Is WiiWare a Gimmick?

I agree with you that the Wiiware has a lot of unused potential. I don't see how that would make it in any way gimmicky, though.   o_o

Meowayne:  I just hope that they will do something to gather more attention to WiiWare.  There really hasn't been too many good games for WiiWare.

Well, how many have you played? I'm not that into Wiiware, but I can think of a few very popular and very good titles from the top of my head. World of Goo. Tetris. Bomberman. StrongBad. Lost Winds. There are more but I forgot the names. It's not been around for that long, and good titles are released pretty regularly.

True, thinking of the fact that this is a platform without pressure from the GRAFIX!!1 group, and with very little publishing costs and a large userbase, which should be perfect for indie developers and their awesome, original games.. one could get sad at what is actually there.

But it's not like it's bad or anything.

There have been many great titles. Lost Winds, Tetris Party, World of Goo, My Life as a King, Onslaught, Bomberman Blast, Mega Man 9, three Art Style games, Toki Tori, Maboshi, Lit, Evasive Space, Bubble Bobble Plus, the Strongbad episodes, and more.

There also are several upcoming potential gems like Swords & Soldiers, Last Flight, Harvest Moon: Ranch Store, Gardens of Zen, Cave Story, Rainbow Islands, Night Game, and more.

Availability may vary depending on region, I don't think Bubble Bobble Plus is in Europe yet (DAMMIT), but most good ones get released everywhere eventually, with a few weeks difference. WiiWare has been gaining momentum all the time.

The problems lie elsewhere but this isn't the topic for that, heh.

The games are all low budget on it, so I don't expect most see a large profit, or any advertising whatsoever. Why would Nintendo advertise others games if they're not confident enough to advertise them on their own? Besides, it's easy enough to check what's new by just opening the shop channel, and there's the odd trailer in the Nintendo channel. What else should Nintendo do? Launch their own games on there and overshadow everything having developers whine more about lack of profit for third parties? >_>

"Well, how many have you played? I'm not that into Wiiware, but I can think of a few very popular and very good titles from the top of my head. World of Goo. Tetris. Bomberman. StrongBad. Lost Winds. There are more but I forgot the names. It's not been around for that long, and good titles are released pretty regularly. True, thinking of the fact that this is a platform without pressure from the GRAFIX!!1 group, and with very little publishing costs and a large userbase, which should be perfect for indie developers and their awesome, original games.. one could get sad at what is actually there. But it's not like it's bad or anything."

XBLA is awesome, but I don't see where it's superior to Wiiware, potential-wise.

Well, XBLA doesn't have the tiny file size per game limit (40MB for WiiWare, it was initially 50MB for XBLA but it was increased a LOT). But that's for another topic! WiiWare is great, too. I look forward to many releases and have enjoyed several games on it, there's something for everyone.

Meowayne said:

"Well, how many have you played? I'm not that into Wiiware, but I can think of a few very popular and very good titles from the top of my head. World of Goo. Tetris. Bomberman. StrongBad. Lost Winds. There are more but I forgot the names. It's not been around for that long, and good titles are released pretty regularly. True, thinking of the fact that this is a platform without pressure from the GRAFIX!!1 group, and with very little publishing costs and a large userbase, which should be perfect for indie developers and their awesome, original games.. one could get sad at what is actually there. But it's not like it's bad or anything."

I played Tetris Party and Block Breaker Deluxe.  I heard that too many WiiWare titiles are too cheap for their own good.  Some are considered too short, too corney, and gimmicky.  Then as you know, some turns into alot!  So I pretty much posted this blog to find out what the people here think about the situation!

So, I own two WiiWare games and seen previews and comments on other WiiWare titles!

Al3xand3r:  You're pretty much flexible on games!  The Nintendo Channel is one of my favorite channels released!

Al3xand3r, SmugDarkLoser and Meowayne: I don't know much on the XBLA.  I guess I'm too focused on Nintendo!

I demand World of Goo 2!

Twilight: I think that with games like World of Goo should offer downloadable content, which includes more levels and content!

Twilight:  I think it has actually!  If I'm not mistaken Space Invaders Get Even, and My Life as a King has added content!

