News Article

Iwata: WiiWare Demos Are Coming

Posted Tue, 03 Nov 2009 by Jonathan Wahlgren

About time WiiWare got some demo action

About time WiiWare got some demo action

Test program limited to a few titles at first

It's about time.

Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata revealed to investors during a Q&A session at a recent earnings briefing that the company would soon roll out a test program for WiiWare: demos.

Since this hasn't officially been announced by Nintendo yet there are a lot of details missing, like when it's set to start. At this time it's unknown which regions will be a part of this test program, but Japan is a pretty safe bet. Only a few titles will be included in the test.

Nintendo is currently the only console maker whose digital download channel doesn't include demos.

Iwata said this test is being done to see whether Nintendo can get more people to use the Shop Channel, although he admitted that he didn't believe demos are the end-all solution. Still, it's a nice start!

Source: wii.ign.com.

Tags: WiiWare, Iwata.

User Comments

BellGoRiiing

1. BellGoRiiing United States 04 Nov 2009, 00:06 GMT

Demos for retail games right? I hope so...
...Did someone just edit my post here? >_>

cheetahman91

2. cheetahman91 United States 04 Nov 2009, 00:08 GMT

No just wiiware.

Sneaker13

3. Sneaker13 Netherlands 04 Nov 2009, 00:09 GMT

It's about time. A demo could pull me over the line of buying a game or waiting till it's really cheap or not buying it at all. I love the demo's on the Nintendo Channel for the DS. I bought quite some games based on the demo and loved it.

Mickeymac

4. Mickeymac United States 04 Nov 2009, 00:09 GMT

Sounds good to me. I find most Wiiware games to be too iffy to invest in right on the spot. Demoes would definitely come in handy for me.

Nintendork

5. Nintendork United States 04 Nov 2009, 00:14 GMT

starts sobbing FINALLY NINTENDO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hoffkage

6. Hoffkage Spain 04 Nov 2009, 00:15 GMT

Very nice news. Now pray that this comes out of Japan.

g-silent007

7. g-silent007 United States 04 Nov 2009, 00:17 GMT

I just have to say its about time Nintendo started doing this. Now if only they would give us DLC for ds and Wii games...

vherub

8. vherub United States 04 Nov 2009, 00:21 GMT

I'm all for demos, always odd that the only demos on the wii are through the ds

Aenaida

9. Aenaida Canada 04 Nov 2009, 00:23 GMT

Even though it probably won't happen, I'd love it if there were demos for VC games as well. This is great news either way, though.

V8 Ninja

10. V8 Ninja United States 04 Nov 2009, 00:26 GMT

(Achievement Unlocked: Nintendo is has a chance against MS in the DLC Race)

Yalls are welcome! :)

Dicesukeinuzuka

11. Dicesukeinuzuka United States 04 Nov 2009, 00:26 GMT

I bought Rhythm Heaven based on the download demo, loved that game!

NINTENBOY

12. NINTENBOY United States 04 Nov 2009, 00:36 GMT

That's cool but tell me when we get movies, TV shows and a better internet channel.

Hardy83

13. Hardy83 Canada 04 Nov 2009, 00:37 GMT

I bet NoJ will test it, launch it in Japan, then EU will pick it up a couple months later.
And NoA will say it's not needed and never give it to us.

Digiki

14. Digiki Canada 04 Nov 2009, 00:38 GMT

  • happy face *

Hopefully we get some VC demos at some point as well.

Devil_Hunter_Dante

15. Devil_Hunter_Dante United States 04 Nov 2009, 00:40 GMT

I have 13 WiiWare games and half of them I regret purchasing. I think it would be a good idea to have a demo for the games.

Xkhaoz

16. Xkhaoz United States 04 Nov 2009, 00:43 GMT

Finally, I can play games without paying for them! I don't if it's a fration of the game! does dorky dance

nintendogamerftw

17. nintendogamerftw United States 04 Nov 2009, 00:45 GMT

OMG! It's about time!

Strofan7

18. Strofan7 United States 04 Nov 2009, 00:45 GMT

yeah a really great idea. but an even better idea would be to do this for retail games! there are a ton im interested in but just hesitate because id like to try them out. hear that nintendo?

Machu

19. Machu United Kingdom 04 Nov 2009, 00:50 GMT

No complaints here. Yay!

Although some WiiWare developers (the 5h1t ones), just soiled themselves.

bboy2970

20. bboy2970 United States 04 Nov 2009, 00:50 GMT

I really hope this comes out soon! Actually, this probably won't be good for my wallet. I already spend 20-50 dollars a month on downloads. Now some of those iffy titles may worm their way in.

Ezekiel

21. Ezekiel United States 04 Nov 2009, 00:54 GMT

I don't like the demo idea. I guess some people like it though.

bboy2970

22. bboy2970 United States 04 Nov 2009, 00:57 GMT

@Ezekiel: Why would you not want to try a game before spending money on it?

Stuffgamer1

23. Stuffgamer1 United States 04 Nov 2009, 01:07 GMT

Forget demos for retail games...the Wii doesn't have enough internal memory to hold one. WiiWare demos is an EXCELLENT idea, though. I hope they bring it state-side, with some of the games I'm unsure about.

I agree with Iwata that this is not the end-all solution for getting people to use the Shop Channel. After all, if they don't KNOW about the Shop Channel, demos on it aren't going to matter very much, are they? Two words, Nintendo: TV Commericals. Do it. Do it now.

