Most of the arguments about the suckage of WiiWare are retreads of what's been said about the Virtual Console: not enough games at launch, games not releasing quickly enough, games are too expensive, games don't have any extras. Wait a minute -- that last one hardly seems to apply. Sure, we can understand that some people want updated versions of classic games, as well as little badges of honor they can show off, so the argument about the purity of Virtual Console games makes sense. But WiiWare games do have extras so far, like online play and DLC. Yes, that's the same DLC we've asked for in other games ... but today, it's being viewed as a drawback. Yeah, paying for extra content can be less than fun, but the beauty of microtransactions is that no one is forcing you to participate. Games like Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King are perfectly playable without the DLC. In fact, unless you're going to play through the game multiple times, it's hardly even recommended ... and if you enjoy the game that much, is it not worth the price?
With that out of the way, let's look at some of the other issues. Pricing is a frequent complaint, but we're not sure just what Nintendo should be charging. WiiWare pricing is comparable to that for XBLA games; both range from around five to fifteen dollars, with most titles available for around ten. Sure, we'd like to see some temporarily free titles or other promotions, but beyond that, the pricing seems solid. Some individual games will always seem a little overpriced, if they don't come off so well, but the same will be said of any such service.As for the launch lineup and rate of release ... sure, it would be great if there were more games so far, but there aren't even that many announced titles. While some would rather all available titles are released at once, it's kind of nice to look forward to weekly updates and know that, between the Virtual Console and WiiWare, we're going to get something. That's a lot better than some other services, which only promise weekly releases as part of temporary promotions.
But steady weekly releases are also easier on the wallet. If ten new games were released next Monday on WiiWare, and they were all great, would you pick up all ten? Probably not. Some would get put off, and gamers are notoriously bad about remembering to buy the games that aren't right in front of them. It's not like you're going to stumble across a cheap copy of LostWinds while you're shopping, either; unless you hang out and browse the Wii Shop channel (which has an admittedly lacking interface), games are easy to forget.
Those releases pile up, too. In less time, the Virtual Console and WiiWare (combined) have blown past XBLA. In just a little over a month, we're already looking at sixteen titles. While that probably won't be the average rate over time, it's a solid start. Did you buy them all? Probably not. Do you really need more? If so, don't worry -- they're coming. Just not all at once. And that's okay; WiiWare will expand and develop. Just look at some of the games on the horizon. A disappointment? Zombie animals, the goo balls, and Strong Bad all say hi, and they're not alone.
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