WiiWare News
Feature Nintendo's Long-Lost Advent Calendar Game Comes Home For Christmas On Switch
Mission in Snowdriftland returns, a perfect winter tradition
The idea is a winner: You get a flat, holiday-themed box, and once a day for the 24 days leading up to Christmas, you get to open one of the little doors on the front. Here's where it unravels: Behind the door — at least in most cheap, modern Advent calendars — is a piece of...
Anniversary LostWinds First Launched 15 Years Ago Today
Let's Toku 'bout it
Today marks the 15th anniversary of LostWinds in North America, a launch title for WiiWare and (in this writer's opinion) one of the console's finest bite-sized games. The title was developed and published by Frontier Developments out West, though Square Enix took care of publishing duties for LostWinds' Japan release in...
News Lost WiiWare Title Space Invaders Get Even Could Come To Switch If There's Enough Demand
"We'd love to be able to release it"
We enjoyed Space Invaders Get Even when it launched in 2008 for WiiWare, giving it 8/10 stars. One of Space Invaders' more curious spinoffs, it offered a role reversal that saw us playing the invaders, destroying cities from a UFO. Unfortunately, there's currently no official method of playing it since the Wii...
News Nintendo Removes Seventh Generation Games From Its Official Website
Wii U information page also taken down
Nintendo's American website has today removed all traces of certain video game generations. To be precise, there are no longer game listings for Wii, WiiWare, DS and DSiWare. The Wii U information page has also been removed. It means you'll have to look elsewhere if you're wanting more information about these...
News So Long Wii Shop Channel, And Thanks For All The Games
Closing down after more than 12 years
Today sees the discontinuation of the Wii Shop Channel, an online service for the Wii which has hosted a wonderful and quirky collection of digital games since December 2006. Back in September 2017, Nintendo announced that the Wii Shop Channel would be closing in 2019. The closure would mean that players would...
News Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 Outed By Korean Rating, Nintendo Release Uncertain
Includes Mega Man 7 and the two WiiWare outings
The Korean Game Rating Board has just issued a rating for Mega Man Legacy Collection 2, which will, according to the description, include Mega Man 7, Mega Man 8, Mega Man 9 and Mega Man 10. This collection follows in the footsteps of the 2015 original, which was released on the 3DS as well as other...
Video More Footage And Details Emerge For The Cancelled Bonk: Brink Of Extinction
Cave story
Bonk is one of video gaming's most unlikely mascots. Originally named PC Kid and seen as the PC Engine's lead character in Japan, he was renamed Bonk when that console was released in North America as the TurboGrafx-16. Bonk would enjoy three mainline adventures on NEC's hardware - all of which were very well recieved - as well as...
News Developer of Retro City Rampage Explains, Again, Why a Wii U Release Won’t Be Happening
“You can already purchase and play the WiiWare version”
If you were still hoping to see the eventual release of Retro City Rampage on the Wii U eShop in the near future, it’s probably best you erase any thought of it from your mind now. In a post on the game's official website, Vblank Entertainment's Brian Provinciano has spoken out once...
News Retro City Rampage Gets Beefed Up on WiiWare With 'DX' Update
Vblank have unfinished business with WiiWare
Fans of Retro City Rampage on WiiWare will have further cause for celebration as Vblank Entertainment have revealed to us that it will be treated to a free 'DX' update next week on Thursday 13th November. For ‘DX’, every single mission's been re-tuned; vehicles, weapons, challenges, visual effects,...
News This Retro City Rampage Map Should Be Handy If You Get Lost
Well, it looks nice
Retro City Rampage remains one of the most chaotic titles available on Nintendo systems, with the DX version performing well on the 3DS eShop and Vblank Studios' Brian Provinciano recently providing a sales update on the WiiWare version. It's still short of hitting the required sales threshold on the Wii that wil
News Vblank Entertainment Provides Sales Threshold Update for Retro City Rampage on WiiWare
"It hasn't made a cent in revenue yet"
Retro City Rampage was one of the last major releases to grace the WiiWare service, an anarchic top-down action title that brings to mind the original GTA titles and has enough '80s and '90s pop culture references to cause a nostalgia overload. It's arrived most recently in a definitive, heavily updated form on...
