So, on Monday, we Wii owners finally get our downloadable-game service! (Well, for new games, since we've had the Virtual Console since launch. But I digress.) WiiWare will be launching with 10 games, some of which look highly promising, and others of which... don't. It looks like the games will be priced anywhere between 500 (for simple time-wasters like Defend Your Castle) and 1500 points (for fully fleshed-out, polished games like FFCC: My Life as a King); or, in other words, at about the same price as games on XBLA.
As a reminder, the launch lineup looks like it'll be:
Defend Your Castle (500 Points/$5) - A remake of the popular Flash game where you... defend your castle. This might be worth it as a time-waster, since the price is right; it's as expensive as an NES game.
Dr. Mario Online RX (1000 Points/$10) - The classic puzzle game with free online play. What more needs to be said?
Everyone's Pokemon Ranch (1000 Points/$10) - A novelty title for kids who want to show off their Pokeymans. It might sell to the younger crowd.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King (1500 Points/$15) - Perhaps the most anticipated title of the bunch. It looks to be a hybrid RPG/kingdom simulator. I have no idea if it'll be good or not, but Square fans will eat it up either way.
Gyrostarr (700 Points/$7) - A neat looking shootemup with over 50 levels. Could be a good game.
LostWinds (Price Unannounced) - A beautiful platformer that people have been comparing to Kirby Canvas Curse. A must-buy for me.
Major League Eating (Price Unannounced) - Don't know much about this one, but it looks like casual-game fodder. Still, it might surprise.
Protothea (1000 Points/$10) - From what I've heard, this sounds like a rather uninspired shootemup, and it's actually priced higher than the more impressive-looking Gyrostarr and Star Soldier R. Again, though, it might surprise.
Star Soldier R (800 Points/$8) - The latest installment in Hudson's venerable Star Soldier series of shootemups. This'll likely be the one that all you shmup fans out there buy.
Toki Tori (Price Unannounced) - The remake of a critically acclaimed Game Boy Color puzzle/platformer similar to The Lost Vikings and its ilk. Supposedly extremely innovative and brutally hard in later levels.
So, what will you be buying/downloading on Monday? I have 2200 Wii Points sitting in my account waiting to be used, so I'll definitely be going for LostWinds, and maybe Dr. Mario as well.
"'Casual games' are something the 'Game Industry' invented to explain away the Wii success instead of actually listening or looking at what Nintendo did. There is no 'casual strategy' from Nintendo. 'Accessible strategy', yes, but ‘casual gamers’ is just the 'Game Industry''s polite way of saying what they feel: 'retarded gamers'."
-Sean Malstrom
