The Nintendo Wii still has some tricks up its sleeve; some 20 years after its initial release, a homebrew resurrection brings back one of the console’s quirkier functions, the Food Channel, and allows anyone in the United States or Canada to purchase a real Domino’s pizza from the familiar Wii menu. Nintendo released the Wii in 2006, with a channel-based system that divided routine tasks into easy clickable icons.
Most people remember the News Channel, the Weather Channel, or the Internet Channel for basic browsing, but Japan received a distinct version of the channel when Demae was introduced in 2009. Users would enter their address once and then search nearby restaurants by genre, such as sushi, bento, pizza, and more. Orders were simply routed to delivery providers, and payment was handled when the driver arrived. It all came to an end when Nintendo discontinued WiiConnect24 in 2017.
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The homebrew team refused to give up on the idea and began work on WiiLink, an unofficial service that recreates the previous Wii internet system. By 2022, they had rebuilt the Demae Channel, now known as the Food Channel, and even worked out an integration with Domino’s Pizza. However, the service is currently limited to Domino’s restaurants in the United States and Canada. They do intend to launch additional services, such as Just Eat, but for the time being, pizza reigns supreme.
If you want to test this out, you’ll need a Wii that has been hacked to run homebrew software. WiiLink will show you how to set it up, including installing the custom Food Channel. Once it’s fully loaded up, the channel appears on the Wii menu like any other, complete with the usual white background and animations. When you click on the Food Channel, you will see a brief loading screen with utensils floating around, followed by your saved address on one side of the screen, as well as a few options for accessing your order history and conditions of use. The huge “Order” button kicks everything off.
When you click the “Order” button, the Domino’s integration kicks in; it pulls live data directly from Domino’s systems to show you what’s available based on your location, holiday hours, and estimated delivery times, but for the time being, only Domino’s is an option; no other chains have appeared. The menu is similar to what you’d see on the Domino’s website or app; you can explore all of the regular pizza options, sides like bread or chicken, desserts, and so on. When you click on a choice, you will see a little graphic and a description of what you are about to select.
For the more daring, there are specialty selections such as Honolulu Hawaiian or Philly Cheesesteak, or you may simply select your own ingredients and have a personalized pie produced. You can even choose your crust type, such as hand-tossed or the works. Sauce, toppings…you name it, it’s all there.
Add all of your desired items to the basket, and the costs will be calculated for you in real time, including any delivery fees. Check your order, select a delivery window (typically about 30 minutes), and confirm the address and total. The final screen informs you that payment is made upon arrival; the console does not accept credit cards, and you simply submit the order, which is routed to Domino’s in the same way that it would be if you were ordering online. So the drivers will know exactly what to do.
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