Nintendo Download 3rd July (North America)
Guacamelee! Armillo! GBA Mario Tennis! WiiWare?! Much more!
It's Nintendo Download Update time, North America, and this week is full of new downloads to try and part you from your funds. Some are highly anticipated on both Wii U and 3DS, while others are rather out of left-field. There's a lot to choose from, so let's stop stalling and get to the...
Video Check Out This Footage Of Lost WiiWare Title Bonk: Brink Of Extinction
Bonkers
Those of you with good enough memories to recall Bonk: Brink of Extinction will be aware that the game never saw the light of day; developed by Pi Studios in the US, the download-only release was scheduled to hit PSN, XBLA and WiiWare, but publisher Hudson Soft pulled the plug in 2011 — just after the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in...
News LostWinds Now Available For Wii to Wii U Transfer
FoundWinds
The Wii to Wii U system transfer may not be the most flexible or easy process, but we should be pleased that it is available, allowing those anxious for access to their WiiWare, Virtual Console and Wii save data to carry on with their shiny new system. The excellent LostWinds was an anomaly, however, as it was a game that could not be...
News Animal Crossing and Metroidvania GDC Talks Now Available For Your Viewing Pleasure
New Leaf and Castlevania devs discuss the intricacies of game development
Many of the presentations at last month's Game Developers Conference are now available to view for free on the GDC Vault website, including Animal Crossing: New Leaf producer Katsuya Eguchi and co-director Aya Kyogoku's "How to Turn a New Leaf at the Animal Crossing" and...
News BurgerTime World Tour Meats its End on WiiWare 30th April (UPDATE 2)
Will be half off while still available (except on WiiWare)
[UPDATE 2: MonkeyPaw Games has now confirmed that the WiiWare version of the game will not be receiving the discount.] [UPDATE: As of the posting of this article, the discount has not appeared on the Wii Shop Channel. However, a representative of MonkeyPaw Games has said via email that the...
Review Deer Drive Legends (WiiWare)
Legends of the Fail
There’s a new WiiWare game available in North America. Let that sink in for a moment. After nearly nine months of silence, a new title emerges from the depths of Maximum Games's back pocket and lands squarely on the WiiWare service as Deer Drive Legends, the light gun shooter that you probably haven’t been waiting for...
Nintendo Download 28th November (Europe)
Mario's 3D adventure arrives, 3D SEGA Classics and a lot more
It's Monday, which means that the European Nintendo Download will give us a pleasing start to the week. On the way, most notably, is Mario's critically acclaimed 3D début on the Wii U, while the 3D classics from SEGA finally arrive in the West for the first time; in addition we also have...
Nintendo Download 14th November (North America)
Mario & Sonic, cheaper Zelda, busty brawling and much more
The Nintendo Download news has come in later than usual today, and no wonder. It's another lengthy list to get through this week, with some major retail releases joining a host of download-only options. With further preamble, let's get to it. Wii U Virtual Console: Uncharted Waters: New...
Feature The Nintendo Life Crypt of Downloadable Horrors II: The Bloodening
So many ruined SD cards...
It's the time of year during which a lot of people skulk around yelling "Boo!" As a video games review website, however, we prefer to boo terrible games. After all, isn't it the least bit frightening that these shambling, creeping monstrosities are out there trying to steal your money? We certainly lose sleep over it! In...
News 100 WiiWare Copies of Retro City Rampage Are Up for Grabs To Celebrate Anniversary
And yes, they can be played on a Wii U
Retro City Rampage is one year old, a landmark for Vblank Entertainment's labour of love that parodies and references a boggling amount of '80s and '90s pop culture. It's a full-on, in your face experience, which may explain why it has such a loyal fanbase. The title isn't done yet, of course, with a 3DS eShop...
