WiiWare: downloadable indie games come to the Nintendo Wii

Small Fish in a Big (Blue) Ocean

In February of 2006, former Nintendo of America marketing vice president Perrin Kaplan laid out Nintendo's forthcoming console generation with a strategy the company had dubbed "blue ocean." The blue ocean strategy, according to Nintendo, was an effort to create a gaming market where there previously wasn't one, with new methods, new approaches, and new platforms. This plan, which seemed so simple and almost laughable initially, has gone on to generate the company a ridiculous amount of profit, and the various aspects of that strategy continue to unfold before us.

WiiWare is the next part of that strategy, and it expands Nintendo's footprint in the downloadable content space. The Virtual Console, Nintendo's initial platform for downloadable content on the Wii, has been one of the more attractive aspects of console; the ability to download old classics from a library of a large library of games across many once-competing consoles is a big selling point for hardcore, old-school gamers, and it has made Virtual Console a a financial success.

The one readily-identifiable deficiency of the Virtual Console platform is that it doesn't match its competitors—the Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network—when it comes to unique content. You just wouldn't find that new indie classic or fantastic revitalization of an old favorite on the Wii; at least, not until now.

The downloadable content front of the console wars has changed with WiiWare, Nintendo's platform for fresh, downloadable games on the Wii. The titles available through WiiWare aren't just repackaged ROMs sold for top dollar, but new games built from the ground up for the Wii or ported to use motion-control.

Originally announced in late June of 2007, WiiWare was designed to be as friendly to independent and smaller developers as possible. Nintendo has opted to take a hands-off approach: although the company sets prices and has a certification process similar to Microsoft's, developers are free to release what they like so long as the title conforms to ratings limits; AO titles aren't welcome, but everything else is fair game.

Nearly a year has passed since the announcement, and WiiWare is now up and running with six original titles available to the masses. While the console may not pump out high-definition graphics or offer full-featured online multiplayer, Nintendo's Wii has now officially entered the digital distribution market for new games, bringing the Wii up to a level much closer to that of its competition.

To be fair to Nintendo, it's easy to see why the prospect of digital distribution of this kind would be scary. Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3 are complex and advanced pieces of hardware, sporting big hard drives and access to huge network infrastructures. Though Nintendo may be raking in the money on hardware, retail games, and classics, this downloadable software front is a new one for the company. So let's take a look at Nintendo's first step into independent gaming.

The Wii's memory problem

From the outset, it's clear that Nintendo has much to learn. While Microsoft and Sony have worked hard to streamline their online stores in an attempt to make the buying process easier, Nintendo's storefront still makes purchasing content more complicated than is probably needed. You'll have to re-enter credit card information with every purchase of points, and you'll navigate numerous, slow-loading screens to get to your content.

Managing the minimal space on the Wii's internal storage can also be tricky. I spent over 30 minutes micromanaging my Virtual Console games and save files between numerous SD cards and the unit itself in order to brace my system for the launch of WiiWare.

The console uses a "block" system familiar to those who've owned a Nintendo console in the last two generations or an original PlayStation. The Wii's internal 512 MB memory card nets around 2000 blocks of available memory after the system has been updated—that's with no save games and no extra channels.

The average NES game takes up around 15 blocks, the average Genesis or SNES game about 25, N64 games take up around 110 blocks, and the bulky Internet Channel takes up 235 blocks. Save games vary dramatically, as some games only take a block or two while others can quickly break the 50 block mark.

Comparatively, launch software for WiiWare uses between 110 and 290 blocks. It's easy to see how, in the long run, this will become a problem for frequent buyers. You can always delete the content and download it again later, but at some point you're going to end up deleting something you'd rather not delete. To download the six launch games, I had to free up 1274 blocks on the Wii, that's roughly 64% of my Wii's total open memory. That 1274 blocks number includes launch titles and nothing else—I'm not even counting the save files or additional downloadable content for each title.

Of course, giving up precious memory space could be a small price to pay for unique content on the Wii. The word "shovelware" has become synonymous with the efforts of many third party developers of Wii games, so the chance for new and imaginative titles at low price points is a welcome one. The games make the service, in the end. So let's find out how the launch titles stack up.

