WiiWare

I know I will eagerly be awaiting the announcement today.

 

Yep, I was at the Nintendo conference yesterday, and there is some really nice details which everyone will like. But it comes down to, if you are a Wii developer, you can start developing NOW.

Phil

 

sounds interesting, but you think people will buy a casual game ported from PC to wii, for $50-75 when it is on the windows platform for $20, or I am missing the point of this concept?
--or because they are download games, would the pc and wii costs be approx the same?

would be interesting if say big fish games--developed a MCF trilogy and put it up on a console game system, could be very interesting, as that would be worth the $50 if casual games were bundled onto wii dvd format.

 

This is exciting news! It sounds like success of Microsoft's Live Arcade and XNA initiatives have Nintendo scrambling to do something similar. I'd like to hear some more details about WiiWare too.

 

They did not mention anything about pricing models, but I would expect things to be more like XBLA (IMHO). So these games may cost $5-20 max.

Phil

 

It sounds like it will be much more of an “anything goes” type system than the "managed portfolio" of the XBLA. With WiiWare you basically need to pass all the technical certification requirements and get a ESRB rating of M or less and you can get distribution. There are no judgment call about if your game is good enough or marketable. This is very different than XBLA where Microsoft decided if you game is good enough or if a certain type of game is overdone.

It also sounds like Nintendo isn't attempting to do anything like XNA. You need a $2,500 dev kit and you need to do serious C++ programming or buy an engine. They do provide SDKs and compilers but it’s not a high level language with end to end pipeline management. It the same old stuff they have been using for Game Cube and Wii for years.

 

"It's better than managed XBLA, IMHO. Let the market decide! "

Experience says we will be drowning in shit games that will ruin it for all.

Jim.

 

If you need $2.500 to get an SDK plus whatever ESRB wants, then you're serious about making a game that will bring you back at least this cash.

 

That hasn't stopped hundreds of small game developers with that much pocket money from developing lousy games in other markets. I'm pretty sure Nintendo will be cherry picking for their new service. I've heard otherwise, but I suspect that's unfounded speculation.

The problem is being granted a dev system. I applied in January and haven't heard boo. I just barely have that much cash. If they won't accept my application, it doesn't matter how much it costs. In January they were looking for small office developers with a lockable room. They didn't want garage developers. I don't think that's changed.

The question I have now is, will Nintendo be represented at the Casual Game Conference in Seattle this year?

 

Sounds good. Nice find.

 

James, where did you get that information? I've been skeptical of the whole "Nintendo loves indies" rumor since the Wii came out... but if what you say is true, that is certainly a huge change.

 

Check this interview: http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/leve...-big-plans-for-a-little-nintendo-wiiware.aspx

It has quotes like

 

I also really liked this quote

This is very different than earlier reports that Nintendo wanted only original concepts that could not be done on any other platform. Just using the Wiimote as a mouse pointer or a D-Pad wasn't acceptable under the rumored old rules. The new rules sound much better.

 

James is doing some serious digging... hm...
Wiicochet, Big Kahuna Wiif, and of course Wiik. You heard it here first.

At any rate... I agree with the sentiment that with the cost of a dev-kit, plus the cost of an ESRB rating, plus the not-exactly-an-engine SDK (not just any random one-man house could throw an engine together) or the cost of an engine, plus the difficulty of getting past certification by Nintendo (bug-testing cert... this is probably the stage that would eat me alive) --

I don't fear TOO much flooding with completely low-quality garbage, though there probably will be some flooding with high-quality crap-that-I-have-no-interest-in-playing. Meh. Nothing new there.

-Tim

 

I believe an ESRB rating is basically another $2500...

I wonder if Nintendo is going to charge for in-house testing/cert? (I remember the MS deal as being you get two passes for free and then they charge after that?)

 

Thanks James! Good info there.

Anyone know what the Wii "marketplace" is like? Is it as accessible and ubiquitous as Xbox Live Arcade?