Amidst the flurry of announcements today, one of overlooked details was Nintendo's decision to charge money for the ability to browse the Internet on Wii. According to the official wording by Nintendo:
Internet Channel: This channel dramatically changes the relationship between a user's home, the television and the Internet. Users download the Opera browser with Wii points. Then they can surf the Internet right from the comfort of their couch. They can do quick research while watching a television program ("What was that actor's name again?"). Or book travel plans and shop during commercials. The service is compatible with Macromedia Flash.
Keep in mind, however, the browser will be free for some time after Wii's released worldwide;
Nintendo will not start charging until June of next year. What the motivation is behind such a specific date, however, is a complete mystery to us, and we wonder why the clarification wasn't made during the US conference.
Will Nintendo offer the service for free overseas, but not here? That would be some bizarre logic, but we currently don't have confirmation one way or the other. Nintendo of America would only confirm to 1UP that the Opera browser will cost Wii points, and couldn't delve into price specifics.
Now, on the one hand, Nintendo also charged for an Opera browser on Nintendo DS, but realistically, they had to. The dual-screen portable doesn't have enough internal memory to keep the program that saved, and DS cartridges, while cheaper to produce than GBA ones, aren't free. With PSP, however, Sony developed a web browser gamers could download, saved forever via Memory Stick.
In this case, Wii has the on-board memory capable of storing Virtual Console games, other downloadable content and a web browser simultaneously.
The Opera browser in its original incarnation is freely available on the Internet itself, but if they can charge for it and people will pay, why not? Just make sure you don't miss the deadline.
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3153671 
