WiiWare Roundup

As the release of games on WiiWare gets closer and closer, more and more exciting news starts to flood out about the games that are being released. It’s quite a good bit of information and it’s scattered all over the place, so MyWiiNews is going to run down a few of the new major details coming out right now including the most important so far: online Tetris.

Let’s start with the launch games. While we don’t have any word on what games will be released in the U.S. when WiiWare launches on May 12, we do know what games will be available in Japan where it launches in about two weeks on March 28. They are as follows:

Okiraku Ping-Pong Wii (Arc System Works, 500 points)

Word Puzzle Mojipittan Wii (Bandai Namco, 1000 points)

Sakusaku Animal Panic (Konami, 1000 points)

Star Soldier R (Hudson, 800 points)

My Life As A King: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (Square Enix, 1500 points)

Angel’s Solitaire (G-Mode, 500 points)

Dr. Mario & Bacillus Extermination (Nintendo, 1000 points)

Everybody’s Pokemon Ranch (Nintendo, 1000 points)

Lonpos (Genki, 1000 points)

We can speculate that My Life As A King will be there at the U.S. launch since its release has already been rumored pretty heavily, and Dr. Mario is also a very strong lock along with Star Soldier R. I’d also put money on Everybody’s Pokemon Ranch coming out near launch, if not on it, since Pokemon sell like wild fire and the game appears to fit right into what Nintendo is aiming for WiiWare. It looks like we’ve got plenty of quick and great gaming coming our way once WiiWare launches.

Of course not every game is going to be a launch title, and there’s plenty coming out for WiiWare after the launch too. We’ve already told you about Defend Your Castle, LostWinds and Project Bang but there are plenty more like Eternity’s Child and World of Goo; both of which look absolutely gorgeous and incredibly creative. The list of games coming to WiiWare is growing daily, including a game where you pop bubble wrap. WiiWare is going to be the place for games that you won’t find anywhere else, though I don’t know if popping virtual bubble wrap will be as much fun as the real thing.

Now for the really big news: Tetris will be landing on the WiiWare service some time this summer! Sure, there have been hundreds of versions of Tetris pumped out over the years by a myriad of different companies, and  you can already play the decidedly addicting Tetris DS online with friends, but Tetris on WiiWare has two main things going for it. One is that it will have point and click controls that could make moving those blocks around the screen far more interactive (though let’s hope you can still play it with the D-pad too), and two it is being designed by Hudson, the same people who brought us the insanely addictive Bomberman Live on XBox Live. Hudson has a proven track record of making simple, fun, online gaming that anyone can play, so Tetris looks to be awesome. It’s kind of hard to mess up Tetris anyway, and really, what Nintendo system is complete without a Tetris game on it?

First WiiWare Game Announced ‘LostWinds’

I am not at all shocked at how great this game looks already. 3rd party developers have something to prove, and they work hard to prove it. If this game plays as good as these screenshots look, the first WiiWare title may be a hit. If it’s under 1500 WiiPoints, I will download it as soon as it is available. I am looking forward to more announcements of Wii exclusive titles such as this one in the near future.

Frontier’s ‘LostWinds’ puts ‘The Power of the Wind in the Palm of your hand’ on Wii.

Leading independent developers announces innovative title available exclusively via WiiWare.

Cambridge, UK. 20th February 2008. David Braben’s Frontier Developments (”FrontierTM”), one of the games industry’s leading independent developers, today announced its first title for WiiWareTM - LostWindsTM; a high quality, enchanting adventure bursting with new gameplay ideas that embrace the innovative controller of the Wiiâ„¢

Built with Frontier’s in-house 3D game-engine technology LostWinds puts “the power of the wind in the palm of your hand” as you wield the awesome powers of Enril the wind spirit - from raging tornados to the gentlest breeze - to guide and protect Toku, a young boy who is the only one who can help you release the curse placed upon the world of Mistralis by evil Balasar. Mistralis is a stunningly presented, magical land full of wonder and intrigue that bursts to life with your every action and exploration. The game’s novel, playful control mechanism lets you use Enril’s elemental powers to help Toku in your quest to overcome Balasar - powering his jumps and glides through Mistralis’ different regions, buffeting and smashing enemies, and solving puzzles.

“LostWinds is an innovative game, and an exciting project for many reasons,” commented David Braben. “Not least the fact that it’s one of the large number of excellent concepts that have arisen through our long running internal forum discussions on game ideas. Frontier is packed full of talented game enthusiasts, and contributing creative ideas and feedback is actively encouraged. WiiWare offers a perfect extra outlet for that creativity, and I hope that LostWinds is the first of many games that will follow this process.”

More details on LostWinds can be found at www.frontier.co.uk/games/lostwinds.

Project Bang

Engine Software, developer based in the Netherlands, today announced that it has started its first development project for the Nintendo WiiWare service. The debut title, for now dubbed “Project Bang!”, will be a casual game type with very addictive gameplay using the unique Wii Remote controller functionality, and will support a two-player battle mode. (Sound like it could perhaps be a Tetris or Bejeweled style of game.)

Nintendo’s WiiWare service is a new downloadable game content service that is scheduled to be launched in March 2008. Players will be able to purchase and download WiiWare games directly from the Wii Shop Channel in exchange for Wii Points. “WiiWare brings new levels of creativity and value to the ever-growing population of Wii owners.”, as stated by Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime. You can currently download the Wii Opera Browser via Wiiware, along with the “Check Mii Out” Channel, an update to the photo channel, MP3 streaming from MP3tunes, and a few other odds and ends.

Ruud van de Moosdyk, VP of Development at Engine Software: “We are very excited about our first game for the WiiWare service. When we acquired our official Wii license last year we already had several concepts written up that would be ideal for WiiWare, and Project Bang! is the first to actually go into production. We wanted to get rolling on this exciting new platform early on, and I am quite happy we are now on schedule to do just that. “

In the near future Engine Software will be releasing more information (including the final name), and screenshots of Project Bang!, as well as more news regarding future plans for the platform. Project Bang! is scheduled to be completed early on in the service’s operational status, but no exact date can be given at this time.

I am all for being able to download original games via WiiWare. I love casual games (time-wasters) such as bejewled. What could possibly be the most exciting part of this is that Nintendo has opened their doors to Indie game developers. And if you play any online games, you realize that several Indie games are spectacular (and free.)