From ITvibe.com:
Tom Prata, a senior executive at Nintendo, has announced that there are 100 WiiWare titles in development for the company’s new game download service which is available through the Wii Shop Channel. The company has long been very upbeat on the potential for this download service which they expect to bring many smaller game developers to the fore.
The new games will be made available each Monday with no limit on the number of games which will be released at any one time. When you consider that the service only went live a matter of weeks ago, the fact that there are over 100 titles in development bodes well for the future. There are real hopes that this new service will encourage some of the more adventurous elements of the gaming industry to push the console, and the controllers, to the limit.
While the new game titles are being kept under wraps at the moment, the WiiWare market is currently dominated by the likes of Pokémon, Dr Mario and Square Enix which were released on launch. Even Nintendo are unsure where this market will lead and they appear to be as excited as anyone about the chances of unveiling new and exciting talent in the industry.
REDMOND, Wash., Feb. 20 /PRNewswire/ — The Game Developers Conference in San Francisco attracts the top creative minds in the video game industry. With that audience on hand, Nintendo announces news that reinforces its commitment to provide entertaining and enriching experiences for veteran and new gamers alike. WiiWare(TM), Nintendo’s new downloadable game service, launches May 12 and expands development opportunities for developers the same way Wii(TM) expanded the world of video game players. Wii Fit(TM), the upcoming title for Wii, launches May 19 and introduces the Wii Balance Board(TM) peripheral. And Super Smash Bros.® Brawl draws in fans of all kinds.
“We are excited to participate in the Game Developers Conference this year to share with developers and consumers alike our upcoming unique services and products,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “We are hopeful that they will appreciate our offerings of WiiWare, Wii Fit and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which represent a trio that will continue to attract new players to the world of video games.”
At the conference, Nintendo speakers will outline a number of plans for the coming months on their respective panels:
WiiWare: Nintendo’s upcoming WiiWare changes the way both developers create and consumers access video games. Through WiiWare, Nintendo hopes to offer developers a virtual laboratory that serves as a breeding ground for new games, which encourages great ideas that creators always wanted to develop. The combination of low development barriers and unique game experiences found only on Wii should enable developers to try new ideas with lower risk in a quicker, more creative and affordable way.
Meanwhile Wii owners can download a multitude of cool new games from different genres, including some that are unprecedented, which can be purchased from home at a dynamic price range. WiiWare also empowers consumers to determine with their Wii Points which games have the right stuff to become the next big thing.
WiiWare will be a repository for all types of experiences — literally, something for everyone. Early WiiWare games will come from celebrated developers like Square Enix, which is creating FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: My Life as a King, a simulation game for all ages. Also watch for games from up-and-coming developers like Frontier with its fresh, enchanting platform adventure LostWinds and a new episodic game series from Telltale. The first U.S. WiiWare games will be available on May 12.
Wii Fit: Wii Fit demonstrates Nintendo’s commitment to gamers of all kinds. It combines fun and fitness for every member of the family to keep active and play together. Wii Fit launches May 19 in the United States and comes with the weight-and-motion-sensing Wii Balance Board that Nintendo representatives demonstrated could hold great promise for future game development as well. Third-party publishers are already working on new games and applications that will make use of the Wii Balance Board. Additionally, Wii Fit includes access to the Wii Fit Channel, an interactive channel that lets users check in each day to track their fitness progress through weight and BMI. In Japan, Wii Fit has sold more than 1.4 million units since its Dec. 1 launch.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl: This action game launches March 9. With dozens of characters, settings, options and ways to play, it has something for everyone. The game includes characters from all across the Nintendo universe. The previous installment in the franchise went on to become the best-selling game of all time for Nintendo GameCube(TM).
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 Wii.com.
About Nintendo: The worldwide innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii(TM), Nintendo DS(TM), Game Boy® Advance and Nintendo GameCube(TM) systems. Since 1983, Nintendo has sold nearly 2.5 billion video games and more than 430 million hardware units globally, and has created industry icons like Mario(TM), Donkey Kong®, Metroid®, Zelda(TM) and Pokemon®. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, visit the company’s Web site at http://www.nintendo.com.
PLAY
