Enjoy.
Prata: Basically we're here today to talk about Wii Ware. We've announced the North American launch date of May 12, and we're really excited to have the opportunity to talk about it here at the Game Developer's Conference together with you. Really Wii Ware is a new service from Nintendo to offer additional content to Wii consumers. Basically we're giving the tools to any developer to make the games that they want to make, and all the dreams and passions that they have and bring them to Wii. We're trying to encourage the philosophy that a big idea can succeed without a big budget. They decide the content, while we provide the lowest barrier of entry into development as we can for them. One of the advantages that we would like to talk about is just the Wii Remote, and the way it relates to a development device. As you know Mark coming from a development background when you first had a chance to play with this device there are instantly ideas that come up and game's that would be great on the system. Putting that feeling together with the low barrier of entry, we feel like it's going to be an outstanding opportunity for content creators to bring something new and fresh, and make games for everyone to enjoy, and then equally for consumers to be able to interact in new and exciting ways with the content that's being created.
IGN: As far as getting a dev kit goes, how difficult is that for a developer? The price is $2,000, but previously Nintendo wanted a ton of specifics. You needed to have a company address that was zoned industrial, and it needed to be a pure licensed developer. It isn't exactly an "open source" feeling in that sense, while it is extremely accessible for those in the position to develop already.
Prata: For non-licensed developers we're encouraging them to fill out a license application so that they can become developers for Nintendo. It is the same type of development you'll do with any retail content, but it's a different type of retail in that sense. The end result is content that will be delivered to consumers digitally, so we're also providing the confidential information in the form of SDK's and the like, so we do require that they're a licensed developer. They can always contact us fill out a developer application though.
IGN: All the restrictions still stand though, correct? A lot of people were thinking that this move is a more "open source" decision, but you'll still need to be a proven, licensed developer just the same, right?
Prata: Yeah. In the end it's still about solid content that consumers can enjoy, so while the size of the team and budget is less restricting, we still want professionals that can secure solid content. In some cases though we have larger companies with smaller groups working on content, and so the breath of the developer content can be a lot wider in that sense. As you're probably aware the resource requirements are going up from generation to generation, so developers are having a harder time having their concepts made into retail packages. Wii Ware allows the opportunity to not only do something different, but actually have that reach consumers they way it needs to. If a developer can dream and create it, the consumer can enjoy it.
IGN: Originally it sounded like a lot of these games were going to be submitted to Nintendo and then would be looked at very carefully internally to decide what would be coming out. Some devs would have huge lists of game concepts pushed through at a time, and only a choice few made the cut. Now it sounds like (from talking with Reggie, and from what we're hearing now) that if a game is ranked by the ESRB, you'll take it. Is that the case now?
Prata: Yes that is the case, based on your conversation with Reggie. Effectively we're leaving the content decisions directly to the developers now. We shouldn't be deciding what makes the cut and what doesn't. We should leave that to the creators of the games, and then let them bring their ideas to consumers, and let consumers decide what is valuable and entertaining to them. You're correct in saying that we're no going to sit back and judge the games before they come out, or the specific nature of the game that is going to come out. And in some ways it's very difficult to do that initially anyways. How do communicate efficiently on a piece of paper what a player is supposed to experience interactively, and to require a developer to make a demo in advance and expend a ton of energy and risk on something up front, only to have that be denied, is really putting developers in a very difficult position. Again, if they want to make it, and they have the passion to do it, Wii Ware is there for them.
IGN: What specific Wii functionality will creators have access to when making a Wii Ware game? Can they save to SD? Can they do online? Wii Connect 24? Is it like a smaller (but full) Wii product, or is it standalone?
Prata: The Wii Ware developers will have access to the same functionality as they would a regular Wii disc game. The specifics you mentioned such as SD and online, Wii Connect 24, and episodic content is all there. They key point I want to stress though is that it isn't required. Sometimes you make a game and it's best expressed as a single player game or multiplayer game, and the advantage here is that we're leaving it to the creators to focus their resources on the areas that best express their ideas. We won't force their hand into functions or features that may or may not add value to the consumer.
IGN: Originally Nintendo had set in place a cap as to how many games a specific company could have on Wii Ware at a time, and that developers would need to swap which titles are currently on the service. Now it sounds like that is no longer the case though?
