Glancing at my site’s traffic, I noticed that someone hit my site from a Google search on “flash mud client.” Basically, someone was looking to see if there was a way to connect to a MUD using a Flash application. By itself, it seems pretty innocuous, right? I mention MUDs fairly often and I asked about a Flash MUD client in a recent post. No biggie, that’s just how Google works. The interesting part about it is that the UserAgent (the browser used to view the page) is listed as “Opera/9.00 (Nintendo Wii; U; ; 1309-9; en)”. That’s right, someone is using the Opera web browser built into the Nintendo Wii to look for a Flash MUD client.
So, what does that mean? Well, since the Opera browser on the Wii can play Flash games, it means that the Wii could possibly have access to multiplayer RPGs in the form of MUDs. Since there’s no keyboard, I don’t know how feasible a text-based environment would be, but it’s interesting nonetheless.
It also begs the question, “Why doesn’t the XBox 360 have a built-in web browser?” It’s not like Microsoft would have to license one from somebody, they already own IE. They’ve even changed the interface before for the Windows CE…er…Pocket PC…er…Windows Mobile platforms, so why couldn’t they make a nice 10-foot UI? Heck, why don’t they even make a 10-foot UI for their Windows Media Center? That thing is MEANT to be hooked to a TV.
Anyway, I thought it was interesting that someone was looking to play a game that is normally relegated to the desktop on a device that is intended for the living room. It just goes to show you that media is converging and beginning to penetrate everyday life. That said, why hasn’t there been a good couch-based PC input device? You can’t type very well with a remote control, it’s too difficult to use a wireless mouse/keyboard combination, Gyration’s offerings have fallen short, and other offerings are very pricey and have their own quirks.
