WiiWare News - Latest News

The fresh batch brings giant, talking, castle-impaling swords

It’s that time when Club Nintendo’s North American branch clears its shelf and refreshes its selection of downloadable rewards. Mario’s first foray into the RPG realm is up for the taking on the Wii Shop — which can also be redeemed via the Wii Mode on Wii U — as is a...

Developer says mobile and console markets are becoming "blurred"

Frontier currently has a couple of games in development. First up there's Elite: Dangerous, which is coming to PC and Mac after amassing over $1.5 million in a Kickstarter campaign, and then there's Coaster Crazy Deluxe, which will soon be available on Wii U via the eShop. Of...

Looking a lot different to before

Remember High Voltage Software's Animales de la Muerte? It was supposed to hit WiiWare back in 2009, but the 40MB download limit imposed on developers prevented a release. The game has been stuck in limbo ever since, with a PSN and XBLA launch proposed but never materialising. However, that's all set to change as...

A return in investment looks a long way away

Just over a month ago Retro City Rampage arrived on the Wii Shop on the Wii and, of course, Wii U, bringing a wacky, irreverent tale cloaked in endless parodies and retro-GTA infused gameplay. As a last fling for the WiiWare service, it was in our opinion worth the wait. As explained to us in our

Brian Provinciano is keen to work with Nintendo again, though

Vblank's Brian Provinciano has been speaking about the development of Retro City Rampage, and has revealed that getting the game finished came with a terrible price for him personally — it impacted his health. Talking to Wii's World, Provinciano explained the events surrounding the...

"It’s a twenty layer dip with something for everyone"

After a lengthy wait and a lingering suspicion that it would never come, Retro City Rampage has arrived on WiiWare, bringing its own blend of old-school game mechanics with a chaotic storytelling style. There are enough parodies and in-jokes to fill a dozen games, and it arrives on the...

"It’s a twenty layer dip with something for everyone"

After a lengthy wait and a lingering suspicion that it would never come, Retro City Rampage has arrived on WiiWare, bringing its own blend of old-school game mechanics with a chaotic storytelling style. There are enough parodies and in-jokes to fill a dozen games, and it arrives on the...

Shares praise for eShop improvements, but Wii Shop threshold will make profits unlikely

Retro City Rampage is available now on the Wii Shop or, if you've long since moved onto a Wii U, on the same platform in the new system's Wii Mode. A manic, parody-heavy flashback to the original GTA and with pop-culture references from further back in time, it's...

ROM City Rampage is a blast from the past

Out today in North America and Europe, Retro City Rampage is, as the title suggests, a WiiWare release that aims to remind us of gaming's older days. Inspired by the original GTA, it includes a host of jokes, references and areas designed to bring to mind pop culture of the '80s and '90s. Also included...

Running, gunning, creating coasters and more

It's Nintendo Download time again, North America, and this week all four of Nintendo's online platforms have content to choose from; you lucky gamers. Some are long-awaited and in one case probably already keeping some of you very busy, while others will no doubt also have an audience to snap them up...

Retro City Rampage developer says Nintendo is welcoming to small developers

Retro City Rampage will most likely be WiiWare's swansong when it finally becomes available for download on 28th February, and its developer Vblank Entertainment seems to have enjoyed working with Nintendo while making it. Speaking on Twitter Brian Provinciano, the game's...

Splashing and crashing, new and old retro and fishing

Nintendo's well and truly on the ball this week, Europe, bringing us our download news nice and early. This week sees the Wii and DSi rejoin the party with 3DS, while Wii U drops out for a bit of a rest. The offerings include a recently unveiled game from 3DS Direct, as well as a long awaited...

Introducing bits and pixels to a new generation

The upcoming release of Retro City Rampage on WiiWare arguably represents two important trends for the service — it could be the last notable release on the platform, and it's also yet another "retro" themed release. We'll consider the possible swansong and end of WiiWare in the near future, but...

15 seconds of glorious pixels

A few days ago we were relieved to confirm that Retro City Rampage arrives on WiiWare on 28th February, a long-awaited and delayed retro homage to the original GTA titles. That description may sell it a little short, as it's packed with pop-culture references and diversions that are set to distract gamers on a regular...

The WiiWare wait will finally be over

Retro City Rampage has been eluding us for as long as we can remember. It sees you play as the bad guy in an open-world 8-bit environment and has been out on PC and PlayStation Network for a while now. Unfortunately the WiiWare version has been delayed more than a few times, leaving some to speculate that it...

Kenji Eno passes away

Respected game designer and musician Kenji Eno passed away yesterday. Cause of death was heart failure induced by high blood pressure. He was 42 years old. Best known for founding the game studio WARP, Inc. and creating the Sega Saturn RPG adventure D, Eno was also involved in the WiiWare title You, Me, and the Cubes. He...

Update: The Cave arrives on 23rd January

It's time for news of this week's download updates in Europe and, at long last, it's time for Wii U owners to rejoice. There's a shiny new download-only game available on the Wii U eShop, along with a discount and retail release. A welcome and puzzling sequel arrives on 3DS, while DSi and Wii also receive new...

Dan Adelman drops a hint on Twitter

One of the early rules put in place by Nintendo for developers on its digital platforms was the need for a physical office - a move which was no doubt intended to ensure a certain "quality" of developer. However, since the days of WiiWare the playing field has shifted - the number of professional coders...

Crashing mobs, mysterious mahjong, more zombies and basketball

It's another week of download news for Europe, this time arriving just in time to brighten up our Mondays. This week covers every platform; the 3DS receives a wacky match-three puzzle game as well as something a little more conventional, zombies infest DSiWare and the home consoles bring...

Counting down the days

Back in December, we reported that Retro City Rampage was looking good for launch in January, following months of delays and a lack of solid info. Developer Vblank has reiterated this stance on Reddit, just in case you were getting worried that the January release might not happen. Here's what th

You don't always get a happy ending

Remember Bonk: Brink of Extinction? It was an update of Hudson's famous TurboGrafx-16 platformer that was supposed to come out on WiiWare in 2010, but was cancelled despite being almost finished. Texas-based Pi Studios - the team behind the update - closed in 2011, but many of its staff moved on to form Oscar...

Ghosts 'n stuff, tanks, crystals and vampires

As 2013 slowly cranks into gear, Nintendo of Europe has released details of what Europeans can expect in this week's download update. It's another week with no additions on the Wii U eShop, but the 3DS, DSi and Wii equivalents all have some content to consider. Is any of it going to get your year started...

A virtual war is coming

Originally released on WiiWare back in 2009, it has been announced that Swords & Soldiers is getting the 3D treatment and making its way to the 3DS eShop. Developed by Romino Games, the strategy title is heading to the virtual store courtesy of Circle Entertainment, which has taken responsibility of helping to bring the...

Mario returns, chess galore and heroes of the world

Most of the world is currently in a vague fuzz of lazy relaxation, but not the download team at Nintendo. It's the usual update, this time incorporating every system with the exception of Wii U, so barring a surprise a certain pinball series isn't going to make it to the new system this year...