Nintendo's Wii U will have its own app store, according to reports, with its tablet controller able to function as an e-reader capable of displaying books, magazines, newspapers and strategy guides for the company’s games.
The app store claim comes from The Daily, which reports that the Wii U store will "go far beyond" Nintendo's previous offerings such as the 3DS eShop. Some apps will run on the TV screen, while some will be designed for the tablet controller itself.
Meanwhile, Forget The Box cites a Los Angeles-based software developer who claims Nintendo has approached his employer to offer assistance in porting and publishing iOS software on Wii U. As well as a games console, it appears Nintendo wants Wii U to serve as a digital e-reader, with publications downloaded to the system and streamed to the tablet controller.
The company is reportedly approaching the publishers of a wide variety of magazines, and will offer publications of its own, including out-of-print strategy guides for Virtual Console games - which will be given away for free - and the complete archive of Nintendo Power, the US magazine which has been running since 1988.
The reports are surprising given Nintendo's repeated dismissal of smartphone software during 2011, but much has changed since then. The E3 unveiling of Wii U resulted in Nintendo's share price tumbling, and reports since have claimed that it is working to improve the hardware, striving to support multiple tablet controllers as well as increasing RAM and processor speed while maintaining an affordable price-point.
An app store and e-reader would create new revenue streams, which would naturally appeal to the investors who spent much of 2011 criticising Nintendo for failing to move with the times, and also help Wii U's appeal spread beyond the core gaming market. While Amazon's Kindle Fire is currently seen as the biggest threat to Apple's dominance of the tablet market, Wii U could present another affordable alternative to the iPad, albeit one which can only be used in the home.
Nintendo will be exhibiting Wii U at CES in Las Vegas next week, and while it has said that it will only be showing the same hardware and games that it unveiled at E3, we wouldn't rule out an announcement or two.
Source: Forget The Box