So you’ve heard of WiiWare but do you really know what it is? I have an idea, but wasn’t really too clear. With the recent news of the first dated WiiWare game in March of 2008 in Japan, Final Fantasy Chronicles : Little King and the Promise Country (say that 10 times really fast), I figured I’ll divulge a bit into a little more details about this upcoming WiiWare service.

Following in the footsteps of Microsoft’s Xbox Live Arcade and the Sony Playstation Store, Nintendo came to their senses when they realized that they already had successful working system with the Wii Shop Channel service and decided that they could extend the downloadable content into something else thats not Virtual Consoles material. Hence in June 27, 2007, Nintendo made the official announcement of the WiiWare service, a new marketable area in the Wii Shop Channel that will allow small budget indie developers as well as major developers to release their proud work to the rest of the world and make a little cash on side.

So when will we get to see WiiWare up and running? Well we know the first game is being released in March 2008 in Japan, but it turns out that we’ve already been downloading WiiWare content to our spacious Wii hard drive since the release of the Internet Channel back in December of 2007.  That and the Everybody Vote Channel, as well as the recent Metroid Prime 3 Preview Channel are also examples of this WiiWare. So basically, WiiWare is not just limited to games but also Wii software applications.  WiiWare will essentially function like the Virtual Console games. You pay with Wii Points and download the WiiWare product to your vast HD, then access it through its own channel. Prices are still unclear, but Final Fantasy is slated to cost 15,000 Wii Points, or $15.

The premise behind WiiWare is to continue the “innovation” of what can be done with the Wii. We have an idea of what these larger game development companies are doing, how about letting it be done by the little guys and see what they can come up with? With the functionalities of the Wii-mote and what it can do already, one can imagine what kind of games we may start seeing on WiiWare. Nintendo states that since they are the retailer, they get to decide how much a WiiWare game can cost. Supposedly Nintendo is not going to limit the imagination of what the developers can do, but will only check if the game is fully functional and bug free for selling.  The developers themselves will have to determine the ESRB rating, however Adults Only games (ahem Manhunt 2) will not be allowed (booooo! weeeak!).

A number of WiiWare games have already been announced :

• PLÄTTCHEN - Twist ‘n’ Paint by Bplus
• Gravitronix by Medaverse Studios
• Pokémon Bokujō Channel
• Dr. Mario & Bacteria Extermination
• Okiraku Ping Pong
• Moji Pittan Wii
• Maruboushikaku
• Minna de Puzzloop
• Bomberman by Hudson
• Star Soldier R by Hudson
• Joy Sound by Hudson
• Final Fantasy Chronicles : Little King and the Promise Country

I’m still a bit unclear of whether or not these upcoming content will be considered WiiWare or not (probably not) :

• Mii Contest Channel
• Wii Fit Channel

So, got a cool idea for a Wii game? Of course we all do! Some are a bit perverted too! But anyways, for anyone who wants to try their chance in getting Nintendo to let them build a Wii game, GarageGames has extended their popular Torque Game Engine to support development for the Wii. Check it out here for more information. Keep in mind you have to be approved by Nintendo. Ironic as it is, Nintendo will screen you before allowing to proceed with development and the development kits aren’t free either…

Well that basically covers a bit on the WiiWare service. Until I get more info from Nintendo, this is all I got for now. Stay tuned…