You Can Still Order Domino's From The Nintendo Wii (With A Little Work)
One of the great pleasures for social gamers is hosting a gaming night. The couch co-op fun is best accompanied by some easy, filling, tasty food. Takeout such as pizza, of course, is right at the top of the list — and something you can order directly from your console.
Nintendo's iconic Wii, by virtue of its accessible nature, was able to get players of all ages to gather around the screen in its prime. This was also during an era when online gaming was in its infancy, and gathering together for local multiplayer was still a common occurrence. This only left the aforementioned food to be taken care of, and the Wii was there to help on that score, too. A Japan-exclusive app was dedicated to ordering food directly through the Wii itself.
Yes, the Wii had an app (or a "Channel," as the system called them) that allowed hungry fans to order Domino's pizza. It was a curious glimpse into just what this motion-sensing gaming console was capable of, and with a little modding ingenuity, it can still be used. Here's a closer look at the process.
What was the Japanese Wii food delivery Channel?
Having discovered the universal truth that video games and pizza go together fantastically, Nintendo set about finding a way to implement this in the Wii. The result was the Demae Channel (Demae-Can being a third-party food provider in Japan), through which owners could order the likes of sushi and burgers, as well as the ever-popular pizza.
Demae-Can is still alive and well in Japan; a handy DoorDash or Uber Eats-esque service that allows users to browse a map or restaurants near them/open up a favorite, peruse the menu, and place an order, all from the convenience of their web browser. In March 2017, the Channel was removed from both the Wii and its successor, the all-but-forgotten Wii U.
Did this mean that Nintendo fans were out of luck? Well, no, primarily because conventional delivery services were firmly establishing themselves by then. Even so, there's some good news for the curious, lamenting the fact that they missed a chance to order a hearty meal through their Wii. Through modding and/or rather obscure services elsewhere, Domino's can now be ordered on a Wii, and outside of Japan, too.
Keeping the dream Wii/Domino's collaboration alive
In the case of the Nintendo Wii, WiiLink — a site that provides otherwise-impossible access to online services the console once hosted officially — allows fans to continue to use the Demae Channel.
As explained by YouTube's Michael MJD above, the Channel is known as the Food Channel in WiiLink's English translation. To access it, users must equip the Wii in question with the Homebrew Channel, have a FAT32 SD card, and access to WiiLink 24's Discord. Inputting the SD card into a computer and then running WiiLink installation will allow the user to choose from the English translation versions of the Food Channel (among others), or its original Japanese version.
The YouTuber explains that while some areas in Europe will have access to Deliveroo by linking an account (and its various outlet choices), North American users will have access only to Domino's (though the service may be updated in the future). With the service installed to the SD card, it then just needs to be inserted into the console.
Through Wii Mod Lite and some manipulation of WAD files, the user can then get their console ID, share it with the Discord server for WiiLink, and then begin ordering pizza from the Channel on their Wii. It's unusual, but it works.