Nintendo Celebrates First Anniversary of WiiWare Downloadable Game Service
WiiWare, the downloadable video game service for Nintendo's Wii home console, launched one year ago today. It arrived with a promise to provide a venue for game developers to showcase their ideas, while delivering to consumers the newest, most interesting games available at accessible prices, directly through the Wii Shop Channel in their Wii consoles. With 81 games in its library, WiiWare ensures that there's something for everyone. But beyond quantity, WiiWare offers quality games and experiences for all types of Wii owners.
WiiWare removes barriers that make console game development expensive, and helps developers connect directly with consumers. WiiWare games have been created by more than 40 different development studios, from large companies to small startups. In fact, more than half the games in the WiiWare library were created and self-published by small independent studios, many with five or fewer employees.
"The first anniversary of our WiiWare service is a milestone that marks how far the service has come and how much great content is currently available," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. "We encourage everyone to get their Wii consoles connected to the Internet so they have access to the full range of WiiWare games."
Nintendo's roster of quality WiiWare games stands as an example of what creative minds can accomplish. Titles range from completely original creations to names that are instantly familiar and beloved. Just look at a small sampling of what has been accomplished in just one year's time:
• World of Goo from 2D BOY won numerous industry awards
after showing that a small development team with a big idea could make
an incredible physics-based goo construction game.
• Tetris
Party from Tetris Online, Inc., introduces a new version of the
classic game, complete with multiplayer options, new game modes and
support for the Wii Balance Board (sold separately with Wii Fit).
• Strong
Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People from Telltale Games, the first
episodic series on a console, is a hilarious five-part adventure game
series featuring the popular Homestarrunner.com characters.
• The
critically acclaimed retro-styled BIT.TRIP BEAT from Aksys Games
and Gaijin Games reminds longtime video game fans of their gaming roots
•
LIT from WayForward Technologies is a stylish horror action
puzzle that has players fending off creepy – and creeping – darkness.
•
The beautifully enchanting LostWinds from FRONTIER lets players
use the Wii Remote controller to control the power of the wind.
• Final
Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King from SQUARE ENIX
brings a unique adventure from the hugely popular franchise to WiiWare.
•
Mega Man 9 from CAPCOM returns a classic franchise to its
old-school, retro looks and lets players relive the glory days of gaming.
•
Dr. Mario Online Rx from Nintendo brings online multiplayer game
play to everyone's favorite virus-busting puzzle game.
Bonsai
Barber from Nintendo is the first-ever first-person grooming game
that requires players to give haircuts to a colorful cast of oddball and
demanding plant-based characters.
Looking ahead, consumers can anticipate yet another year of interesting WiiWare games, including:
• Cave Story from Nicalis, arguably the best-known indie
game of all time. Cave Story takes players into a world where a race of
rabbit-like creatures runs free on a serene island.
• Icarian
Kindred Spirits from Over the Top Games, where players control Nyx,
an enigmatic winged girl, who must descend from heaven in search of her
missing friend Icarus.
• Super Meat Boy from Team Meat,
an indie game in which players take the role of a cube of raw meat who
must save his princess from the clutches of evil.
• BIT.TRIP
CORE from Aksys Games, the follow-up to the well-reviewed BIT.TRIP
BEAT with a similar graphic style and rhythm component, but featuring a
completely different retro game mechanic.
• Final Fantasy
IV: The After Years from SQUARE ENIX, the long-awaited sequel to
Final Fantasy IV that takes place over a series of nine episodes.
Remember that Wii features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other Wii features, visit www.Nintendo.com.
For more information about WiiWare, visit www.WiiWare.com.
