Web Browsers on Video Game Consoles

#1

Post by robin_reala » Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 8:47 AM UTC

Web Browsers on Video Game Consoles
vale.rocks

Re: Web Browsers on Video Game Consoles

#2

Post by danbolt » Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 9:21 AM UTC

I remember the Wii U browser’s MP4 playback being surprisingly helpful. Running the `http-server` npm package, I was able to get video from my laptop to the TV in a pinch.

Adding in Handbrake, it wasn’t that bad of a setup!

Re: Web Browsers on Video Game Consoles

#3

Post by lxgr » Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 9:36 AM UTC

The browser on the Wii was amazing. I didn't use it all that often, but I was a big Opera fan back in the day, and it was amazing to see how well their engine scaled to all kinds of systems.

As far as I remember, there were even some games that supported the Wiimote natively? I don't remember if this was via Flash or Javascript, but there seems to be a library for the latter: https://github.com/ryanmcgrath/wii-js

I unfortunately never got to use the Nintendo DS version (the DS being WEP-only was a dealbreaker for me).

Re: Web Browsers on Video Game Consoles

#4

Post by doublerabbit » Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 9:41 AM UTC

I am surprised how deeply rooted Macromedia flash was.

For a console browser to chug Flash is impressive.

Re: Web Browsers on Video Game Consoles

#5

Post by KeplerBoy » Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 9:43 AM UTC

lxgr wrote: post #3

The browser on the Wii was amazing. I didn't use it all that often, but I was a big Opera fan back in the day, and it was amazing to see how well their engine scaled to all kinds of systems. As far as I remember, there were even some games that supported the Wiimote natively? I don't remember if this was via Flash or Javascript, but there seems to be a library for the latter: https://github.com/ryanmcgrath/wii-js I u…

I bought the NDS version back in the day and let me tell you it was not worth the 40€ of my pocket money.

Re: Web Browsers on Video Game Consoles

#6

Post by alhadrad » Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 9:45 AM UTC

My first experience with porn was the Dreamcast browser.

Re: Web Browsers on Video Game Consoles

#7

Post by robin_reala » Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 9:45 AM UTC

doublerabbit wrote: post #4

I am surprised how deeply rooted Macromedia flash was. For a console browser to chug Flash is impressive.

Flash was on a bunch of mobile platforms, just not iOS. When it became clear that Apple were going to take a sizeable chunk of the market and were never going to support it, Adobe decided to cut their losses: https://web.archive.org/web/20111116013328/http://blogs.adob...

Re: Web Browsers on Video Game Consoles

#8

Post by keyle » Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 9:50 AM UTC

doublerabbit wrote: post #4

I am surprised how deeply rooted Macromedia flash was. For a console browser to chug Flash is impressive.

Well back in the day, if you wanted to provide some interactive experience worth having on the web, you did it Flash.

It fits entirely to be supported on consoles.

Re: Web Browsers on Video Game Consoles

#9

Post by asimovDev » Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 9:55 AM UTC

doublerabbit wrote: post #4

I am surprised how deeply rooted Macromedia flash was. For a console browser to chug Flash is impressive.

I remember trying to browse a Flash build promo website for Transformers 2 on my PSP (what a 2009 sentence) and it wouldn't load. I was quite disappointed.

Re: Web Browsers on Video Game Consoles

#10

Post by CM30 » Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 9:56 AM UTC

I remember a couple of people making websites specifically for these apps. Wasn't super common, but there were definitely a few Nintendo forums and communities that were built with the 3DS browser's viewport and design in mind.

And while there's nothing official, there are ways to use the built in Switch browser like a normal browser through homebrew as well. I think one setup even allows functionality the default browser doesn't support, like normal HTML video tags.