Overview
- Known As
- WiiWare
- Company
- Nintendo
- Launched
- 1st Mar 2008
- Type
- Digital / Store
- Related To
- Wii
- Wikipedia
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WiiWare
Latest Reviews of WiiWare Games
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...
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...
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...
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...
Review Back To Nature (WiiWare)
Back to basics
It’s a well-known fact that Nintendo’s WiiWare service has its limitations. Developers must reportedly cram their games into a paltry 40MB, and the system’s lack of horsepower can no doubt play a considerable role in curbing some game design ideas. Nevertheless, many independent studios have risen to the challenge and we’ve...
Review Reel Fishing Ocean Challenge (WiiWare)
Pain in the bass
It’s been about two years since the last Reel Fishing game was released for WiiWare, and you’d think that that was enough time to figure out how to improve on the formula. Unfortunately, that isn't at all what has happened. Instead, a series of games based on an activity as simple as fishing has somehow managed to sink deeper...
Popular WiiWare Games
Latest WiiWare News
News World Of Goo 2 Brings Gooey Mayhem To The Switch In May
Goo-dness me
The gooey classic World of Goo is finally getting a sequel on Switch with World of Goo 2, and it's heading to the console on 23rd May, 2024. The game looks like more of the same, which for us, is definitely a positive. It looks frankly bonkers, and we can't wait to start building ridiculous contraptions with the goo once again...
Guide Best First-Party Wii Games
Nintendo's Wii games, as ranked by you
Nintendo's Wii opened up the door to millions of people who had never tried a video game before, and its software library boasts some of the most varied and approachable gaming experiences of any of Nintendo's consoles, including many stone-cold classics in both the 'casual' and 'hardcore' categories from both...
Soapbox The Shame Of Revisiting My Abandoned Pokémon Ranch
See you, PokéCowboy
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, on the 15th anniversary of the game's release, Ethan heads back to the ranch... It’s a guilty feeling that Animal Crossing fans know all too well — the shame that comes...
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 Earl Boen, The Voice Of Monkey Island's Captain LeChuck, Has Passed Away
Also known for his role in the Terminator movies
A report from Variety has revealed Earl Boen - the original voice of Monkey Island's main antagonist Captain LeChuck - has passed away at the age of 81 after being diagnosed with stage four lung cancer late last year. Apart from featuring in the Monkey Island series until 2010, Boen voiced characters...
Guide 50 Best Wii Games Of All Time
Our guide to the best games on Wii
Nintendo changed the game with Wii, the little motion-controlled console which broke away from the competition and started a revolution. Its brilliantly compact design (the size of three DVD boxes, remember?) and approachable controller helped it open up gaming to a whole new audience, young and old alike. Despite...
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 Nicalis Is Issuing DMCA Takedown Notices To Free Versions Of Cave Story
"Do not support Nicalis. Do not buy Nicalis games"
Update: Ema – who worked on a fork of the CSE2 version of Cave Story – has gotten in touch to clarify some points: 1. This DMCA is strictly for CSE2, the fanmade decompilation of the original freeware version of Cave Story. Said freeware version is unaffected by the takedown, and can be...
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...
Talking Point What Games Are You Playing This Weekend?
Here are our picks, but what are yours?
Another week has come to an end, and that can only mean one thing - the weekend is upon us, in all its glory. Some of you might be off relaxing, some of you might have work, but there's still going to be a little time for some Switch, 3DS or Wii U-based gaming. So, to get you in the mood for a little virtual...
News Zuntata Now Playing In Your Music Streaming Service Of Choice
Over 3,000 tracks ready to rock your world
You may not know them by name, but with over three decades of Taito video game music under their belt you must have heard Zuntata's work in the past. From the memorable melodies of Bubble Bobble to the epic electronic/jazz fusion soundscapes of the Darius series, the prolific group founded by Hisayoshi...
Reminder Time To Purchase Wii Shop Points Is Running Out
They'll be gone soon
A few months ago, Nintendo made the expected announcement that it would begin the process of shuttering the Wii Shop Channel, following on from the DSi shoppe which met a similar end. Now that all other online applications for the Wii have been discontinued, those who still purchase games on the Wii Shop have until January 31st,...
Rumour Konami Is Bringing Its WiiWare ReBirth Series To Switch
Castlevania, Contra and Gradius could all be coming to the eShop
WiiWare wasn't exactly inundated with quality games but it had a few solid-gold gems, three of which were part of Konami's ReBirth series. Developed by emulation experts M2, Gradius ReBirth, Castlevania The Adventure ReBirth and Contra ReBirth adopted a classic 16-bit visual style and...
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...
News Dolphin Emulator Now Allows Wii Shop Access and Purchases
About as legit as emulation can get
The Dolphin emulator is well known in its particular scene, especially for its ability to run Wii and GameCube titles in HD - that was an especially big deal when Nintendo was still all about 480p. It's still under continual development, and its team has come up with a rather surprising and neat update. In...
News Monkey Island Creator, Ron Gilbert, Still Wants to Get the Rights to the Franchise
Look behind you! A three-headed monkey!
Ron Gilbert may have a list of game credits that boggles the mind, but is best known for a handful of stone cold classics. We're not referring to the recent The Cave - which was a solid game itself - but are going way back to the glory days of LucasArts and point-and-click adventure games. Gilbert was involved...
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...
Feature A Pokémon Retrospective: Generation 5 - 2010 To 2013
A short gen
As we build up to the 20th anniversary of Pokémon in February 2016 and look hotly ahead towards brand new things, we're continuing our journey through each generation of Pokémon, this month we cover the generation that's the most recent to be fully completed. If you need to catch up before reading ahead, be sure to check out our...
Feature A Pokémon Retrospective: Generation 4 - 2006 To 2010
Don't call it a comeback
As we build up to the 20th anniversary of Pokémon in February 2016 and look hotly ahead towards brand new things, we're continuing our journey through each generation of Pokémon; this month we look at the generation that encapsulated the early years of the DS era, in particular. If you need to catch up before reading...
Related Hardware
List of hardware items (add-ons?)
Where To Buy
List of places to buy this system
About
WiiWare is a game-creation service that will allow developers large and small to create new downloadable video game content for sale by Nintendo through the Wii Shop Channel of the Nintendo Wii.
WiiWare paves the way for smaller, more creative games to make their way to the public at lower prices, without any inventory risk to developers in much the same way as Microsoft's longstanding XBLA service.
The first WiiWare content was launched in early 2008.