On WiiWare
Nintendo on Wednesday announced that they have joined Microsoft in offering a solution for independent developers to create content for their system. Full details have yet to emerge, but it would seem that WiiWare is designed to allow developers to produce games which can then be sold through the WiiShop Channel, Similar to the mechanism Microsoft is using to deploy XNA games through XBLA.
Level Up has an exclusive interview with NOA President Reggie Fils-Aime, where some interesting details were disclosed. Firstly, the pricing for a given game is determined exclusively by Nintendo. I’m not sure how this compares to the Microsoft method, as the entire “Getting my game on XBLA” process is somewhat opaque at this point (and I might add, Microsoft would do well to make it more transparent).
Secondly, WiiWare seems to not encompass libraries or tools that make to development process easier (a la XNA), but rather the simplification of the delivery channel. The argument for this is that development kits for the Wii are extremely inexpensive. While this is a valid point (They cost between $2,500 to $10,000), it’s certainly not on par with the concept behind XNA. Additionally, actually becoming an authorized developer so that you can get your hands on the kits is more complex, and as a result it is unlikely to target the homebrew community emerging around the Xbox 360. That would also not appear to be the intent, rather it would seem Nintendo is trying to simplify the process for small (but professional) development shops.
Thirdly the developer must seek its own ESRB Rating. As I don’t have a development company, I don’t even have access to the information regarding getting a game rated. There seems to be similar restrictions to getting a game rated that exist to get your hands on Wii DevKits. I would not be suprised if there was also a fee associated with getting a rating, but again this seems to tune WiiWare towards small independent developers rather than just anyone.
Reggie also states in the interview that Nintendo will not be overseeing the games, suggesting that any game that gets through this process and passes some basic requirements from Nintendo will be made available for purchase on the WiiChannel. Note that this is strictly different than the attitude Microsoft has developed. XBox Live Arcade is a carefully crafted entity into which new games are eligible only with the good graces of the managers who maintain the portfolio. In other words, XBLA will never be filled with 800 solitaire games, because Microsoft gets the final say on whether they’ll sell your game or not. The fact that Nintendo is not doing this is both good and bad. On one hand, it could conceivably encourage games that might not make it to XBLA, however possibilities exist for the marketing of a lot of crap that nobody is interested in buying.
All in all, I’m excited to see Nintendo is getting in on the independent developer market, and digital delivery, but WiiWare isn’t strictly comparable to XBLA, the two seem to be marketed at different audiences. While many are quick to herald WiiWare as “Nintendo’s XBLA”, WiiWare does not in any way make it easy for “Anyone to create a Wii Game”. WiiWare simplifies delivery mechanisms, not development mechanisms, so all those hopeful hobbyists will still have to remain weeping in the corner.
Now we just need to see when Sony is going to get on board.
