"Wii Software" downloadable titles due in Europe in 2008

By Tom Bramwell Published 27 June, 2007

WiiWare's local brother.

Nintendo is inviting developers large and small to produce new downloadable games to be sold through the Wii Shop Channel.

The initiative, called "Wii Software" here and "WiiWare" in the US, was announced at a private developers' conference this week and confirmed to press in Europe this afternoon.

"Wii Software provides developers with big ideas - rather than big budgets - an easy and very accessible way to create new games and bring them to the marketplace," European marketing director Laurent Fischer explained.

The service would also offer "great additional value for Wii owners who will be able to download fresh new games," Fischer added.

The first Wii Software titles will launch in early 2008. Users will pay for games using Wii Points.

Nintendo has always said it intended for the Wii Shop to host original downloadable games, but until now the company has only offered budget-priced downloads from the back catalogues of NES, SNES and N64 consoles - as well as SEGA's Megadrive and Hudson's TurboGrafx-16 - through its "Virtual Console" initiative.

Bringing new-game downloads online in 2008 will put the platform holder belatedly into line with Sony and Microsoft, whose PS3 and Xbox 360 consoles already support the option.

Nintendo, however, will be hoping that the Wii's unique motion-sensing control options will inspire developers to produce more interesting software than can be found on either of its competitors' platforms.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (24) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • agparrot #1 5 years ago

    Separating the US and Euro versions?

    That should see us get loads of stuff over here in the UK then

    /groan

  • imamazed #2 5 years ago

    Very happy with this, but 2008?

    What's topping Ninty from opening it now, and just waiting for games to be made?

    And I don't think we'll be seeing demos on this service :(

  • zozart #3 5 years ago

    2008 and a rubbish name? What the hell Nintendo. This is why I love Xbox more than you.

  • yupyup #4 5 years ago

    Why do they feel the need to change the name? Especially when it's pretty much the same anyway? Takes longer to say and to get here?

  • trav #5 5 years ago

    2008 is more than likely that they are just announcing this to the developers at this conference.

    So it's going to take a little time for them to produce something.

  • Killerbee #6 5 years ago

    2008 still seems a long way away... but hey, at least we'll have Super Paper Mario to keep us amused in the meantime!

    /sarcasm

  • DaM #7 5 years ago

    "Wii Software"....do you think they paid an agency to come up with that?

  • Wayne #8 5 years ago

    Question: How long after the original xbox came out, did original new games appear on Xbox live?

    I'm not being devil's advocate. I genuinely want to know.

  • MGG #9 5 years ago

    As a developer, I want to know how much the dev kits/tools are going to be. At least with the 360, there is a cheap accessable route for *any* developer to get something up and running, to show both MS and/or a publisher.

    But what about Wii?

  • spongebob #10 5 years ago

    Next year? What on earth? Where are demo downloads for Wii titles, where are PSN/XBLA style games? Nintendo is definitely slacking with their internet initiative. VC is not enough.

  • BremXJones #11 5 years ago

    I'm pleased my WiiFellation game can finally go ahead.

    KG

  • PatrickEwing #12 5 years ago

    Time to get working on my wiimote play on stickcricket.

  • bauhaus #13 5 years ago

    I've lost my Wii, its under the telly somewhere probably caked in dust, have not seen it since January

  • Corvus #14 5 years ago

    "Wii Software provides developers with big budgets - rather than big ideas - an easy and very accessible way to spam out cheap knock-offs of old games and swamp the marketplace"

    Fixed :-)

    @BremXJones

    No 'Adults Only' titles remember.

  • Santino #15 5 years ago

    "I've lost my Wii, its under the telly somewhere probably caked in dust, have not seen it since January"

    another troll?, why don't people like you say something constructive, or even something witty?

  • stampax #16 5 years ago

    People do like to moan don't they. Sounds good to me! Looking forward to it.

  • MGG #17 5 years ago

    @bauhaus: I'll buy it off you for a tenner then ;)

  • Xerx3s #18 5 years ago

    Yeh but you don't buy a console to look forward to something already standard do you? It should be part of the deal.

  • Bezzy #19 5 years ago

    Ah, this is good news, despite the wait.

    For a long time I've worried that the only original/innovative titles "allowed" would be nintendo first party. Most everyone else is forced to make mini-game-games, which is fine, but they're hardly develing that deep into the potential of the controller.

  • adfegg #20 5 years ago

    Here's hoping for some Wii adventure games.

  • Arwin #21 5 years ago

    Here the WiiMote should perhaps benefit from already having an unofficial driver out for the PC. That could help indy developers come up with something cool. If we had a driver for the Sixaxis already (that picks up motion control, the regular one is there already), I would be working on some stuff already.

  • cawley1 #22 5 years ago

    I thought the Wii Geometry Wars was due before Christmas (October)?
    Will probably launch the service, sounds great, just wish I could link my UK Stars with a US account, but that is obviously not ever going to happen!

  • smelly #23 5 years ago

    >just wish I could link my UK Stars with a US account,

    me too brother.

    me too

  • karstux #24 5 years ago

    Nintendo should open up their console and offer an SDK as a free download, like MS do with their GameStudio Express initiative. This way, they could tap a vast source of not only creativity, but also goodwill.