Topic: This Week in Nintendo Downloads

[NWR_Karlie]

It's a downloadable zoo out there.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/23730

This week brings eight releases in total, divided into three for WiiWare, and five for DSiWare.

First to take the WiiWare stage is Nintendo's own AquaSpace. For 600 Wii Points ($6), you can have your own virtual, interactive, customisable aquarium that you can visit with your Miis. It includes fish feeding, fish facts, fish following, fish feeling, but not fish fur, which takes us the next game, Furry Legends from Gamelion.  The 3D platformer takes place in bizarre Furland, where animals have mutated into fluffy, oddly-shaped creatures that can, amongst their various skills, time travel to save their strange world from Lord Squarie. All this fur can be yours for 1,000 Wii Points ($10).

The last WiiWare game of the week is HoopWorld by Virtual Toys, which combines three-on-three, arcade-style basketball with a mythical fantasy theme. Ruined temples are transformed into basketball courts so you can play for a world ranking, for 1,000 Wii Points ($10).

On DSiWare this week, Ubisoft's efforts bring newborn kittenz to DSi, with Petz Kittens available for 800 DSi Points ($8). When questioned about the title, our Features Editor and "-z" game fetishist James Jones told me that it's the 6th Catz-based Petz game you can play on the DS if you count the GBA version, with a far higher number when you include other systems.

EA tests out Scrabble Tools, a supplement to Scrabble games that includes vocabulary and strategy exercises, but no extra blank tiles. Next up is Hospital Havoc by Hands-On Mobile, letting you manage a doctor in a hospital with everything from wacky patients to zombies. With a content description of "Mild Cartoon Violence", it might not be the safest place to go when you're sick.

Happy Birthday Mart from Pixel Federation brings back the animals, who visit your store to buy gifts for their friends. They must be a raucous crowd, as well as selling the gifts, you also must clean up after them and mend broken shelves. Download any of these three for 500 DSi Points ($5).

Concluding this week's DSiWare is dtp entertainment's Crazy Sudoku. The five difficulty levels, choice of grid sizes, and per square Note feature seem only mildly eccentric, but if you're interested it'll set you back 200 DSi Points ($2).

As for Wario Ware: DIY's Big Name Games, the penultimate week brings just a few more games from Treehouse, localisation experts at Nintendo of America.

[Halbred]

Oh hey look no...*yawwwwn* Shantae....

[Jonnyboy117]

BARF!

[broodwars]

BARF!

Not in here, mister!  This is a Mercedes!   
 
Oh and...
 

Oh hey look no...*yawwwwn* Shantae....

Oh hey look no...*yawwwwn* Virtual Console....  : :
 
That Basketball WiiWare game sounds kind of fun, though I have to wonder why I'd buy it (besides price) when NBA Jam's on the horizon and will probably be a far better game.

[Zoltan]

Not in here, mister!  This is a Mercedes!   

Epic man, Epic.

[Crimm]

The difference in prices is the only reason you would buy HoopWorld over NBA Jam.

Or rather, I should say it like this:

The difference in pricez iz the only reazon you would buy HoopWorld over NBA Jam.

[NWR_Neal]

Got a review copy of HoopWorld today. Imagine if NBA Jam was only controllable with terrible motion controls.

NBA Jam's current motion controls are quite good, and you can always switch to classic controls if you want. HoopWorld's motion controls are freaking terrible. Example: You have to shake the Wii Remote to pass. You have to "raise" the Wii Remote and Nunchuk to shoot. I don't think I need to say anything more.

[MegaByte]

I think this says that Nintendo needs to open up their service to homebrew (like XBL Community Games) since they obviously have low standards for quality.

[Crimm]

Serious question: are there any virtual fish tank games available for Wii?

[NWR_insanolord]

Serious question: are there any virtual fish tank games available for Wii?

There was one really early in the life of WiiWare, almost 2 years ago.

[GoldenPhoenix]

Serious question: are there any virtual fish tank games available for Wii?

My Aquarium and yes I have it.

[vudu]

Serious question: are there any virtual fish tank games available for Wii?

Did you miss the fact that there was one released this week?

[Crimm]

I live for my art, and yet no one understands me.

[NWR_insanolord]

I live for my art, and yet no one understands me.

You just play it at such a high level, it can be hard to keep up.

[vudu]

Maybe if you die we'll come to appreciate you.

[Halbred]

"Well, at least he posted a lot."

[Jonnyboy117]

I think this says that Nintendo needs to open up their service to homebrew (like XBL Community Games) since they obviously have low standards for quality.

They basically already have, which is exactly why the quality is so poor on WiiWare. The standard for becoming a licensed Wii developer are really low -- you need an office address and $2000 for a development kit. I don't think there are any upfront costs for submitting a WiiWare game to the Shop Channel, except for the ESRB rating fee, which is discounted for games that cost less than $25,000 to develop.

[MegaByte]

They basically already have, which is exactly why the quality is so poor on WiiWare. The standard for becoming a licensed Wii developer are really low -- you need an office address and $2000 for a development kit. I don't think there are any upfront costs for submitting a WiiWare game to the Shop Channel, except for the ESRB rating fee, which is discounted for games that cost less than $25,000 to develop.

That's not really true according to rejection letters some devs have posted online-- you also have to somehow demonstrate experience, which seems to be an arbitrary, luck-of-the-draw judgment.  I'm not sure if there's any way to guarantee developer status.  It's almost like you have to develop for a competitor before you can develop for Nintendo, or at least have the right ties.  Also, talking with some smaller devs at GDC, several have said that the up-front costs are too much for them -- these are ones developing Wii Remote-controlled games for PC.  So, I don't know who to believe.  Maybe it's the fact that you don't get paid anything until you perform at a certain level-- that's certainly a major deterrent.  The office address requirement is a poor filter since obviously there is better homebrew out there -- without even using Nintendo's SDK -- than much of what's available on the service.  Nintendo charging at both ends is an outdated model that, unfortunately, they can afford to keep up.

[TJ Spyke]

Nintendo isn't really doing anything different from Sony or Microsoft. Both of the require development kits (unless you make a Xbox Live Community game, but MS chooses what games to offer) and both take fees from game sales. I will admit that I do not know if Sony or Microsoft require a minimum number of sales before giving the publisher their money though.

[MegaByte]

I know, that's why I said they can afford to keep it up, but it's no excuse.  Microsoft's offering is limited, but it's something.  Sony offered homebrew development in the past, though it was severely limited in the PS3 and there was no mechanism to share your work.  Apple, Google, and Valve are changing the model, so it will be interesting to see if the old way can persist beyond next generation.

[TJ Spyke]

One thing I really hope none of the console makers are stupid enough to do is copy Steam's requirement to be online to validate a game (even if purchased at retail and is not an online game).