Excelle Posted July 18, 2007 Posted July 18, 2007 According to George Harrison, it's all down to the devs: WiiWare 2007 Debut a PossibilityChannel launch rests on shoulders of devs, with a 2007 launch possible if games are ready. by Rob Burman, IGN UK UK, July 17, 2007 - Nintendo's WiiWare original downloadable games channel (or Wii Software as it's set to be known in Europe) could launch later this year, despite Reggie Fils-Aime's original announcement of a 2008 debut. That's according to Nintendo's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications George Harrison, who also noted some titles for the new service are already in development. Speaking to GameDaily BIZ, Harrison revealed, "I've seen a couple of ideas that have already been generated before we went public with WiiWare. Whether those are going to be ready or not, I don't really know." Harrison explained that WiiWare's release date lies on the shoulders of developers and that "if they have their games ready and they're of an appropriate quality, then there's nothing to stop them from launching before the end of the year". That might be a big 'if' though, given Harrison also revealed that Nintendo has only recently handed out the WiiWare development tools and specifications, with many teams yet to start work on titles for the channel. Source: http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/805/805599p1.html
theguyfromspark Posted July 18, 2007 Posted July 18, 2007 Are Wii Games written using OpenGl or some other technology? Just wondering how easily smaller studios will be able to create games.
Excelle Posted July 18, 2007 Author Posted July 18, 2007 Are Wii Games written using OpenGl or some other technology? Just wondering how easily smaller studios will be able to create games. I haven't heard anything about the technologies (although the graphics processor is an ATI chip, so I guess it's a possibility), but small studios don't seem to be having much trouble putting things together - especially since we're seeing 'student projects' being turned into fully fledged games. I think the purchase of the dev kit (costs about $2000 I think?) could be a stumbling block for some bedroom coders looking to get into the WiiWare business though.
Cube Posted July 18, 2007 Posted July 18, 2007 I haven't heard anything about the technologies (although the graphics processor is an ATI chip, so I guess it's a possibility), but small studios don't seem to be having much trouble putting things together - especially since we're seeing 'student projects' being turned into fully fledged games. I think the purchase of the dev kit (costs about $2000 I think?) could be a stumbling block for some bedroom coders looking to get into the WiiWare business though. I thought the Wii Dev kit was under $1000. What student projects are you talking about? De Blob has backing of a large company, and Capucine and Pollen Sonata are PC games (running on FarCry and Source engines) unless some company supports them in the future. Anyway, didn't Nintendo mention a even cheaper PC-based dev kit at one point? Perhaps that'll come in useful for WiiWare.
Excelle Posted July 18, 2007 Author Posted July 18, 2007 I thought the Wii Dev kit was under $1000. What student projects are you talking about? De Blob has backing of a large company, and Capucine and Pollen Sonata are PC games (running on FarCry and Source engines) unless some company supports them in the future. Anyway, didn't Nintendo mention a even cheaper PC-based dev kit at one point? Perhaps that'll come in useful for WiiWare. True enough De Blob has gained commercial backing recently. I believe the PC game of Pollen Sonata is simply a prototype though. I don't really know anything about Capucine. I suppose it depends if the Wii versions came about before or after the games were picked up by big companies. I'm rather hoping we'll see more 'out of left field' games like Pollen Sonata and De Blob coming about on WiiWare. These are the types of games I find interesting.
chhang7 Posted July 18, 2007 Posted July 18, 2007 is this gonna be the demo channel as well, cus it seems likley that they can merge the two together quite easily
Cube Posted July 18, 2007 Posted July 18, 2007 is this gonna be the demo channel as well, cus it seems likley that they can merge the two together quite easily There's no new channel involved. It's just the Wii Shop Channel. But yea, demos could be given out via the Shop Channel.
Tellyn Posted July 18, 2007 Posted July 18, 2007 I'll be talking to Bplus soon in an N-E exclusive about PLATTCHEN and WiiWare, so hopefully we'll find out more in the next few weeks.
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