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We've all known deep down that something like this would come sooner or later. Ever since Nintendo unveiled their Virtual Console there's been speculation surrounding original content appearing on the service. We now know for sure that this will be happening in the near future.
Back in March Nintendo contacted Newsweek and asked if they'd like some top secret Wii information. They quickly jumped at the chance but months went by without anything from Nintendo. Finally, on Tuesday they were able to speak to Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime who let them in on WiiWare. WiiWare is Nintendo's plan to offer original downloadable content on Wii.
WiiWare will be Nintendo's answer to the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network. Just like with Virtual Console games, these new original games will cost you Wii points to download. Nintendo will set the price of each title as it sees fit. So that means these games or other software could wind up costing anywhere from 100 to 10000 points.
Nintendo is also open to smaller developers creating original games and isn't looking to rely solely on big name companies. All games created and released on the service would encounter no involvement from Nintendo, aside from them checking to make sure everything is working properly. The developers will also be given the responsibility of getting their content rated. There's no mention of if un-rated titles would be allowed onto the service, but I think we can safely assume they wouldn't.
All this along with Neo Geo titles coming to the Virtual Console only gives more credibility to the rumors that a hard drive attachment could be coming as people will need more space to hold all their games.
According to Fils-Aime the service will be up and running some time next year. Expect an official press release from Nintendo on Wednesday morning and more from us as this develops.
