Since the launch of the Nintendo Wii in November 2006, I’ve spent time and countless entries on my blog stating that Nintendo’s new console needed a service like Xbox Live Arcade and not just a bunch of old classics. While the Virtual Console has done well so far, adding both popular and not as well-known games into the mix, it just wasn’t enough.
Even with the inclusion of the Turbografx-16 and the eventual inclusion of Neo-Geo games, Nintendo was still behind the curve. I began to seriously wonder if this “new” Nintendo was just a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a company that hadn’t learned their lessons about not keeping up with the competition. While Nintendo kept piling on the classics, we were getting games from small-time developers on the Xbox Live Arcade service, as well as retooled classic games like Doom and the upcoming Super Street Fighter II: Turbo HD Remix.
But with one press release, that all changed, and the one thing I had wanted most on the Wii had arrived… or will arrive in early 2008. WiiWare is on the way, and if done properly alongside the popular Virtual Console service, could provide a worthy challenger down the line to Xbox Live Arcade.
The new service, according to Nintendo, that will allow developers large and small to create new downloadable video game content for sale by Nintendo through the Wii Shop Channel. While what program developers will use to make WiiWare games isn’t quite known yet, it should provide a way for smaller developers to finally get onto the Wii, an idea Nintendo had stressed several times when talking about the Wii itself.
Combined with the fact that Wii games seem to be costing less to develop than their Xbox 360 and PS3 counterparts, the WiiWare announcement should be good news for all. But what exactly does it mean for the individual Wii owner?
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