GameSetWatch has an article up on designing for WiiWare, using the new game LostWinds as its case study.

WiiWare is Nintendo’s entry into the direct download market, a space already occupied by Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network. You could already purchase classic games on the Wii’s Virtual Console, but like its competitors, WiiWare features brand new games.

Direct download gets video game developers excited, because it offers an alternative to the nightmarish world of competing for shelf space with the heavyweights of the industry, plus it lends itself to games that don’t take a small army to produce and a small fortune to finance.

LostWinds was the debut title for the Wii’s service. From the article it looks like it makes innovative use of the wiimote. I’m always happy to give something new a shot. I love my Resident Evil 4’s and my endless Zelda sequels, but without a low-risk spaces for creators to try (and sometimes fail) at new ideas, gaming is going to become a much more boring hobby. And as the article notes, trying something new in the game industry means stacking the odds against yourself from the beginning.

Also linked from GameSetWatch is a Yahoo article on why the downloadable service might be a blunder for Nintendo. Of course, they also can’t seem to grasp the Mario-based download progress bar that the Wii has used from its introduction, so I’m inclined to discount their opinion for now.

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