The Oceanic Six

As I mentioned above, WiiWare has launched with six games, including titles from small developers like Nnooo and bigger names like Square-Enix. Prices, file sizes, and quality levels vary widely at launch, but the platform is already showing potential. With the promise of new titles every week, WiiWare should be able to match its competitors' content selection very soon.

It's not every day that we get the chance to drop 5400 Wii Points on six new and unique Wii games: what follows is a list of mini-reviews for all of the titles currently available. Some of them are great and some of them aren't. Once we've taken a look at each of the titles individually, we'll wrap up the discussion with some overall impressions on the new service and the outlook for the service.

Pop

Developer: Nnooo
Price: 700 WiiPoints ($7)
Blocks: 110

Pop is to WiiWare what Geometry Wars is to the Xbox 360 and Everyday Shooter is to the PlayStation 3, and that's the top-class "shooter" that best appeals to the core audience of the platform. Pop is every bit as imaginative, unique, and light-hearted as you would expect from a Wii title, and yet it's as addictive as its two peers.

Don't let the simple opening tutorial fool you: Pop becomes fast-paced and tricky quickly. Basically, you pop colored bubbles for points, and you pop as many as you can before time runs out. Missing (shooting the background) or hitting a bubble marked with a skull deducts precious time as you try to shoot, or rather pop, for the high score. Big bubbles give you a little time back and small bubbles give you more. Shooting bubbles of the same color creates a chain, which rewards you with more points. That's pretty much it: you just point and click with the Wii remote. You can also grab bubbles and "pump them up" by shaking the Wii remote to make them explode, taking out a group of similarly-colored bubbles in the vicinity at the same time.

From this relatively simplistic formula comes one of the more engaging and addictive point-and-click shooters on the system, better even than WiiPlay or Rayman's plunger levels. The chaining system demands great precision in later levels, as you carefully time shots in between breaks of the ever-flowing bubbles. This could very well be the definitive point-and-shoot game for the Wii. Creative Director Nic Watts explained to Ars that the title was "inspired by my other half's love of Lumines and I wondered how you could make a game like that using the Wii Remote and add new fun concepts to it."

In the game's normal mode, progress is wave driven, and as you reach score goals you progress to new stages. The color of the background and bubbles, the speed and the direction of the flow, and the music all change as you progress, switching from slow to fast and back again, with bonus levels breaking up the action. In the advanced mode, you have to score 9,999,999 points as fast as possible In the "chill" mode, you can just shoot bubbles at your leisure. All told, it's a very simple game that will appeal to both those looking to top the online leaderboards and those who just want to relax and shoot some bubbles.

All this can be done with multiple players, too. Fighting for bubbles and busting your friends chains gets to be quite a bit of fun—especially when you steal achievements from them; the game rewards badges for accomplishments like getting specific chains or surviving past certain waves.

Pop is a perfect demonstration of how the WiiWare system can be successful: it's a bite-sized game that is in no way suited to be a full, disc-based release but makes a great downloadable title that is priced accordingly, if not just a smidgen too high. Still, the game's simplicity, charm, and sharp aesthetic appeal make it hard to turn away.

Verdict: Buy

TV Show King

Developer: Gameloft
Price: 1000 WiiPoints ($10)
Blocks: 290

TV Show King is the kind of game that we would normal look at lethargically: does the Wii really need another party-oriented trivia game? Surprisingly, though, Gameloft's WiiWare title is actually one of the best trivia titles you can get for the system—and at a price that its current competitors just can't match.

TVSK mimicks the great television game show formula: it has the wacky host, the ridiculous music, the over-excited crowd, the animated contestants, and a wide variety of crazy questions. The game's excellent art style melds admirably with the extensive use of Miis and a top-notch presentation to make for a very solid entry in the genre.

Despite the fact that this is a download title, it rivals retail Wii trivia games: there's voice acting, tons of music and sound effects, some great custom animations for the host and your Miis alike, and many questions. The Mii integration is the star here, as your characters will light up following correct answers, pout after incorrect ones, and celebrate upon winning.

In either the main play mode or the quick "quiz only" mode, up to four players try to gain the most money by correctly answering trivia pooled from diverse topics. Questions ranged from "What is the capital of France?" to "In the 'Illiad,' what was the Trojan Horse full of?" and "The Beatles had which hit single in 1966?".