News Esteemed WiiWare Brawler Rage Of The Gladiator Is Coming To The 3DS eShop
Fresh ratings show the game is coming back to Nintendo
Rage of the Gladiator was one of WiiWare's big-hitting titles a few years back before hopping over to smartphones to thrill iOS and Android players. However, the circle of life looks like it could become complete once more as the game heads back in the direction of Nintendo — recent PEGI and
News Club Nintendo Rewards Updated for May
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...
News Frontier Would "Very Much Like" To Make Another LostWinds Game
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 course,...
News Former WiiWare Title Animales de la Muerte Rises From the Dead On Smartphones
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...
News Retro City Rampage Has Only Sold a Quarter of the WiiWare Sales Threshold
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
News The Creator Of Retro City Rampage Suffered To Bring The Game To Market
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...
Review Retro City Rampage (WiiWare)
Rack up those combos, Player!
Retro City Rampage is a lot of things, but subtle isn't one of them. One of the first screens — with the title "Common Sense Warning!" — informs you that the game is packed with parodies, and it continues to bludgeon you over the head as you play. You may be a pixellated character given some freedom to romp around a...
Interview Vblank Entertainment On Bringing a Retro Rampage to WiiWare
"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 service...
News Vblank Entertainment: Retro City Rampage on WiiWare is a "$20,000 Gift to the Fans"
Shares praise for eShop improvements
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 an experience unlike any other WiiWare release of...
Video Vblank Entertainment Shows You How to Make a Game for the NES
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 with...
Nintendo Download 28th February 2013 (North America)
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...
News Vblank Entertainment: Nintendo is "Great To Work With"
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...
Nintendo Download 28th February 2013 (Europe)
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...
Talking Point WiiWare's Vital Role in a Retro Revival
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 for...
Video Grab a Sneak Peak of WiiWare Console-Exclusive "ROM City Rampage"
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...
News Yes, Retro City Rampage Has A Release Date
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...
News You, Me, and the Cubes Designer Dies Ages 42
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 also...
Bad religion
God games are usually about protecting people, not condemning them. Babel Rising, however, tears a page or two out of the Book of Genesis and sees you, as the heavenly overseer himself, casting down any subjects that dare to defy. Hundreds of heretics are constructing a gigantic tower to reach the skies, but by smiting them and their...
Nintendo Download 24th January 2013 (Europe)
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...
Rumour eShop Developers No Longer Required To Have A Physical Office
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 migrating...
Nintendo Download 17th January 2013 (Europe)
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...
News Retro City Rampage Still On Course For Release This Month
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
News The Tragic Tale of Bonk: Brink of Extinction Developer Pi Studios
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...
Nintendo Download 3rd January 2013 (Europe)
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...
News Swords & Soldiers Battling Its Way To 3DS eShop Next Year
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...
Review Vampire Crystals (WiiWare)
Vampires, they don’t always suck
One fact that we all need to face is that fast-paced and frantic video games will never go out of style. Whether they’re classics being played on an arcade cabinet or new entries on a home console, intense action coupled with multiplayer mayhem can be downright addictive. Another fact that we all need to face is...
Nintendo Download 27th December 2012 (Europe)
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...
News Retro City Rampage Looks Set For A January Release on WiiWare
Don't worry, it'll arrive... eventually
It seems like forever and an age since Retro City Rampage was announced for the Wii Shop Channel - the title has had a delay or two since then. We reported earlier this month that an updated version of the 8-bit action-adventure game would be heading to Europe and North America 'soon', but no specific date was...
Nintendo Download 20th December 2012 (North America)
Wario, escaping vektors, Wii U discounts and 3D goodies
The download information arrived a little later than normal today, and no wonder — there's a lot of content available this week, along with some surprise sales on Wii U. Enough pre-amble, let's get into it. 3DS download software: escapeVektor (Nnooo, $9.99) — The original release on...
