SofaTube brings YouTube to Wii/PS3 couch potatoes

by Vladimir Cole { Dec 25th 2006 at 8:07AM }

The Wii's low-resolution display can make navigating messy sites like YouTube a real pain, but a site called SofaTube (screenshot shown here) might have a solution for you. The site taps into YouTube's sizable video archive and reskins the experience with simplified navigation, oversized fonts, and low pageweight. The redesign should make for a more pleasurable lean-back experience. For those of you who've given it a shot, what did you think of it?

Xbox 360 users can forget about tossing back Elsinore brew and jelly donuts while enjoying underage camho dance videos from the comfort of the sofa: you've got no browser! Take off, hosers.

[Via Mashable]

Tags: lean-back, revver, sofatube, wii, xbox 360, Xbox360, youtube

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

William Sun @ Dec 25th 2006 8:42AM

I didn't have an in-depth experience using SofaTube. I didn't know it was YouTube re-skinned but more of a website showcasing some of the featured YouTube videos at the moment. I found it a bit messy at some places when trying to navigate through the polaroid-like screenshots as they piled up on one another and had to dig deep to find some videos. Watched only one video and didn't seem to see a fullscreen feature which would have been nice. Overall, the design makes it easy for the Wii browser and is actually good looking too but I found the navigation system to be a bit difficult (with my short time using it).

UNSCleric @ Dec 25th 2006 9:04AM

I didn't buy a game console to watch YouTube, dumbass.

Chilblane @ Dec 25th 2006 9:40AM

Underage camho dance videos? Isn't that what Vision and Uno are for?

Vince @ Dec 25th 2006 9:45AM

2 and 4, you guys are retarded.

azesino @ Dec 25th 2006 9:55AM

You stupid idiot who buys a console to watch youtube.

driven2sin @ Dec 25th 2006 10:10AM

I typed camho in youtube's search and got no results

AJay17 @ Dec 25th 2006 10:11AM

Lol at all of the comments so far (besides #1. Idiots. Of course nobody bought a Wii to watch Youtube videos. But whats wrong with having the ability to? I bet couldn't, then you guys would be bitching about not being able to. Go somewhere else with your damn negativity.

driven2sin @ Dec 25th 2006 10:13AM

my bad.. here's one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX69gP9LWBc

driven2sin @ Dec 25th 2006 10:28AM

dude thanks for the game guide tips, but what game are you playing? how's the graphics? any good bosses, cheat codes?

FSK405K @ Dec 25th 2006 10:42AM

Ron, stfu. Go watch yourself be saved and live with 68 virgins on youtube on a Wii.

Jeffler @ Dec 25th 2006 10:48AM

driven2sin, that was the worst comment i've ever seen. Even though he shouldn't talk about religion on here, you can at least be respectful of his opinion.

I hope you get -starr'd.

DevCap @ Dec 25th 2006 11:16AM

Internet on TV is pointless it was back in the Web Tv days and it still is.Using the internet without a mouse is torture.

Kn1ves @ Dec 25th 2006 11:18AM

anyone want to tell me (i dont own a wii yet) if my website is fine on the wii's opera browser?

http://illusivedesigns.net/kn1ves

driven2sin @ Dec 25th 2006 11:20AM

@ 12 - ok, respect my opinion.. go get and read the book 'messages from michael' and then you'll see that 2000 years ago was wonderful for that time and that place (there were plenty of different nations living around the world back then that didn't need or care of middle east religion spawning) but everything evolves, souls and beliefs included..

Picklesworth @ Dec 25th 2006 11:45AM

Thank god, it's not done with Flash!

I think, given time, I'll end up preferring this web site...

I'll join the OT stampede for a moment...
Yes, the Wii is a game console, but so is a PS3 (though Sony doesn't like admitting it) and an XBox 360. The 360 does DVD playback, fancy online features (music downloading, I believe?)... the PS3 has just a ridiculous number of non-game-console things such as the ability to install a full desktop operating system.

You think the Wii is bad for things that aren't necessarily games in a game console?! This is just a web browser, and that is actually pretty cool to have.

Besides that, funny videos are... fun.

ill trooper @ Dec 25th 2006 12:10PM

Always the weakest defense: "I didn't buy _____ so I could ______, like all you other guys can."

I just watched some videos on YouTube on the Wii the other morning - checked out the "Dick in a Box" and "HomelessVille," and it was pretty cool having the video nearly fill the screen and the audio filling the living room... I certainly wouldn't mind my 360 having a browser, even if I rarely use it. But then you're no 'dumb-ass,' are you UNSClerc? No reason to have your console do anything besides gaming! Like download movies, or video chat? Oh the 360 CAN do that, so that's OK, but browsing, that's for fools...

I'm sure that a browser will make it on the 360 soon, then you'll think it's cool...

And MY opinion is that the bible comment above should have been kept to himself, as I feel religion is a personal experience that doesn't need to be here on Joystiq. Aside from the content matter that maybe you're afraid to criticise, it's COPY AND PASTE SPAM to me because it's so OFF-TOPIC for a video game site.