Prata: That was originally the idea, yes. We wanted to find a fair way for many different companies to participate, and we wanted to avoid the situation where a company that had a ton of intellectual properties or titles would just swamp the service with all their games at once, and shove out a newer company or original idea in the process. We were trying to be a little more democratic and say "Ok, you have a project, please submit it" and control it that way.
IGN: Are you worried that companies will start poring tons of games over at once, and just throw in IR control or tilt control and say "Hey consumers, here's a new Wii game" constantly?
Prata: Yeah. We're trying not to put restrictions on the content creators to do that, so it is possible that people can take a game that was created for another system and make it available for download on Wii now. The difference though is that the Wii remote offers a unique opportunity for designers to do something different, and more options for consumers, so in a sense all the intellectual properties that come to Wii Ware will be unique.
IGN: That brings up an interesting question. Do you have to use the Wii remote, or could you just use the classic controller or take a page out of Smash's book at use the GameCube controller instead?
Prata: Well we definitely think there's a huge opportunity with the Wii remote in creating new concepts and ideas; the Wii remote is widely accepted with consumers now. That being said, it won't be required, and if the creators want to use traditional controls, that option is there. There's a huge opportunity with the Wii remote, but we'll leave it up to them in how or if they want to use it.
IGN: What kind of setup will consumers have when they boot up Wii Ware? Are there going to be features games that Nintendo spotlights, or can you still gift games over to other users like you did with VC titles?
Prata: Well the users experience will be very similar to other Wii channels. There are a number of channels out there that consumers are able to react with, and this will be the same. You'll be able to use Wii points to buy games, you'll download them direct to your system, and they'll be available at different price points as well. There will be a wealth of information on the games both from media and reviews as there always is, but Nintendo of Japan also has the "Everyone's Nintendo Channel" which is used to cover content, and we're working on making that available to the North American market as well. What that will allow is the consumer to find the content and get familiar and more educated with it, and make their decision based on that.
IGN: So you're hoping that people will boot up the Wii, head over to the Everybody's Nintendo Channel to see what's new, and then click over and buy the games they want.
Prata: Exactly, yes.
IGN: Is the "Wii Ware" download channel going to be its own standalone, or it is going to be built into the pre-existing Wii Shop Channel?
Prata: Mr. Aoyama will be speaking on the conception of the Wii channel, and how it all should relate on Friday. But yes, there's basically the Wii Shop channel, and when you go on you'll have the option of going to the Virtual Console section, or the Wii Ware section. And you'll have all the same functionality there with gifting and the like.
IGN: Smash Bros. brings out the idea of downloading trail versions of games and having the ability to demo them to consumers. Has that avenue been explored at all with Wii Ware? Will developers be able to make demos for their games and let users try before they buy? And if not at launch, is this something that could be later implemented?
Prata: We're really focusing on not requiring the developers to make expensive demos, no. We're really looking for a transaction-based business. The developer makes the game, it's made available, the consumer finds something that interests them, and they download the content.
IGN: Based on what Nintendo has seen so far with Wii Ware, how many games can consumers expected at launch, both first party and third party?
Prata: We're still working on the launch plans, and we'll have more details on that as we move forward. We'll be talking more about specific licensors and what games you'll see at launch. There are about 100 games in the works that will be made available for the North American market when it releases, but like Virtual Console we'll be releasing those games in a more systematic fashion, and not have them all available right away. A lot of it will depend on developer schedules, so we'll be working with them to find out when they want their games to hit. Also, about 20% of games are coming from companies that have published with Nintendo, so that's certainly a wide array of talent, and we've got games from companies like Square Enix that you already know about.
IGN: You mentioned distributing the already confirmed 100 games like you have in Virtual Console. Doest that mean that if a developer finishes a game and is ready to go with it they're basically added to the distribution list and have to wait for the few games a week to release, or how will release scheduling be planned this time around?
Prata: The rate of distribution is something we'll still be talking about internally for now.
IGN: Great. Well it looks like we're out of time, but thank you very much for chatting with us about Wii Ware, and we look forward to checking it out once it hits May 12th.
Prata: Thank you.
