Why should WiiCare?

WiiWare - a land of opportunity, where small indie developers can stand toe-to-toe with the big boys like Square Enix and EA. This is where weird, interesting games should go to live. The Wii has a controller unlike any other in the industry, and games like Lost Winds and World of Goo show how to utilize it very well. Unfortunately, there are a few things holding WiiWare (and the Virtual Console, as well) back from competing with the "real" next-gen systems:

- No demos
- No standard pricing structure on WiiWare
- Lack of consistent release schedule

First, no demos. Now that Nintendo (finally) did something about the Wii's lack of storage (Yay for SD!), there is room on gamers' consoles for game demos. On 360, the demo is the same size as the full game, but purchasing the whole game "unlocks" the rest of the content. Wii doesn't need to do it that way. A shorter download time for a first level would be fine for A.D.D. types that still play Wii. If I want the full game, yes, I would wait to download again. It's not a big deal.

Without free trial demos, countless interesting games are getting lost in the shuffle while people buy tripe like Major League Eating: The Game. A demo will allow gamers to try something they normally wouldn't, because there's no risk. "Want to try Swords & Soldiers for ten minutes before you buy it? That'll be ten dollars. Hope you like it. No refunds."

The pricing on WiiWare is also all over the place, ranging from $5 (Texas hold'em Tournament), to $6 (Bubble Bobble Plus), to $8 (Final Fantasy IV: The After Years), to $10 (Let's Catch - What the crap?), to $15 (World of Goo). The prices don't seem to be based on anything besides what the developers hope people will pay. That, and probably development costs. But gamers don't care about that. They just want a good deal for their dollar.

Lastly, the release schedule. New XBLA games come out every Tuesday. New WiiWare games come out... whenever. There are new games released every week, but there is no guarantees that they are WiiWare games. It could be DSiWare, or a Virtual Console title, or WiiWare, or maybe, if you're lucky, a good WiiWare game. It's probably just another calculator or clock for your DSi, and no matter how cool it may be, it is not delivering on the potential of the technology. Pick up the slack, Nintendo! If Sony can do it with the slumping PS3, you can do it too. You have enough money. Use it for something that doesn't suck, for once!