by Mitch - 06.27.07
Prior to now, The WiiWare channel on your Wii Shop has been pretty much the exclusive home for the Opera browser –– but thanks to recent news, the browser’s going to get a dozen unexpected roommates.
It’s always been Nintendo’s plan to support indie developers break into the complicated video game publishing tempest, and following up on pre-Wii rumors of using the WiFi connection as a catalyst for an Xbox Live Arcade-esque content delivery system, Nintendo is now officially going full-steam-ahead on the plan. Not only are they going to hold some indie dev’s hand, but they’re also pledging to get some big-namers in on the fun as well.
Reportedly, Nintendo is gonna set the prices themselves (in Wii Points) but won’t be responsible for the usual ESRP evaluation process – that’s up to the devs.
There’s no doubt about it – this is some pretty awesome news for both Wii owners and Wii developers. Not only is this yet another terrific showcase for even more independent content, I also finally have a way to launch my super-intelligent, genetically-engineered race of viruses!
Wait. Wrong kind of catalyst. Biology joke!
What is WiiWare? Level Up Gets the Scoop On Nintendo’s Brand New Bag
Not to sound ungrateful, but it’s about time! Were they afraid of overwhelming teh noobs with too many options out of the gate? I finally bought my first VC game last week, mostly out of frustration for the lack of anything new worth buying. On a positive note, Streets of Rage 2 holds up surprisingly well after all these years!
schtum - 06.27.07 1:41 pm
Lets hope they bring Knytt Stories to this.
Neeks - 06.27.07 2:08 pm
So they finally anounce it… and we have to wait until NEXT YEAR to get it? Assholes.
gojiguy - 06.27.07 2:33 pm
Will Nintendo be providing a SDK (perhaps even limiting the service to tittles developed on it), or will a variety of development environments be usable? I’ve been thinking of buying Torque or MMF and trying my hand at a simple game.
Craigo - 06.27.07 4:03 pm
I’m interested in knowing if they’ll be offering something in the vein of XNA for this. That’d be quite cool.
Tony - 06.27.07 4:20 pm
all i have to say is Cloud and Pollen Sonata. Plus i can’t wait to see what the indie crowd will do with the wii-mote.
Let’s hope they price it right.
EOM - 06.27.07 4:27 pm
Pachi. Pachi. Pachi. It’s about time.
Hopefully that wait for the WiiWare program will lead to a whole bunch of new downloadable games at launch…
yanipheonu - 06.27.07 5:00 pm
announced for next year? wasn’t this supposed to be a launch day type of thing? or were they just announcing the ability to do it then?
Atomsk - 06.27.07 6:08 pm
You all seam to forget that there’s already 2 channels buyable in the WiiWare section of the shopping channel.
narF - 06.27.07 10:16 pm
I don’t think they said it would happen at launch, just that it would. But anyway, about time.
This is great news, I bet we will see some interesting games come from this.
9th Sage - 06.27.07 10:29 pm
With Nintendo setting up the price, in Wii points, we are going to, yet AGAIN, see an overpricing on the VC.
WiiNES - 06.27.07 10:50 pm
Wiines, I seriously doubt we’ll see prices much above 1000-1200 Wii points, seeing as how companies already make money going direct to retail with $20 games. The pool of Wii owners who’ll pay $20 for a game at retail is a lot bigger than the pool of Wii owners with broadband, with a wireless router, and willing to pay $20 for a game they can’t hold in their hand.
Then again, we’ve already seen a “best of XBLA” compilation, so maybe Nintendo would price some games at $20 and release the popular ones for offline distribution as well.
raindog - 06.27.07 11:08 pm
How do indie developers get in contact with Nintendo?
S. Thompson - 06.28.07 12:19 am
Umm… that sounds good, but why so far away? Also, it would be cool if they’d redesign the clunky Wii Shop Channel before this hits.
pr0 - 06.28.07 4:00 am
Yaaaarg, why are they moving so slowly on stuff like this? WiiWare should have been rolled out a month or two after launch, hand-in-hand with the VC title releases.
amanaplan - 06.28.07 5:36 am
I’m just waiting to find out how/where to get a dev kit. I bet you could do some pretty interesting stuff with the Wiimote…
Nova Quinn - 06.28.07 7:10 am
That picture of the regginator’s eyes is like peering into the soul of a man on a mission!
Mat Harding - 06.29.07 12:46 pm