WiiWare
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
WiiWare are downloadable games specifically designed and developed for the Wii video game console made by Nintendo. These games and applications can only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii Shop Channel under the WiiWare and Channels sections respectively. WiiWare is a companion to the Virtual Console, which specializes in emulated games originally developed for other systems instead of original titles. WiiWare is being promoted as an avenue for developers with small budgets to release innovative, original, and smaller-scale games without the cost and risk of creating a title to be sold at retail (akin to Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Store). According to Nintendo, the "remarkable motion controls will give birth to fresh takes on established genres, as well as original ideas that currently exist only in developers' minds". Nintendo will handle all pricing options for the downloadable games.[1]
Like Virtual Console games, WiiWare is purchased using Wii Points.
Contents |
[edit] Games
WiiWare games were officially launched on March 25, 2008 in Japan,[2] on May 12, 2008 in North America,[3] and on May 20, 2008 in Europe and Australia (PAL Regions).[4]
On October 10, 2007, Nintendo held a press conference in Japan, revealing the first batch of major Japanese WiiWare games including: My Pokémon Ranch, Dr. Mario Online Rx, and Square Enix's Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King.[5] The conference also disclosed information on Family Table Tennis,[6] Mojipittan, Maruboushikaku, and Magnetica Twist. Game developer Hudson also announced 3 WiiWare titles: Bomberman, Star Soldier R, and Joysound, the latter a karaoke game.[7] Hudson later revealed that it had at least 10 WiiWare titles in development for the first year of release.[8] Namco and Konami have also subsequently announced games in development.
Among Western developers, GarageGames has released a version of their game engine to support WiiWare software development. Telltale Games has also announced that it is developing the episodic Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People for WiiWare with the help of Videlectrix.[9] Other Western developers releasing WiiWare games include Gameloft and High Voltage Software. Capcom has also expressed desire to release Western-exclusive WiiWare games.[10]
Currently available WiiWare games in Japan and North America are priced between 500 and 1500 Wii Points. Additional downloadable content has also been announced for several games, with My Life as a King seeing extra content priced between 100 to 900 Points.[11]
[edit] Launch titles
The Japanese WiiWare launch titles were Critter Round-Up, Dr. Mario Online Rx, Family Ping Pong, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King, Lonpos, Mojipittan, My Pokémon Ranch, Star Soldier R and Tenshi no Solitaire.[2] The North American WiiWare launch included Defend Your Castle, LostWinds, Pop, TV Show King and V.I.P. Casino: Blackjack in addition to Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King.[12] The European WiiWare launch titles included Dr. Mario Online Rx, Star Soldier R and Toki Tori in addition to Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King, LostWinds and TV Show King.[13]
[edit] Channels
- Further information: Wii Menu#Additional channels
Currently, the five additional Channels offered are the Everybody Votes Channel, the Check Mii Out Channel (Mii Contest Channel in Europe), Photo Channel 1.1 (an update for the Photo Channel), and the Nintendo Channel, which are free of charge, plus the Internet Channel, a web browser based on Opera, which requires a one-time activation fee of 500 Wii Points (it was free prior to July 1, 2007; if the channel is deleted but was downloaded prior to that date, the user is not charged to download it again).
The Nintendo Channel is also available to download for free in Japan and North America, was released in Europe and Australia on May 30, 2008. A Japanese-exclusive channel, the Television Friend Channel, has no current plans for a Western release.[14]
Previously, a Metroid Prime 3 preview channel was made available between August and December 2007 in the United States, and October and December 2007 in PAL regions before it was withdrawn.
The Channels section in the Wii shop was originally known as WiiWare in the US and as WiiSoftware in Europe. In May 2008, a new section (Wii Channels) was created and the channels moved there, while the launch games came into the old section instead. The Virtual Console section remained unchanged.
[edit] References
- ^ Welcome to Nintendo of America's Media Site
- ^ a b GameSpot Press Release
- ^ UPDATE 1-Nintendo rolls out Wii fitness game product (2008-02-20). Retrieved on 2008-02-21.
- ^ Nintendo (2008-04-24). Nintendo announces Q2 release schedule. Retrieved on 2008-04-24.
- ^ IGN: Nintendo's Wii Ware Lineup Detailed
- ^ IGN: Ping Pong Coming to Wii Ware
- ^ IGN: Hudson Brings Karaoke to Wii Ware
- ^ Hudson: Alien Crush and More On WiiWare
- ^ Telltale Games Press Release
- ^ Capcom doing western-exclusive WiiWare?
- ^ Extra content in My Life as a King explained. Siliconera. Retrieved on 2008-03-28.
- ^ Nintendo Launches WiiWare: An Open Playground for Creativity
- ^ WiiWare Launches In Europe
- ^ Will the Wii be a set-top box?
[edit] External links
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
