Nintendo has always been known as a game maker. Their consoles have never been the multi-media powerhouses that the Xbox 360 and the PS3 have proven to be. The Wii has Netflix and Hulu Plus, but not much else. That’s all going to change with the Wii U.

Nintendo of America announced today that North American Wii U consoles wil have access to Nintendo TVii. It features the usual suspects including Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon Instant Video, but it features much more. The console can connect with your television and DVR (only TiVo at this moment) for all the latest TV shows and movies.

Sports fans are going to especially love Nintendo TVii. It features the current game that’s on the air at that moment, but it also includes all the latest scores from that week’s games. It keeps sports fans up to date on all the latest happenings in the sports world.

The sports programming also offers a secondary screen while watching sports. The gamepad’s screen features all the details of the current sports event including Twitter reactions, questions about the current game and illustrations of the latest plays.

Nintendo TVii is something that is wholly un-Nintendo and it’s amazing. It’s already looking way better than what Microsoft has shown so far for SmartGlass. The main benefit is that the Wii U gamepad is included with every Wii U console. That’s already a major boost over SmartGlass which requires a separate tablet.