Unlike most trivia games, you'll not only be able to see the selected answers of your competitors but you'll also be able to change your own answer—money is awarded based on the first person to select the right answer. This lends itself to frequent internal debates as you try to figure out if your first instinct was right or if your friends had the right answer.

During the opening rounds, you'll select one of four answers with the Wii remote. As the game progresses, you'll eventually have to use the remote like a light to "uncover" the correct answer. You'll also end each round by spinning the wheel—the great equalizer which rewards bonus cash, takes money away, or allows you to swap cash with other players. After a variable number of rounds, the two finalists compete in a head-to-head to determine the winner.

TV Show King is an incredibly basic package but, for someone looking for a quick and affordable trivia game to play with friends that makes use of the Wii remote and the always-endearing Miis, it's an instant classic. With over 3,000 questions, Gameloft says that "you could play one game per day for 2 to 3 years and still not get the same questions recycled," so the game should keep casual players satisfied for quite some time. We only wish it supported online play.

Verdict: Buy

V.I.P. Casino: Blackjack

Developer: High Voltage Software
Price: 700 WiiPoints ($7)
Blocks: 207

It was inevitable that one of the WiiWare launch games had to be the proverbial "Horse Armor." VIP Casino Blackjack is that game. It's a by-the-numbers Blackjack game that offers little in the way of special features. Betting, standing, hitting, splitting hands, and all the other riveting features of the simple card game are included, but without the thrill of actually gambling with real money. You can play with up to four players locally, filling in empty spots with NPCs. 

The graphics are passable, as the game opts for a more realistic approach than the other WiiWare games. While playing, you'll see the hands of your character and dealer animating during play. (That's just their limbs, mind you, not their cards.) Your otherwise-static character, who cannot be customized and is always a man, will slam his fist down on the table with a bad play or claps his hands after a good one.

While this first-perspon perspective is an interesting way to present the game, it doesn't change the fact that the game play is nothing but Blackajck. What's worse is that whatever time was spent on the visuals of the game obviously took away from other design concerns; there isn't even any music when you're playing. You'll hear nothing but dead air in between animations.

VCB does make an attempt at offering more than just the bare minimum by including achievements. These range from getting various amounts of cash in your bankroll to getting 21 with a specific amount of cards in your hand. This doesn't offer much motivation to keep playing, and counter-intuitively may lead you to make bad plays in order gain an achievement.

The biggest problem with VIP Casino Blackjack is supposed to be its selling point: it's a straight-forward Blackjack game. There are no frills and no variations; it's just Blackjack. Were it VIP Casino, with a bunch of casino games, I'd be more willing to recommend it, but 700 Points is far too steep a price for something so simple. Judging by the title, there will probably be a few more individually-sold casino games to follow this release. This is exactly what we don't want to see more off with WiiWare; you can find better Blackjack games online for free.

Verdict: Skip

The Oceanic Six (continued)

Defend Your Base 

Developer: Xgen Studios
Price: 500 WiiPoints ($5)
Blocks: 121

The "defend your base" motif is almost a genre unto itself these days. Strategy games built on what RTS fans might know as the "turtle defense" are all the rage thanks to the simplicity of play and addictive nature of the action. Defend Your Castle takes a Flash game and updates the graphics while fine-tuning the game play that made the original so much fun. The core game play remains largely the same—to the point where those wanting a demo can just play the original. You fling stick men away from your castle in waves by literally picking them up and throwing them. As the game progresses, the attacking forces get more and more powerful, and attack in greater and greater numbers. More upgrades and more interesting enemy armaments (as pictured) make the game more fully-featured than its predecessor.

Successfully defending a day's worth of attacks gives you the ability to slowly upgrade your defenses with magic, archers, and more as you try to stave off the attacking army's advances for as long as possible. The Wii control adds more tactile response to the experience, but it's still largely the same as it was with the mouse. The most noteworthy addition is the ability for up to four players to defend the castle. On the latter levels, this gets insane.

The original Castle Defense was known for being bloody and graphically crude, but this port trades the blood for character. The main improvements in this version of the game are almost all graphical—and for the better. The presentation of Defend Your Castle is charming; amidst the corkboard-pinned, cardboard interface are crayon-drawn labels with spelling mistakes like "helth," clouds moving along the horizon with the aid of pipe-cleaners and tape, button-headed stick figures and the ever-important plastic bag tie cursor. The patchwork feel of the game is, in a word, awesome.

