OK, as promised here's the next chapter. In order to avoid complains about giant walls of text I decided to dive it into two parts. So while your eyes get over the first part rest assure part two will come soon...
Chapter 4: Coming soon to a WiiWare near me-ware…I mean you-ware!
Since the beginning of the Wii’s life as “The Revolution” Nintendo had promised to bring downloadable games to the system. These games would showcase hidden talent that would have been ignored thanks to high development costs and major houses overshadowing smaller studios. Granted, Nintendo wouldn’t be the first to do this. Both Microsoft and Sony promised similar services, with emphasis on online communities, features that used their HD technology to the fullest and easy to download software. But what made Nintendo’s service so interesting was the promise of full use of the Wiimote. With the promise of easy development and the flexibility of the Wii remote developers could truly be creative in control, themes and concepts, or give new life to existing ideas if they desired. And best of all, they would be easily noticed through the service.
This service would later be appropriately named “WiiWare”. The service debuted in Japan on March 25th, 2008, in the US on May 12 and in Europe on May 20.
To try and sum up ALL of the games released on the service would be threading into long read territory, so instead I’ll focus on the titles that best showcased what the service can do…
At launch, fans were treated to a very solid cast of games, each which did the service justice. In the US, the service launched with “Lost Winds”, a platforming game which used the Wii’s pointer to control the flow and movement of wind in order to complete tasks. Right out of the gate it became one of WiiWare’s best reviewed titles. Square-Enix released the solid and fun “My life as King”, a game part in the “Crystal Chronicles” series in which you played as a young king in charge of ruling and developing a kingdom. The title became notable for being the first WiiWare title to feature weekly DLC (downloadable content) in the form of new missions, costumes and jobs. Many, however, criticized this as the game alone is worth 15 dollars (1500 Wii points), and the additional content rose the price even more.
Nintendo’s own support came in the form of two core titles, “Dr. Mario Online Prescription” and “My Pokemon Ranch”. “Dr. Mario” was a remake of the classic puzzler with new online modes and a Wii exclusive, while the much maligned “Pokemon Ranch” served as a Pokemon box for fans to store their caught Diamond and Pearl creatures on the Wii.
Other Nintendo published efforts include “Magnetica Twist”, “Maboshi’s Arcade” and the elusive, once Japanese exclusive series “Artstyle”.
From the beginning it was clear that Nintendo really wanted WiiWare to showcase hidden talent and exclusive third party efforts, and thus their quiet support might have been the result of this way of thinking. As expected, this was criticized heavily by fans who wanted to download new titles feature their beloved core franchises. Nintendo has kept quiet on their new titles so everything is in the air.
Speaking of new blood developers, before the service even launched starting in 2007 many small development houses pledged support to the service and confirmed to be certified WiiWare developers. Three of them were the first to say “here!” when the topic of WiiWare came up.
The first of these was Bplus, an European development house whose first game on the service was “Plattchen Twist and Paint”. From the minute their existence became known Platchen was going to be an ambitious effort, one that even used the classic Donkey Konga Bongo controllers, but the support was cut short by Nintendo. The developers assured that their product was going to be worth the 15 dollar pricetag, thanks to an intriguing concept and great presentations.
It was eventually released on September 12, 2008. But what no one expected was the cold reception at launch. The price was already hard to swallow for some, but those that took the plunge found the game to be confusing, lacking even the basic tutorials. Very few reviewers understood what the game was about and thus gave it their most negative reviews. This was shown in sales as the title failed to show up on the top 20 best seller titles. It didn’t help that it was released alongside a major WiiWare game (more on that later…).
But despite this misstep Bplus is still at it working on their next game. No details are known yet.
The second developer to pledge WiiWare support was “Medaverse Studios”, set in the United States. In the summer of 2007 they announced that they would be developing games after years of being a fan site for gaming news, and later in the year they made Wii as their console of choice. While a game named “Paranoia” was somewhat confirmed to be in the works, their first official WiiWare title was named “Gravitronix”. But unlike the other developers who flooded sites with information Medaverse Studios has kept quiet on their development. They have, however, appeared in various news outlets, including MSNBC, and discussed their stance as small town developers.
Their silence on the game has gained them some infamy, with gamers wondering if such game exists. As of this writing, no new details, screenshots or video footage has been shown to the public, but they keep assuring that a game is being made. Will they flourish on Wii or are they just hot gas?
Finally, there’s Nnooo, an Australian developer with “pOp” being their first WiiWare title. It was also the first title showcased by Nintendo and a WiiWare launch title. The best word to describe the title was “solid”. It was a simple concept that was quite solid in execution. It also gained a small fanbase.
So to sum it up, one saw success at launch, one proved to be too ambitious, and the other have words but no proof or game to back up those claims. These companies have already shown that the service can be a successful outlet for their creativity to shine while providing cautionary tales for those interested in game development.
But we are not done yet. While you digest this giant wall of text stay tunned as we continue discussing WiiWare, this time through the eyes of a third party developer.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Topic: The Wii in 2008 or... "THE TERRIBLE TWOS!!!" (Read 26273 times)
