There’s still a lot of hardcore hate being directed towards the Wii. Is it dumbing down gaming? Could it herald the death of “proper” games as we know it? Despite the controversy, I think Nintendo have recently unveiled a groovy new feature for its little white money-making machine. The Nintendo Channel.

The aptly named software can be downloaded for free via the Wii Shop Channel, and keeps you up to date with the world of Nintendo. It might not sound very exciting, but it does a couple of things that put it above the similar efforts being made by Sony and Mirosoft.

As well as the usual suspect of being able to watch videos (I viewed a rather cool interview where Miyamoto discussed Wii Fit) and search for Wii and DS game information, you can download game demos straight to your DS via Wi-Fi. From a (granted, relatively small at the moment) list of titles, I chose Picross. Downloading the demo is surprisingly straight forward - no more complicated than hooking up with your mate for some apple-stealing chaos in Animal Crossing: Wild World. It’s a really cool way of promoting cross-platform content, and will be even cooler when there’s more demos on offer.

The channel also allows you to recommend games you’ve played, and view other players’ recommendations. You’re asked to input your gender and age, how much you enjoyed it, as well as whether you think it’s solo/multiplayer, or casual/hardcore. I know some of you may dismiss this as a one-sided benefit for Nintendo to reap cheap focus group opinions, but if it can help developers and publishers see what kind of person enjoys their game and why - and thus potentially improve future products - surely that’s a good thing, no?

No doubt the Wii debate will continue to rumble on for a few good years yet. The Nintendo Channel is available to download NOW, so go get it! Or see below for a groovy video walkthrough.  And as always, tell us what you think on our forum.