Given that Defend Your Castle is really just a touched up Flash port, I was initially apprehensive about the game. But as the cheapest WiiWare debut title, and an addictive one at that, Defend Your Castle is a good buy for those who are already fans of the browser game.

Verdict: Buy

LostWinds

Developer: Frontier Development
Price: 1000 WiiPoints ($10)
Blocks: 259

LostWinds is in many ways the centerpiece of the WiiWare launch library. Though it's short at three or four hours, this imaginative puzzle-platformer is not just one of the stronger titles available for WiiWare, but one of the best games on the Wii, period. Its expert use of the Wii remote's unique features, and spell-binding art style make it a stand-out title for the console.

As young Toku, you must use the power of the wind to overcome the evil that is growing in your otherwise-tranquil world, and the hand-drawn scenes tell the story well. The fact that there is a captivating story at the heart of LostWinds adds much to the experience, so that exploring the areas, speaking to townspeople, and learning more about the back-story is a joy.

Bearing some resemblance to the Nintendo DS title Kirby's Canvas Curse, LostWinds's gameplay involves guiding Toku through the environment by using the wind to push him about the landscape. The Wii cursor is the wind, and you draw short lines in various directions to interact with the environment. Scenery and more are affected by the wind. Some items in the game world are only aesthetically affected by the wind, but others can be manipulated for more important purposes. Toku isn't entirely useless on his own—you move him with the analog stick and he can climb some objects and pick stuff up. But the wind is essential for his progress to continue.

As you explore the game world, you'll be able to increase the powers of your wind spirit. You'll gain increasingly-complex abilities that will help you solve more intricate puzzles. The puzzles themselves are creative, and they utilize the elements of nature in fun ways. For example, one early puzzle requires you to use the wind to set some embers ablaze and then use a blast of air with the newfound fire to burn roots blocking your path.

LostWinds reinforces the notion that art style makes or breaks a game's visuals. On a system criticized for its lack of computing power, LostWinds is a breath-taking visual wonder. Aspiring to games like Okami and Jet Grind Radio for using art instead of technical effects, LostWinds is the kind of game that will won't feel dated down the line. That's not to say that the game is devoid of technical strength, though, as the expert use of depth-of-field effects, bloom, and some strong animation certainly help.

There are a few rough spots, though. Death is rather trivial as, when you die, you'll be able to revive Toku by waving the Wii remote "frantically" as long as you keep a steady supply of a specific, and readily available, collectible item in stock. Save points are also frequent, making LostWinds a good game to play through slowly and in small sessions, as the back-tracking can become a little much.

In the end, LostWind's minuscule problems aren't enough to detract from the experience as a whole. Few downloadable titles, regardless of platform, are as are well-crafted and wholly unique as LostWinds. Don't try to parse the price into a ridiculous dollar-per-hour ratio: this game deserves better than that. In the end, one hour of great game play is worth infinitely more than endless hours of garbage.

Verdict: Buy

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King

Developer: Square-Enix
Price: 1500 WiiPoints ($15)
Blocks: 287 (not including add-ons)

As the biggest game on WiiWare—in terms of price, file size, and production values—Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King plays by a different rule set and thusly deserves to be criticized more harshly. After all, this is a Square-Enix game. As you might expect, though, MLAAK lives up to its name by being a full-featured, well-developed, and long-lasting title.

After stumbling upon an old abandoned town that's home to a magic crystal, you as a young Clavat prince must harness the "crystalline art of architek" to recreate your kingdom. Only by rebuilding your empire with the help of your friends and under your dead father's guidance from the heavens can you become the true king that you were meant to be. 

In a nut shell, MLAAK is Square-Enix's take on Animal Crossing. You slowly repopulate an empty town by unlocking and placing new buildings on the town's empty canvas to attract more residents. Putting certain residents in certain positions, away from others and near specific resources, is crucial. You'll need to fulfill countless requests and scrutinize the daily reports on taxes in order to keep your city running.

But houses don't come cheap, and you, as a young king, can't just farm the materials yourself. You'll need to commission adventurers who will seek out the precious materials needed to keep your town growing. The game becomes one of micromanagement, as you seek to keep your resources high while meeting the growing demands of your populace and taking taxes where possible. There's no combat or dungeon-crawling here, just some good old-fashioned lifestyle simulation. It's not entirely original, but it is fun and polished. Don't let the first hour or so fool you: the game gets pretty hectic after a good chunk of your city is up and running.

