As much as we love Nintendo’s in-house games, it’s not hard to see that they’ve been falling decades behind their competitors when it comes to online connectivity. Although the Wii has some awesome online games available and more than a few download-based services, it’s just not capable of giving gamers the same awesome online experiences that are possible on 360 and PS3.

However, it looks like Nintendo might finally be launching their new online service, known as the ‘Nintendo Network.’ Word leaked from a recent Nintendo investor meeting that the service is in the works and is due out fairly soon for the upcoming Wii-U and the current 3DS. The platform is said to have both online gaming communities and a huge range of digital download content.

This content isn’t just old games either – the type that we’re already used to downloading on the Wii Virtual Console. Instead, it seems like Nintendo plans to offer many of their new releases as digital downloads too. Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata claimed that the company is ironing out the details and working out how to integrate digital downloads with the amount of memory the system offers.

While it’s a little late in the race, it’s cool to see Nintendo finally offering something like this for its customers. The Wii’s online gameplay was so poor it barely attracted a following, with most of its users instead opting for single-player or multiplayer single-console games. Let’s hope the network can turn things around, and put the Japanese game giant back in the online gaming neighborhood.