How to get FREE browser on wii ?

Isn’t that like $5? That’s not very much for a browser… I got mine free when it first came out, I guess they charge for it now.

You can try Googling for Wii Homebrew and see how to hack it to install your own software. Not sure if they have a free browser out for it though.

I would rather not hack it . Yes its not much to buy it but i don’t see why i should pay to get a browser that is essentially freeware .

I’m curious as to why you think the browser should be free? Do you think it cost nothing to develop?

Your only options are to pay the 500 points or to hack your Wii and make it capable to run homebrew software (and if Nintendo finds out about this, they can choose to not service your Wii if it breaks).

Browsers are free on computers because they want to gain market share. There is no such desire in the game console world, not to mention programming for the Wii is a bit different from programming for the desktop. Additional development time was required to create the Opera browser for the Wii. I think it’s more than fair for those people to be compensated for their effort. Otherwise, you’re asking them to work for free – do you think it’s fair for me to ask YOU to work for free?

At the same time I have not and will not buy the browser on Wii or DS because my iPod Touch serves my wireless browsing needs.

It should be free cause i bought the damn Wii . Did you pay for your browser on your pc ?
If i am not mistaken the Wii browser is opera, is free to everyone apart from those on the Wii that is unfair .

So all software should be free because you bought a computer? All the games on the Wii should be free because you bought the Wii? All music should be free because you bought a CD player?

Browsers on the PC are supported by advertisements like Firefox or are part of an operating system package like Safari and Internet Explorer.

Opera did not used to be free, it used to cost $15 or come in an ad-supported version. Omniweb on the Mac used to cost $40. I bought both of those browsers at one point or another.

It is not unfair. If they are charging a price, then you have the option of paying for it or not paying for it.

Most people buy a Wii to play games, and go through life never needing the web browser (because there’s one on their PC, which they bought with surfing the internet a primary use).

Software costs money to develop, especially for a platform like the Wii where it needs to interface with an unusual hardware controller.

The cost is tiny (as some have said, around $5). Stop being a cheapskate and pay for it.

It’s not unfair. It’s business. They have no desire to increase their market share on the Wii, thus they don’t give the browser away for free. Plus, your Wii does not say it comes with Opera installed, thus you purchasing the Wii has no relevence here. As @StellarAirman says, do you expect ALL Wii games to be free because you paid for the Wii? Of course not! The browser is the exact same, except you don’t have to go down to the store to buy it.

It takes more effort, which means money, to port their software to the Wii. This is made up for by people paying for the browser. If you don’t want to use it, you don’t have to pay for it, but if you want to use it on your Wii, then it is only fair to pay for it properly.

Not that I know the answer, but I’d like to contribute my opinion :)

The browser should be free because people are willing to provide free browsers. The only reason no other free browser (like Firefox) is available is because Nintendo only allows Opera’s. I wouldn’t appreciate being screwed with like that (having to use an inferior browser and pay for it too) – I’d rather not use a browser than pay for one. But even better would be to find a free browser that you can run, which is why I think this question is justified and how remarks like “stop being a cheapskate” aren’t helpful.

But a Wii is not a computer. It is not designed to run any software that you happen to make for it like a computer running Windows or OS X. Nintendo controls all of the software on the device. To make a game for the Wii you have to become a certified developer through Nintendo, pay licensing fees, buy a development kit, then have the game approved by Nintendo. It is not a free market where any joe shmoe can make a piece of software for the device. The browser is an extra bonus if you happen to see a need for it, it is not advertised as part of the system. It’s just like buying one of the WiiWare games except instead of a game it’s a web browser. You have no right to a free web browser just because it’s technically possible to make one for a given device.

Step 1: Invent a time machine.
Step 2: Get into time machine.
Step 3: Set coordinates for aproximately 4–5 months after the Wii Came out.
Step 4: Download the Browswer, for free.

If you can manage Step 1, the rest is a synch!

@StellarAirman – true, you don’t have “right” on a browser, but I would feel screwed over. It is like a computer, only with a lot of restrictions by Nintendo piled on top of it (which to some extent is good, because it allows for the innovative games that exist for the Wii which work on every Wii).

I just don’t see how you can feel screwed over. They didn’t claim that you’d get the browser free and then take it away. It’s an extra feature that you can pay for if you want it. When the Wii first came out it was given free as it was still in Beta and to promote sales of the Wii, etc. The Xbox 360 doesn’t include a traditional web browser either, but you shouldn’t feel screwed over about that. It’s simply not an included feature. If they chose to release one they’d have the option of releasing it as a free update or charging for it.

IE and Netscape got people into thinking that all web browsers should be free all the time. It’s one of the only categories of software that people seem to refuse to pay for because there’s almost always been a free version available. But it’s just like any other piece of software and takes hundreds of people thousands of hours to develop. With Firefox and other browsers they’ve found other means of paying for that work through advertising deals, or the browsers are developed by huge companies like Microsoft and Apple as part of an operating system, but that does not mean they don’t cost anything to make and should always be free.

