service.

Erik Huggers director of Future Media and Technology at the BBC said the new Wii iPlayer would provide a "faster, high quality and improved viewing experience" over the original Wii iPlayer that was launched back in April 2008.

In the 18 or so months since the original launch there have been an estimated 900,000 requests through the Wii for programming hosted on iPlayer. However many viwers said they had experienced issues with the service. The new dedicated iPlayer channel will look to expell these issues.

The new channel will be avaialble from November 18th and will need to be downloaded free of charge from the Wii Shop Channel. From there the channel will install and users can catch up on their favourite BBC programmes in full screen.

If the rumours are to be believed, then Nintendo have plans to release an updated Wii console sometime in 2010 that will pack a Blu-ray drive and support 1080p movies and games.

Maxconsole.net believes it has come across leaked information from a Nintendo of France marketing employee who has suggested that the new console will come equipped with a Blu-Ray drive.

The information would also suggest that the updated Wii (it is not clear if it will be a Wii2 although MaxConsole seem to think it is) will sport a Blu-Ray drive to help combat the pirating of games on the platform. If this turns out to be true then Microsoft's Xbox 360 console will be the only current gen console to lack a Blu-Ray drive.

Anything can happen between now and the supposed launch of the Blu-ray equipped Wii console, and rumours of a Blu-Ray equipped Xbox 360 have done their fair share of Internet rounds. Microsoft have however, repetitively said that the Xbox 360 will not be getting a Blu-ray drive as they believe they can provide a better service through downloadable content on Xbox LIVE.

Other details in the apparent leak state that the release is scheduled for the third quarter of 2010 and will happen on the same day worldwide. Finally, it is claimed that you will be able to trade in your old Wii and get a discount on the new model. If MaxConsole are to be believed then Nintendo want to whip up another frenzied buying atmosphere that greeted the Wii on it's original launch. They plan to do this via mass viral marketing and announcing the new Wii just a month before launch.

Source: Maxconsole.net via neowin.net

Nintendo have announced that come November 6th the much requested Black Wii will be available for purchase in the UK and Ireland; other areas of Europe will get it on the 20th. There was no word on when or if the US will get the Wii in black, but given that Nintendo announced black Wii accessories several weeks ago I wouldn't be surprised if they announced a black Wii for the US some time soon as well .

As stated in the title the new black Wii (that's glossy black by the way) will be part of a Limited Edition bundle that will include extras such as the Wii MotionPlus and Wii Sports resort in addition to the familiar Wii Remote and Nunchuk - but in black of course. The original Wii Sports game will also be thrown in as usual for good measure.

Nintendo also announced the availability of a new black Classic Controller Pro which is an updated version of the original Classic Controller as well as separately available Black Wii Remote Controllers, Wii MotionPlus and Nunchuk accessories. These will be available across Europe on November 20th. No prices for any of these new products were announced in the press release but if I were to give an educated guess then then I would estimate that with the inclusion of several extras the LE Black Wii bundle will more than likely cost over £210 in the UK.

Although this is a Limited Edition console it would seem that will all the original accessories being made available in black, Nintendo are aiming to keep the Black Wii on retail shelves long after the Limited Edition has seen the end of its days. If you want to see the new black Wii you can check it out on Nintendo's official press release.

Update: My prediction of an RRP in excess of £210 was, well wrong; very wrong. I have discovered while randomly browsing that shopto.net have the LE Black Wii on pre-order for a brilliant price of £164.85 which is even less than the original Wii. Play.com meanwhile have it on pre-order for £174.99 which is still a good price when you compare it to the original which is still being sold for around £180 sans Sports Resort and MotionPlus in some places. Further to this additional Nunchuks, Wii Remotes and Wii MotionPlus accessories can be had for similar prices as their original white coloured counterparts.

Since it's launch, Nintendo have held firm on the Wii pricing. Until now it has never seen a price drop by Nintendo as it has consistently flown off the retail shelves. However according to the BBC sales of the Wii are down somewhat this year. In the period between April and June this year 2.23 million units were sold compared to 5.17 million last year.

However all this week, tech and gaming sites have been awash with rumours that Nintendo will be dropping the price of their Wii console very soon, and that the new price would be $199. Well now, Nintendo have confirmed on their site that the Wii will indeed be dropping in price to $199 in the US on the 27th of this month, that's this Sunday. Nintendo have also stated that the Wii will fall in price in Japan too.

The UK according to the BBC will see a reduction in trade price and it will be down to the retailers as to how much to sell the Wii for. With this in mind it should give retailers more freedom to price the Wii as they see fit, and we could see retailers dropping the price of the Wii or making it better value by adding accessories or games to the Wii packages they sell. Most places already sell the Wii at around £179 when the Recommended Retail Price (RRP) is £200.

Recent decisions by Sony and Microsoft to drop the price of their consoles, might also have something to do with the sudden Wii price drop as Nintendo might be starting to feel a little surrounded, given that it's competitors consoles are no longer that much more expensive then it's own product.

Consumers can now pick up an Xbox 360 Arcade for $199 dollars, the same as the new Wii price. In addition to this the Pro and the Elite models fell to $249 and $299 dollars respectively. Sony meanwhile recently relaunched their Playstation 3 with a new 'slim' version and slapped a price $299 on it. The new pricing of these consoles would have made the Wii an expensive option at $249 compared to it's more feature rich and  more complex rivals. This is despite the fact that the Wii has thus far outsold both the Xbox 360 and the PS3 - world wide, the Wii has sold about 53 million units, while Microsoft have shifted around 32 million Xbox 360s and Sony have managed to move about 24 million Playstation 3s.

Nintendo of America hope that the $50 price drop will reignite the frenzied selling of the Wii we have seen since it was launched in late 2006. According to Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing, Nintendo's research has indicated that there are about 50 Million Americans thinking of becoming gamers and that the new price of the Wii might appeal to them more than that of the Xbox 360 or the Playstation 3.

Dunaway stated in Nintendo's press release, "Our research shows there are 50 million Americans thinking about becoming gamers, and this more affordable price point and our vast array of new software mean many of them can now make the leap and find experiences that appeal to them, whatever their tastes or level of gaming experience".