Wii U TVii to support TiVo in January, hoping to support other DVRs

The Wii U TVii functionality launched today, delivering most (but not all) of the features that it announced on-stage when it was announced in September. One notable exclusion is the lack of the DVR service TiVo, or any DVR service at all. But TiVo is set to come in January, and Nintendo hopes to get others on-board as well.

In a Reggie Asks interview akin to the regular Iwata Asks, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime talked to the heads of the TVii feature about what was prioritized and what's still waiting for future implementation.

"As we look at [cable, DVR, and video streaming], linear TV or traditional cable and satellite represent 98 percent of video viewing. So you begin there," said network business director Zach Fountain. "This is a critical part of Nintendo TVii and a part that other platforms normally don't support. For DVR, we've previously mentioned TiVo. TiVo will be coming on board in January. And for the video applications, Hulu Plus and Amazon Instant Video will be supported at launch, with Netflix expected to be available in early 2013."

That doesn't do you much good if you don't happen to use a TiVo. But Brad Pelo, CEO of the company i.TV that partnered with Nintendo for the TVii service, says that "In the future, of course, we hope to add support for other DVRs."

The team also revealed that the TV Tag feature, which lets users leave social network comments on a timeline that follows the show, isn't extended to every show you can watch. Instead, it will only be available to the top 100 shows in the market, along with professional and NCAA football and basketball. Sorry, extremely obscure TV show fans.