X
CNET logo Why You Can Trust CNET

Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Reviews ethics statement

Nintendo's Wii gets Amazon Instant Video

Playing catch-up with Wii U, Nintendo's older gaming console now gets the video-streaming service.

Dara Kerr Former senior reporter
Dara Kerr was a senior reporter for CNET covering the on-demand economy and tech culture. She grew up in Colorado, went to school in New York City and can never remember how to pronounce gif.
Dara Kerr
Amazon Instant Video comes to Nintendo's Wii. Amazon Instant Video

Those consumers who don't want to upgrade from the Nintendo Wii to Wii U just yet but still want to get video streaming for their console are in luck. Amazon announced today that its Instant Video service is now available on the Wii.

"Amazon Instant Video is now playing on your Nintendo Wii," the video service wrote on its Web page. "Start watching over 140,000 movies and TV episodes today. Prime members can also watch thousands of these videos at no additional cost."

Nintendo recently upped its streaming game with the debut of its newest console, Wii U. Besides Amazon Instant Video, the console has Netflix, Hulu Plus, and YouTube. However, before today Amazon streaming wasn't available on earlier iterations of the gaming console.

It's clear that extending console functionality beyond gaming and into an entertainment system has been a goal of Nintendo's for the past couple of years. It's interesting to see that the company is now spreading this goal to its earlier products.

Besides the Wii and Wii U, Amazon Instant Video is also available on a number of other devices including Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3, Roku streaming players, Apple's iPad, Amazon's Kindle Fire, and dozens of HDTVs, Blu-ray players, and set-top boxes.