Wii Makes Monsters While You Sleep
Nintendo's still not giving us any specifics on WiiConnect24, but we're starting to get a better idea of what to expect.
One of Nintendo's big surprises at E3 was WiiConnect24 - a feature that keeps enough power on your Wii when it's in standby to allow content to trickle in. But what sort of content?
Nintendo has been vague so far, but in a new interview with Game Informer, via CVG, Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime gets more specific:
"If you've gotten to a particular part in a game," says Fils-Aime, "we could push content out to you, so you get to battle a new boss. Maybe you get a new artifact; maybe you get a new weapon... that's just one example. We see the system as something that's going to be used by everyone in the household everyday... all of that is possible."
While there's no doubt that developers are thinking of ways to use WiiConnect24, this is still hypothetical. And it's also not clear what sort of costs will be involved - if any.
Fils-Aime says that the option is there for licensing parties to charge through some sort of microtransaction system. The language suggests that Nintendo would not be charging for its content, at least not immediately, which is consistent with its goal of making things pain and cost free.
Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games
Satoru Iwata Video Interview - the late Nintendo president spoke with Kikizo in 2004 as 'Nintendo Revolution' loomed.
Kaz Hirai Video Interview - the first of Kikizo's interviews with the man who went on to become global head of Sony.
Ed Fries Video Interview - one of Xbox's founders discusses an epic journey from Excel to Xbox.
Yu Suzuki, the Kikizo Interview - we spend time with one of gaming's most revered creators.
Tetris - The Making of an Icon: Alexey Pajitnov and Henk Rogers reveal the fascinating story behind Tetris
Rare founders, Chris and Tim Stamper - their only interview? Genuinely 'rare' sit down with founders of the legendary studio.
The History of First-Person Shooters - a retrospective, from Maze War to Modern Warfare