Its a very valid issue, and a real problem with digital distribution in general. Mobiles have this exact problem - magnified by 100. Content decks are flooded with new content, much of which is pretty much the same as a game that has already been released.

Much of it is re-branding, along the idea of a specific brand.

I'm not sure what Sony is doing, but Ninty's approach seems better to me that the XBLA approach.

Firstly you separate VC + new titles - then you end up with a variety of search options, categories, etc. Much of this relates to easy browsing through the Wiimote (rather than a controller), which makes GUIs much easier to navigate.

In the end, it comes down to quality. All services could end up flooded with games (hence Nintys restriction of one-game-per-month-per dev). PopCap COULD release 20..30..100? games at launch if you allowed them. It would kill the service.

In retail, its the retailers that control what gets shown (on shelves), how much shelf space (etc). This doesn't happen in digital distro world. So its important to make sure there is a higher quality bar for the service, than there is for retail titles. Which is challenging, considering that budgets for digital games are a fraction of full titles.

Why do you think WiiWare will be any different?  I mean looking at some of the third party games that have appeared on the Wii why do you think Nintendo is going to only allow quality games for WiiWare?

XBLA is already pretty restrictive in that regard and apparently even more than WiiWare will be.  XBLA only has a few games released on it per month because they try to limit it to a few games a week to give each title it's chance at the spotlight.

Nintendo doesn't control/approve retail projects, but they do for all Wiiware ones--which are treated as Nintendo-published, if I'm not mistaken.

I read the N+ comments a few days ago.

The issue is very simple: No service is perfect. Anyone and everyone can say that Wiiware is going to be better, but the fact is, it's an untested service, and could see just as much, or more shovelware come onto it's service.

The XBLA service is DEFINATELY NOT perfect. I've talked to devs, and know some inside information about the fusterations of developers and publishers for XBLA, and other services.

But the fact is, it's not like XBLA is some sort of malcontent of the online digital distribution system, that fails in oh-so many ways. In fact, XBLA is the shining example of how to do it: remember, Nintendo is using WiiWare as an afterthought , not a forerunner. PSN is very similar to what XBLA is, plus a few things.

So all the while one can say that XBLA has it's weaknesses (which it does), if it wasn't for XBLA, there would be no PSN Games, or WiiWare. We've seen that Nintendo is well behind the curve on it, and never developed the Wii with such things as WiiWare in mind: look no further than the memory for proof. Nintendo planned for VC, not WW.


So here's my simple, thougtful opinion of the breakdown of the content distribution systems:


XBLA:
+ Huge library of games.
+ Most exclusives, and best lineup. Period (117+ games)
+ Very affordable. Plenty of AAA titles that could be well above their retail price
+ Console/Arcade remakes fare much better at their price than VC does, by far.
- Too many crap $5 Arcade Ports
- Restrictive certification system causes undue delays
- No good set schedule for games
- Bad UI for searching for good titles

I'll add comments later for PSN and WW.

Yeah, what DKII said.

Also, Nintendo have been talking with these developers concerning these very issues. So they know. They know what the developers don't like from XBLA, so they will do things different anyway. XBLA is their direct competitor on this front, they're not gonna make the same mistakes. The whole POINT of WiiWare is to give developers large and small alike the chance to put out original, unique projects that would never see the light of day through the original, main outlet channels. To support creativity. 

So is it safe to say that this was the guy that said that XBLA was "full of shit"?

oops, tripple post.

oops, tripple post.

This is where I always get into it with you stickball.

1) It's only the best lineup if you don't include old games, and in your 117+ games number, guess what you are including? That's right: Old games. When you do include these games the quality of the Virtual Console dwarfs the XBLA library. In fact, it makes XBLA's library laughable in comparison. Easy example? IGN has separte reviews for XBLA and Wii Ware.

2) This "better pricing" you are talking about is crap. Most of the games operate on an equal pricing structure. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time are both 5th generation games. Castlevania is 800 XBLA points and Zelda is 1000 Wii points. Guess how much both are in American dollars? $10. The same freaking price. Similarly: It would cost you $5 for Ms. Pac-Man, an NES title. The same cost as Virtual Console again.

Some games are priced better on Live Arcade, that much is true, but the high end content is no better priced than Wii Ware or PSN. Not to mention there were NO IMPROVEMENTS on Castlevania over its standard retail copy other than some simple graphical cleanup. The same things you find on Virtual Console. You're also ignoring the fact that PSN games are priced better than either XBLA or VC.

3) The supposed space limitations you are complaining about exist on the 360 too. They are just higher because HD graphics take up a ridiculous amount of disc space. As far as it limiting the games developed on WiiWare: Bullshit. There are no games on Xbox Live Arcade with anymore complexity than those announced for WiiWare (look for Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles for more info there), and there are already more announced WiiWare titles than Xbox Live Arcade sees in 6 months. Among these are games from Konami, Square-Enix, Hudson, and Namco-Bandai... all before the platform has even launched!

Xbox Live Arcade may have been the first major online console digital arcade system, but it's far from the best. PSN is quickly threatening to pass it in quality of titles available, Virtual Console already did, and with WiiWare it will easily surpass it in new development as well.  The fact is Microsoft can't compete with Nintendo's and Sony's past libraries, and nothing makes that more apparent than the 3 digital arcade services.