Recent news shows that Japan's largest advertising agency, Dentsu, is working with Nintendo in order to offer a video-distribution service on Nintendo's immensely popular Wii console. Until now, the two companies haven't settled on what type of programming they would create for the service but original cartoons and other entertainment content are under consideration.

 

It looks like some of the fare will be free, while other material will require a fee. The free-of-charge content will be accompanied by ads. Dentsu and Nintendo will launch the new service in Japan next year, while the timing for overseas sales has yet to be set, according to a Dentsu representative.

 

Nintendo has sold 34.6 million Wii consoles as of the end of September, far outselling Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo Wii features a motion-sensing controller that looks like a TV remote and gives customers the feeling they're in the game, not playing the game.

 

In related news, Nintendo announced that is has placed extra orders with its component supplier InvenSense, already forwarding part of the payment in advance. This can only mean that the Japanese game console maker is still growing, despite of the weak economy. To secure sufficient component supplies for its new product Wii Motion Plus, Nintendo has asked for increased gyroscope shipments from InvenSense.

 

This holiday season has once again brought a big demand for game consoles, such as Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox and Sony PS3. Nintendo still keeps its number one position and it remains to be seen if this video-distribution service will consolidate it or reduce the gap between the company and its main competitors.