I am not a cheapskate , I have purchased 20 games in the last week ! . I would never use the browser on the Wii but don’t see why it should be a pay for browser . I know nothing is free to make am not a total tard !!! They never claimed it as an internet machine but it did come with the intent of going online. Online means internet so in my eyes should come with a free browser or ability to apply a free of your choice .

It came with the intent of playing games online. Wii games. That you purchase. Not with the intent of browsing the world wide web. That is not something Nintendo ever offered or even pretended to offer or claimed to offer for free.

I don’t think you’re a cheapskate. I do, however, think that you’re delusional and inventing promises that were never made.

Internet does not equal world wide web or web browsing. It means that the system can connect to the internet to download updates to the system, updates to games, play online, use other online features like the WiiWare store, weather updates, etc. The internet and the world wide web are separate things. Just because something connects to the internet does not mean it can or should be able to view web pages.

If you would never use it why do you even care about getting a free browser?

No no, online does not mean browsing the Internet. Online means having the capabilities to connect to other machines to play multiplayer games over the Internet.

But the entire point is moot if you don’t actually intend to use the browser! Well then, just don’t buy it! It seems you’re really making a mountain out of a molehill here.

For me to say i wouldn’t use the browser was wrong . I should have said at this time i don’t have any need to use the browser, but still don’t think i/we should be charged for it .

@StellarAirman – the reason I’d feel screwed over is that the only reason you can’t use a free browser is because Nintendo doesn’t want you to, not because none is available. I also feel screwed over when I can only buy a PC with Windows (i.e. having to pay for it) without actually using it.

It’s Nintendo’s machine. They can set whatever policies they want. You are free to give them your money for their product or not.

If you don’t like that product the way it’s sold, don’t buy it. Find a competitor who does offer what you want, or start your own company to sell what you want.

A car manufacturer that only makes a certain model car in standard does not give you the “right” to have an automatic – certainly not without cost – just because you want it and they don’t make it. You buy what’s available, or you don’t buy it.

Again, I’m not saying they can’t set whatever policies they want, it’s just that the policies they want make me feel screwed over. And indeed, if I wanted to use a browser on it, that would be the reason for not buying it (as long as an alternative that doesn’t screw me over is available).

So the only thing you can give to this discussion is shut up stop moaning and fucking deal with it ! My god people are so narrow minded . Just because something wasn’t sold as internet browser ready but has the capabilities of such tasks, does not mean they should ask people to buy it. They get millions if not billions for the games controllers and accessories i am sure they could cover the charge of a few quid and give everyone it free like they did when it was in beta .

Right, I’ll just shut up and fucking deal with it then.

You / we shouldn’t have to deal with it tho some reason it’s ok to pay money for something that would other wise be FREE!!!!!!!

EVERYTHING would “otherwise be free” if only people didn’t charge money for it! What the hell kind of reasoning is that?!

Yes, they COULD choose to give it away for free. They’re choosing not to. What is your point? Buy it or don’t. And yes, that’s the only thing that can be contributed to this conversation, because that’s the answer. If you want a browser on your Wii (for reasons I still can’t understand), you cough up $5. Simple as that.

Out of curiosity, would you feel less screwed over if they raised the price of the Wii by $5 but then gave you the web browser “for free”?

@Vincentt There are no other browsers available on the Wii, period. It’s not that there are 15 of them out there and Nintendo is just blocking them so they can get “rich” off of your $5. Firefox does not exist for Wii. It is not as simple as just putting firefox.exe on a memory card and installing it. An entire new version of Firefox would have to be created just for the Wii, using the Wii SDK and API. It would be a considerable development effort. There were rumors of FF for Wii coming out months ago but have been verified as being 0% true.

You have to also think that even if Nintendo didn’t charge for the development of the browser, they are still having to distribute it. They pay for the bandwidth to have people download applications and games and then the updates for them.

I don’t know, I guess you guys are just set on web browsers being free no matter what because IE and Firefox or free and if you are asked to pay for them it’s a ripoff. I can’t break through that thinking so, I guess you could look into hacking your Wii and see if you can pirate the browser and somehow use it without it being downloaded and activated through Nintendo. But then if you broke your Wii by hacking it it sounds like you’d feel ripped off by Nintendo for them not fixing your Wii after you tried to perform an unsupported hack on it.

@StellarAirman Thats a little over the top ” But then if you broke your Wii by hacking it it sounds like you’d feel ripped off by Nintendo for them not fixing your Wii after you tried to perform an unsupported hack on it”. Of course they wouldn’t fix it and you wouldn’t / couldn’t feel ripped off if you hacked it and broke it , that’s just silly talk now !!

I’d say a ‘little over the top’ is buying 20 games in a week and then bitching about paying $5 for a browser (with custom Ui for a closed platform and unusual hardware inputs).