Thank God for the Virtual Console.

While this news may not be a surprise to many of you, it is still fairly important to report.

The Nintendo Wii will launch in the US this weekend, and it will launch without the News or Weather Channels. However, the Virtual Console will most definitely be there, and it will allow gamers to download classic Nintendo games, in exchange for WiiPoints.

While they won't launch right away, the Channels will be available fairly soon. Gamers in the US will be able to get their hands on the Weather Channel on 20th December, and the News Channel will be available on 27th January of next year.

With the promise of more Virtual Console games in the future, and the inclusion of the News and Weather Channels post-launch, the online aspect of the Wii is coming into its own.

However, are Nintendo making a bad move by not including the Channels at launch? We'll leave that decision to you readers out there. Feel free to drop a comment below and have your say.