Ragiko

0 comments by Ragiko on May 11th, 2008 digg this super bookmark

Nintendo has decided to open up a 'channel' on the Wii named the Wii Ware channel. In this channel, you will be able to download Indie Developers games for 5-20 dollars. It appears that Nintendo is trying to give Indie Developers a chance at getting some money for their games. One game that many may recognize is the Castle Defense flash game where you fling enemies away from your castle as they come near. There are also other unique games being developed for it, such as a game where you move objects by creating wind with the Wii-Remote.

Video showing some of the games: Nintendo.com

I believe this is a great chance for Indie Developers to get noticed, or atleast get some money for their very good games. The games would probably need to make use of the Wii-Remote and/or Nunchuck. It appears it may cost $2,000 dollars for the Software Developers Kit (SDK), and you may have to fill out a license to show that you will be a committed developer. This way, though, they will be able to sell your game for you digitally over the Wii Ware channel.

Quote from Tom Prata on IGN, "The Wii Ware developers will have access to the same functionality as they would a regular Wii disc game. The specifics you mentioned such as SD and online, Wii Connect 24, and episodic content is all there. They key point I want to stress though is that it isn't required. Sometimes you make a game and it's best expressed as a single player game or multiplayer game, and the advantage here is that we're leaving it to the creators to focus their resources on the areas that best express their ideas. We won't force their hand into functions or features that may or may not add value to the consumer."
(Link: Wii.ign.com)

It looks like it may be worth the money, especially since they are giving you the base programming code for Wii games, so you can make use of the Wii-Remote in one of your games.

-Ragiko