TuMaiKbron @ Dec 25th 2006 12:13PM

#7. You could do all xbox 360 users such as me a great favor by posting a top 10 or top 5 reasons why having a browser in your console is a good idea. The only reason I can think of if not having a computer to browse from.
When I get home, I use my computer to browse the web, check my email, chat with my friends, watching fun videos in youtube,etc. etc.
Then I use my console to play games. That's all! Yes, there's nothing wrong with having the ability to watch youtube in your Wii. But let's say you want to comment on a video, do you use the wiimote to write? or do you attach a keyboard to your console? Yes, you can replicate your PC/Mac/whatever functionality in your console. But, why would you want to do that?

octium @ Dec 25th 2006 12:20PM

regarding #4...
what is it with the comments sometimes going out of chronological order and skipping around the place? its obvious hes referring to whats currently #5, but they skipped out of order. ive seen this a couple times and had it happen to a couple of my own comments...

in any case i dont have any issues dealing with youtubes main site through the wii browser so this site does nothing for me...

rudimentalist @ Dec 25th 2006 12:36PM

This site totally kills the framerate of any video I try to watch with that bloated interface. Impossible for watching game footage.

funkonaut @ Dec 25th 2006 12:55PM

I actually dig the Wii browser, especially since my 800mhz G3 ibook can't play Youtube vids without stuttering.

syco @ Dec 25th 2006 1:02PM

I didn't get the Wii for the web browser (I bought it to play Zelda), but since it's there, and it's free, why not? You know, 10 years ago people were paying monthly for the privelege of webbrowsing from their couch. WebTV may have failed, but that's because it was marketed like a replacement to a computer, when really all a TV-browser can do is augment your internet experiance by making simple things possible from the comfort of your couch.

I don't know if I would pay $5 for it (so it's nice that I don't have to.), but it's not completely worthless. I didn't even realize this until I tried it...

Jared C. @ Dec 25th 2006 6:49PM

Does anyone know about PocketPC? I'm still looking for a way to browse YouTube on PPC.

CheapyD @ Dec 25th 2006 6:50PM

Strange Brew references FTW!
"Dad, bob broke your beer"

razer @ Dec 25th 2006 6:54PM

Don't worry about the XBOX Fanboys coming on here. There just confused corporate spanks who have been dealing with Internet Explorer crap for ages with their spyware and virus's and will believe MS when they say we don't need a web browser. Face it, most people want one and MS is behind the curve on this one. Of course the 360 people will do whatever they can to downplay this great feature. Now I can read news sites, blogs, etc from the comfort of my couch. Because not everyone is a big enough nerd to keep a PC in their living room. My GF would kick my ass if I brought a PC into the living room and with a console I can get away with surfing from the couch. It's funny how everyone but 360 people are happy for this feature... hmmm Oh and to the person asking about ten reasons why a console should have a web browser.. All you need is one reason and thats PEOPLE WANT IT. Figures a 360 peep would need 10 friggen reasons.. geesh

kuri @ Dec 26th 2006 4:35AM

I personally love browsing tech and game sites from my Wii... like I am right now. I find the browser an amazing time killer between games and commercials.

TuMaiKbron @ Dec 26th 2006 12:16PM

#25 – Hey razer, I do love my xbox 360 but I’m far from a blinded fanboy (although I check the xbox360fanboy.com site daily, I get most of my gaming news from joystiq.com) or a “corporate spank” dealing with “Internet Explorer crap”. I do have a PC at home, but my main computer is a Mac G5 and I’ve been doing my browsing with mozilla firefox since the days it was available only as beta.

I have no idea why you need to insult everyone here with your flaming and irrelevant comments about people keeping a PC in their living room. Lucky you if you live in a castle, but if you’re just starting up and can afford only a small apartment or studio, that doesn’t make you a nerd (By the way, if you actually had a GF, I don’t think she would mind having a PC in the living room).

Finally, about people want in a browser in the xbox 360, why don’t you go and check it yourself: http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2006/12/22/important-or-not-surfing-the-net-on-your-360/#comments.

dsub @ Dec 26th 2006 1:07PM

"I didn't buy a game console to watch YouTube, dumbass."

Agreed.

I got a Wii today for christmas from my wife, and I must say, the interface/gui is DOGSHIT compared to the 360. Not only did it take me from noon until 2am to get the damn thing to connect to the internet and download the updates, once it did, I find the "connecting..." screens between each of the channels to be rather annoying. I just feel like I am browsing the web on some cheap plain-jane text based half-assed homemade web-browser.

Gameplay wise, the Wii delivers, but gloating that the Wii has a "browser" (if that's what you want to call this television equivalent to my cell phones browser) and the 360 doesn't is absolutely ridiculous. I went to sofatube, and it was so bad, that it made me want to get off my ass and walk four steps to my computer, and use the real youtube.