Without the shopping channel, where would retro gamers be right now?
For starters, there are 4 new channels to download (for free) off of the shopping channel once you're online. The news channel, the weather channel, the photo channel, the Mii contest channel and the everybody votes channel.
Let's be honest. The everybody votes channel...does anybody still use it? For those that aren't familiar with the channel, this is a small application in which a poll will be up, eg. "What do you prefer, apples or bananas?" You then drag your Mii to whichever answer you prefer. That's right...that's about it.
However, that was the worst channel of them all. There is still positive feedback to come. The Mii contest channel is pretty awesome. Every so often, there is a new theme for your Mii that pops up eg. lookalikes of Elvis Presley. Then, thousands of people all over the world create a Mii that looks like Elvis Presley, and enters it in. Then, members of the public like yourselves can rate each Mii, and several days later there is a winner.
With the news and weather channels, you more or less get what it says on the box. You can easily search for an accessible globe to find the latest news and weather throughout the world.
The photo channel is a bit of a bummer. Basically, you can insert and SD card with photo's on it into the SD card slot on the wii, and view pictures on the big screen of your most fond memories. Nothing a computer can't do, but it does have some fancy mini-games like turning your pictures into jig-saws, or editing them to make funny pictures.
Overall, you could say that the whole "channel" idea had masses of potential, and could have been something really great. And to be honest, it was okay. Despite some bummers, the shopping channel is an absolute must have.
With it, you can buy great retro games like Super Mario RPG, Super Mario Bros. 3, etc. and even some new games from original developers on WiiWare like Mega Man 9, The Sam And Max Series, and plenty more.