The graphics, the audio, and all the familiar aspects of the Crystal Chronicles series are all up to par with the retail releases that preceded this latest installment. That's an impressive feat, and one that becomes increasingly noticeable as the game goes on. (Just wait until Mogcid shows up.) Though there's no voice acting and the story-telling is fairly straight-forward, the production values are still top-notch aside, from some occasional slowdown that comes with your town's growth. 

MLAAK has the distinction of being the first game on the Wii platform to have downloadable content, as well. When purchasing the title, a giant red "Pay & Play" notice shows up, warning you that you'll need to purchase additional content. Available at launch are two content packs and a variety of individual outfits and buildings. Packs range from 300-800 Wii points ($3-$8) and individual items range from 100-300 points. Early content adds three of the four races into the game, and thus more quests and variety, so getting the full experience out of the box will make the game cost closer to $30 (some of the individually-sold items are actually part of the packs).

If there's any one area where the game falters, it's in the fact that it really doesn't do all that much to utilize the Wii's unique abilities. There is minimal motion control and no pointer control at all. That doesn't take away from the fact that the game is still quite fun to play, but there's really no reason why the game couldn't be released on other platforms.

If you're looking for a pseudo-strategy game on the Wii, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King certainly fits the bill. It's a touch expensive, but, as is often the case with Square-Enix games, there's more than enough content to justify the price. Given that the game rewards you with upgrades and a new game plus mode after you beat it, it's essentially endless—especially if the flow of downloadable content continues. This is about as close to a disc-worthy download release as we're likely to see on WiiWare for quite some time.

Verdict: Buy

The Horizon From the Shore

For the most part, the launch line up for WiiWare is impressive. Most of the games are well-priced, and it seems that Nintendo has entered the digital distribution game gracefully. What's most impressive about this launch is that Nintendo has selected a roster of titles that fit all tastes: there are short, simple, and cheap games as well as more robust, retail-caliber ones.

But these six games are only just the beginning. Thanks in no small part to the installed base of the Wii and the general ease (and relative low cost) of development for the platform, the future looks bright for WiiWare. Numerous developers have already committed to bringing content to Wii via WiiWare, and more will surely follow this successful launch.

On the horizon, gamers can look forward to a wide variety of software. The European and Japanese launches offered different titles, some of which will likely be coming our way in the coming weeks. These include Dr. Mario & Germ Buster, Toki Tori, and more. Post-launch titles include a Torque-engine powered shooter called Protöthea from Ubisoft, as well as Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People from TellTale Games. For those like me who are already obsessed with the game, Frontier has hinted that the sequel to LostWinds is on the way. And, of course, two new titles join the WiiWare roster this week: Star Solider R, from the Euro launch, and Critter Round-up.

WiiWare isn't a perfect platform. As was stated earlier in these impressions, the memory issue is a significant hurdle to overcome in the long run, and the platform's interface could do with some tuning as well. Microsoft and Sony may still have the edge in this space, but Nintendo has shown that it can play ball and play ball hard—LostWinds and Final Fantasy alone are the proof of that—without alienating its core audience.

In fact, even the developers seem to be happy with the new platform. Nnooo Creative Director Nic Watt, one of the minds behind Pop, told Ars that he was "inspired by Nintendo's strategy with the Wii and as a company wanted to create a game with the depth and strategy of say Geometry Wars or Lumines but that is accessible by all." The WiiWare platform has allowed the developer to branch out in an otherwise tough-to-reach space. Watt says that the company now has "a plan of titles we would like to work through, most of which would work well as download-able titles and each becoming more sophisticated than the last." With Pop now releases, Watt says that the company is moving towards working on its "next planned WiiWare title." 

If nothing else, WiiWare has successfully moved Nintendo a slight step forward into the daunting future of gaming: it's a crowded ocean, to be sure, but Nintendo has set sail finally. Much as it did with its reluctance to leave cartridges long ago and its slow adoption of online gaming, Nintendo still has to overcome its own nerves about moving its technology forward to match the fast-paced competition that surrounds it. But WiiWare is a positive sign that, in the midst of the casual revolution, Nintendo is working to keep up with the Joneses.