DSIWARE & WIIWARE: SPECIAL FOCUS Sponsored by: NINTENDO’S
Despite having some of the best digital content around, Nintendo’s online stores have struggled to make a big impression. Kristan Reed looks into the challenges facing the Japanese giant
IF NINTENDO was a retail superstore, then the WiiWare and DSiWare concession would be its dusty basement.
Once inside the cramped confines of this unkempt den, you’d have to rifle through unfiltered piles of stuff to find what you’re looking for. And yet both services feature some of the most creatively engaging video games around – and often for the price of a pint of beer. So why the hell isn’t Nintendo shouting from the rooftops about these brilliant titles?
It’s continually amazing to see games of rich quality being tossed onto the pile with barely a sliver of promotion to tell the press that they exist – never mind the general public. As a result, critics remain largely unaware, and focus their attention on the high profile titles on Xbox Live and PSN.
UNDERAPPRECIATED In the past few months alone, WiiWare games like And Yet It Moves, The Art Of Balance and Bit.Trip Runnerhave been as engaging as rival digital releases, and yet get a tiny fraction of the attention of games such as Limbo or Dead Rising: Case Zero. It’s a similar story on the DSi: truly excellent titles at bargain prices. But how many people have rushed out to download 3D Space Tank or Link ‘N’ Launch? It makes you wonder how these games are selling. Although Nintendo consistently declines to reveal any digital sales data, anecdotal evidence
www.mcvuk.com “
DIGITAL DIFFERENCE
Nintendo’s DSiWare service is home to several hidden gems, but how will it evolve?
with retail
launched titles – and that includes big PR and marketing
from
Marketing and PR are pressures that some
developers can’t stretch to –even though their game is amazing. Rob Saunders, Nintendo
industry sources doesn’t paint a very happy picture.
Nintendo has revealed that just 30 per cent of its userbase has taken their consoles online – which, if anything, highlights the multi-millions of gamers that do not. According to Nintendo’s Rob Saunders: “It’s a bit of a chicken and egg situation.” “The principle of both [WiiWare and DSiWare] is to allow titles to flourish and potentially reach a mass market audience, but without the costs and pressures that come
budgets,” he says. “These are
pressures that some developers simply can’t stretch to – even if their game idea is amazing.” While promotion may fall to the developer, other factors include Nintendo’s reluctance to offer price cuts or even demos, the slow nature of navigating the Store and the issue of storing downloaded games. Right now, it feels like the content on Nintendo’s digital services is the industry’s best-kept secret. Over the next four pages, we look at why it needs to be shared.
October 22nd 2010 69
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