Twilight: Don't worry about it!  You know now, don't you? :D

I don't think WiiWare is a gimmick at all and this is coming from a guy who thinks the Wii itself is a gimmick. If WiiWare is allowing games like Cave Story Wii to come in then it's fulfilling its potential IMO

The Wii is a gimmick so ostensibly so is everything related to the console.

Take your system wars someplace else. These parts, you just make yourself look stupid.

"The Wii is a gimmick so ostensibly so is everything related to the console."

"I don't think WiiWare is a gimmick at all and this is coming from a guy who thinks the Wii itself is a gimmick. If WiiWare is allowing games like Cave Story Wii to come in then it's fulfilling its potential IMO"

"HandsomeDead said:

"The Wii is a gimmick so ostensibly so is everything related to the console."

It's a shame you think that."

HandsomeDead: Maybe one day there will be something for you.

"The Wii is a gimmick so ostensibly so is everything related to the console."

"HandsomeDead: Maybe one day there will be something for you."

"HandsomeDead said:

"The Wii is a gimmick so ostensibly so is everything related to the console."

Given that it manages backwards compatibility FAR FAR FAR better than either of it's 2 competitiors...."

crunchUK:  It's true that Wii is selling better than the other two!  I really don't know if that means if it's better than other systems, but it just depends on the individual persons interests I guess.  People already know that I'm mostly involved with Nintendo, so I'm mostly gonna stay with Nintendo because I always like their games!

WiiWare is not a gimmick. It's just terrible.

Milkman:  I don't think it's terrible, it's just hasn't reached the potential that it should have.

HandsomeDead:  You may never know what will happen next! :D

I have two games from WiiWare, LostWinds and World of Goo. I don't think it's a gimmick, it's just another form of interactive media distribution. The Virtual Console is awesome, so I like it better than WiiWare, but if a game comes out that I want... I'll get it. I only have one Xbox Live Arcade game if that means anything.

Claude:  Try Tetris Party!  It's the same old Tetris that includes a few modes that have twists!
                And very well put explaination Claude about WiiWare!  I also agree that VC is better! :D

They could have more higher quality games, but it's definitely not a gimmick. There are a few good games, and there there will be more to come in the future. Also, WiiWare launched on MARCH 12th, 2008. Give it more then a year to build a library.

Virtual Console FTW! 

That picture is totally epic. Anyway, yeah, Nintendo certainly hasn't been taking it seriously enough. I'm sure there's a whole lot of Wii owners that don't even know what it is. I've yet to buy anything on it, though now that I've hooked my Wii up after 9 months of abandonment, I'm planning on buying Dalai's official 2008 Game of the Year: WORLD OF GOO!

Maybe World of Goo will get me interested in checking out some more WiiWare games, though a little more promotion on Nintendo's part would certainly help. So would some free demos.

ThomasP: I agree!

TheGreatGuero: What picture? The systems standing on top of each other?
I heard World of Goo was good from several different sources.  Nine months is a long time to not play a game system!

"HandsomeDead said:

"The Wii is a gimmick so ostensibly so is everything related to the console."

It's a shame you think that.

gunswordfist said:

"I don't think WiiWare is a gimmick at all and this is coming from a guy who thinks the Wii itself is a gimmick. If WiiWare is allowing games like Cave Story Wii to come in then it's fulfilling its potential IMO"

WiiWare isn't bad, it's just overcrowded with alot of not so great titles."

A lot of the games can be gimmicky, but I wouldn't put World of Goo, Mega Man 9, LostWinds, or the Strong Bad episodes in that category.  There is plenty of good content if you do your homework.

since i don't own a wii i really can comment but what i am seeing does look good. but is also looks like a gimmick but until i get a wii i really can't say.

insanegamer: It's all good!

Dalai: What you said is true!  And don't forget to put Tetris Party in the mix!

AgentJ: Ok.

I dont think it is just a gimmick, but with the way it has been implemented and all aspects of the Wii in general, I think it is pretty hard to argue against that point of view. I think that it has a lot of untapped potential still.

c1337us said:

"I dont think it is just a gimmick, but with the way it has been implemented and all aspects of the Wii in general, I think it is pretty hard to argue against that point of view. I think that it has a lot of untapped potential still. "

I agree.