GDC08: Some WiiWare details from the Wii Menu talk
by JC Fletcher 
{ Feb 22nd 2008 at 3:30PM }
The WiiWare game is called LostWinds and is a side-scroller controlled by the Nunchuk. The Wiimote pointer controls gusts of wind that can affect the character, enemies, and onscreen items. The visual style is very green and sort of Crystal-Chronicles-like. No information about release date or cost was given, but a video was shown.
The Everybody's Nintendo Channel "assists in finding software suited to the user's unique taste and/or play style" by allowing people who have played games for at least an hour to vote, and also providing information, screens, and videos about new games. This information will also be available with WiiWare. Aoyama said that the service is indeed planned for the U.S. and Europe, but didn't say when. He demonstrated the channel with a video showing a Wii Fit trailer.
The Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection "Pay&Play" content will include games that are not free to play online. The icon is the same, but orange and surrounded with a rectangle with a "Pay&Play" label. This content would use Wii Points and would include both WiiWare and disc games. No specifics (of course!) but Guitar Hero III DLC seems like a possibility.
The majority of the presentation was (obviously) about the development of the menu and the system's features. Aoyama revealed that Nintendo had been working to do something online since about 2000, and have been researching low-cost consoles with the whole "fun for the whole family" thing the whole time. He provided motivation for the News and Forecast Channels: they are basically encouragement to get the console on every day. He quoted one team member who said that parents would want their kids to turn the Wii on every day. The Wii Message Board is there to make sure that it's possible for the system to have "something new every day" online or off -- notes between family members or Wii Friends. Surprisingly, the neat play history found in the Message Board is a parental control method, designed to allow people to monitor their kids' playtime.
Nintendo didn't want to compete with the TV for content. "Instead, we thought that the Wii could make watching television even more enjoyable!" Aoyama then described the Japanese TV Channel guide menu. He said that it will only be available in Japan with its full feature set, but may be available elsewhere later.
Aoyama described the evolving Wii Menu post-launch -- the scrolling text on the channels, for example, patterned after the Check Mii Out Channel. Wii Menu 3 includes Channels based on disc games (like Wii Fit), the ability to send messages at specific times, and the ability to follow links in messages into the Internet Channel. In my favorite part of the talk, Aoyama demonstrated how the Wii slot light alert was changed to match the rhythm of the Japanese bush warbler's call, which is considered exceedingly beautiful. So that's why your LED slot light glows in that weird rhythm.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Nick the Hero of Canton @ Feb 22nd 2008 3:35PM
Wait wait wait wait wait....Pay and Play. Did this mean some games charging for online play?
Or am I, again, like usual wrong?
I hope I'm wrong.
samfish @ Feb 22nd 2008 3:37PM
No one really knows yet, but it sure as Hell doesn't sound good.
Nintendo's online service is a joke. There's no way anyone in their right mind would pay for it with all the absurd restrictions that are in place.
Mr Khan @ Feb 22nd 2008 3:38PM
I think that this opens up DLC and possibly subscription-based services like MMO's within the WiFi Connection network
Which looks like a significant step forward, to me
Nick the Hero of Canton @ Feb 22nd 2008 3:39PM
Yeah, it's a shame too. I am also thinking the Wii hardware for wireless kind of sucks. Hear me out, my Wii is probably a few inches closer to my router than my 360 but my 360 can still connect. Same with my Dad's laptop when it's in that room, but my Wii always has connection issues.
Nicholas Sulikowski @ Feb 22nd 2008 5:21PM
Strange, cause my Wii is on the other side of the house from the router, on a different floor. I've never had a connection problem.
Quiggy @ Feb 22nd 2008 7:59PM
Yeah, that's pretty weird. Mine's two floors above the router and on the other side of the house and I've never had a connection issue.
Nick the Hero of Canton @ Feb 22nd 2008 9:16PM
I figured, but you can go along and there are other people who have the issue to, it can't be my wireless if my 360 worked fine (I say worked because I recently decided to wire it up because I just don't like wireless) and my Dad's laptop works, I think it's just an issue with some Wiis. I had issues right out of the box with my Wii, it took all day to get it to work.
Nick the Hero of Canton @ Feb 22nd 2008 9:17PM
I meant online, not along. Along changes the complete point of my post :p
samfish @ Feb 22nd 2008 3:35PM
Lost Winds looks really cool, I must admit.
But I'm really hoping for DKC4 on Wii Ware. Oh, how awesome would that be in Nintendo updated all their 2D franchises, a la New Super Mario Bros?
Or...dare I say it...Viewtiful Joe 3 on WiiWare?
Todd @ Feb 22nd 2008 3:40PM
"...by allowing people who have played games for at least an hour to vote..."
This would be a great feature for any game service. To allow the user to enter a vote based on his/her experience. This data could then be posted on the online service in the game's blade, or in a game list, etc. The ultimate MetaCritic...
mr mobius @ Feb 22nd 2008 3:53PM
Wait a minute? Some games will be free to play online but others will need to be paid to be allowed to play online?
Nushio (NDF - Blue) @ Feb 22nd 2008 4:27PM
Most likely and hopefully that'll be limited to "Mumorpegers", if they even consider MMORPGs an option, and DLC.
Its basically Nintendo's way of saying "This game has Horse Armor Available, proceed with caution"
mr mobius @ Feb 22nd 2008 4:31PM
Horse armour. If that meant a Zelda MMORPG I'd consider returning to MMORPGs.
Mr Khan @ Feb 22nd 2008 5:34PM
What i'm seeing is possibly a tiered online system, similar to and yet the inverse of the LIVE Silver-Gold system, where Silver lets you do everything but play and Gold adds that, WiFi Blue lets you play, and Orange perhaps would add extra content like communication and DLC
Of course, its all baseless speculation, but its more hope for the future of Wii online than has ever been present on its hideously murky horizon
Deozaan @ Feb 22nd 2008 4:45PM
I don't understand the allusion to DLC for Guitar Hero. Why not just download that (after paying) from WiiWare? Then it's free to use.
Everyone already knows you have to buy stuff to play it. Pay to play suggests to me that you have to have an ongoing subscription to even play the thing.
Martez @ Feb 22nd 2008 5:07PM
"Why not just download that (after paying) from WiiWare? Then it's free to use."
Once you pay for it, it's free!
Deozaan @ Feb 22nd 2008 5:28PM
@ Martez
Yeah that's what I mean. That's the standard and expected payment. You buy VC games like that, you buy disc games like that. But the words "Pay to Play" indicates to me that you need an ongoing subscription to play the content.
So using DLC as an example doesn't make sense to me because DLC isn't (or shouldn't be) a subscription.
Deozaan @ Feb 22nd 2008 4:47PM
And this:
"In my favorite part of the talk, Aoyama demonstrated how the Wii slot light alert was changed to match the rhythm of the Japanese bush warbler's call, which is considered exceedingly beautiful. So that's why your LED slot light glows in that weird rhythm."
That blinky thing is really annoying. I liked it better when it just faded in and out. Now it seems like it's having a seizure or voltage problems.
coast19 @ Feb 22nd 2008 8:28PM
HA HA I agree with you on the light, the pulsing blue was leagues better than the current one of "I think I can light up again".