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Nintendo has detailed a raft of new development support for its WiiWare and DSiWare download platforms at an event in London today.
Nintendo turned the spotlight on third-party games such as LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias from UK-based Frontier, American studio Telltale Games’ Tales of Money Island and Japanese designer Kenji Eno’s You, Me, and the Cubes to prove how developers around the world were embracing the platform.
It also revealed that iPhone specialist Firemint had been convinced to release a DSiWare version of its Flight Control title.
Plus, the format-holder is introducing a new points scheme to encourage more users to log on to the service – and it is today relaunching its WiiWare hub at www.wiiware.co.uk. The site now features a weekly top 10 sales chart and guides on how to use the service.
According to Nintendo Europe’s Laurent Fischer, developers are attracted by the chance to reach new audiences through downloadable games.
Said Fischer: “The market for video games is changing, reaching different people and in different ways. Wii and Nintendo DSi are also part of a new way to develop, deliver and experience games – by download.
“Exciting new, smaller developers are able to use the Nintendo Shop to reach consumers where they may have struggled before. This is encouraging different types of games to reach people, and encouraging customers to play those games direct from their consoles.
“We believe that this will complement the traditional retail model and in fact expand the overall gaming market, offering unique, innovative games that will appeal to all types of gamers. We also believe that the download phenomenon will encourage more creativity, co-creation and sharing of experiences between gamers themselves.”