Vaynard

24. Vaynard United States 04 Nov 2009, 01:09 GMT

Just remember people if you read the whole article on it, right now it is only for a very small number of games and they haven't even guaranteed its going to be tested in NA or EU. We still got a ways to go.

Roebuck

25. Roebuck United States 04 Nov 2009, 01:22 GMT

@Vaynard But one can hope.

Shmavey

26. Shmavey United States 04 Nov 2009, 01:34 GMT

Finally Iv'e been saying this for so long. Now we just need VC and retail demos.

Angelic Lapras King

27. Angelic Lapras King United Kingdom 04 Nov 2009, 01:39 GMT

Probably something like 1 level of each of the Art Style Series.

Doubt about retail and/or VC too, unless this really boosts the Wiiware sales a lot...

Tony

28. Tony United States 04 Nov 2009, 01:39 GMT

That's good news. Now more people can go download great NyxQuest and Driift mania since impressed by the demo versions.

bonii

29. bonii United States 04 Nov 2009, 01:44 GMT

Wait will we be able to keep it forever? Or is it like a trial? This still sounds cool.

ganondwarf16

30. ganondwarf16 United States 04 Nov 2009, 02:19 GMT

actually this will probably reduce sales imo people wouldn't buy on impulse and find out games that sound good in theory aren't in practice

ganondwarf16

31. ganondwarf16 United States 04 Nov 2009, 02:21 GMT

I'd imagine it'd work like the brawl demos bonii but for wiiware so i'd guess yes

Viper6391

32. Viper6391 United States 04 Nov 2009, 02:43 GMT

It's about time that Nintendo did something like this! Now if only Nintendo could stop third party developers from releasing crappy games such as Ninjabreadman onto the Wii. Oh, does anyone know if DDI finally went out of business? I heard a rumor that they finally went under.

Popyman

33. Popyman United States 04 Nov 2009, 02:50 GMT

GREAT news. I hope this takes off.

PhoenixSage

34. PhoenixSage United States 04 Nov 2009, 03:06 GMT

VC demos plzkthnxbai.

Even though it'll never happen...:sadface:

donth8theplaya69

35. donth8theplaya69 Canada 04 Nov 2009, 03:16 GMT

@Feenie
It's Nintendo so you never know.

Kid_A

36. Kid_A United States 04 Nov 2009, 03:16 GMT

VC Demos is what I really would like. There's just craploads of VC games that I simply know nothing about. With WiiWare it's pretty easy to tell if the game's going to be for me or not, but with the VC it's always a gamble. But WiiWare demos are cool, too. Not sure why they just wouldn't come out and do it for real instead of just a "test"--I don't see how this could hurt anything.

Ren

37. Ren United States 04 Nov 2009, 03:42 GMT

the games are already small, it'd just kill off any of the impulse buys that sell the only copies of some of that crap. I'm not saying thats bad for us, but it's not good business, since the games are already cheap, people shouldn't need any more hand holding.
Stuffgamer is totally right: TV commercials is all they need. I don't get why thats so hard for them to figure out.

Ricardo91

38. Ricardo91 United States 04 Nov 2009, 03:43 GMT

FINALLY!!!! Now can we have some VC demos too? :)

WolfRamHeart

39. WolfRamHeart United States 04 Nov 2009, 03:55 GMT

This is a great idea and I'm glad to see it finally coming! These demos do work because without them I would never have been exposed to Big Bang Mini on the DS. It is a fantastic game and I would have never bought it if wasn't for the demo.:)

Stuffgamer1

40. Stuffgamer1 United States 04 Nov 2009, 03:57 GMT

@ganondwarf16: It would cut down the sales of CRAP games, but it might very well increase the sales on good stuff that people like me can't afford to/refuse to take a random chance on! In other words, I think demos are good for quality control.:)

@Ren: I didn't say demos are a bad idea...I WANT demos for some WiiWare games I haven't risked my money on yet. But TV commercials are a MUST for getting people to realize the Shop Channel exists and has games they would want to play on it. Just mention Tetris and BOOM! New Shop Channel users. It's the #1 requested WiiWare game at GameStop, just because they don't know it's download-only.

DarkEdi

41. DarkEdi Mexico 04 Nov 2009, 04:05 GMT

Virtual Console needs demos too. The Nes ones will be like 5 blocks space and the N64 can be like 40 blocks.

Hurry!!! i want to test some ones. A 6-7 calification in Nintendo Life needs demos to see if are good games or not.

Atlantis1982

42. Atlantis1982 United States 04 Nov 2009, 04:13 GMT

I'd rather have WiiWare demos, so this is a good thing.

About farking time, Nintendo.

Fuzzy

43. Fuzzy Australia 04 Nov 2009, 04:22 GMT

Yes demos would be great. Especially in order to choose a puzzle game!

motang

44. motang United States 04 Nov 2009, 04:28 GMT

Finally? There are many games I want to get but I want to be sure I would like them, and Nintendo is so backwards as the other platforms offer demos on not only downloadable games but also on full retail games!

JRSoul

45. JRSoul Canada 04 Nov 2009, 04:32 GMT

It's about damn time. I wonder what games they will use for the test program.

Token Girl

46. Token Girl United States 04 Nov 2009, 05:11 GMT

This is great news. I bet a lot of the cheaper games (500 points-800 points) won't have demos, because many suck, aren't much longer than most demos, and are cheap enough to impulse buy. This is great for larger games though. Shame they can't demo retail games though :(.

Draygone

47. Draygone United States 04 Nov 2009, 06:15 GMT

I can see this being a good thing. Better if retail demos become available. Would be nice if VC titles could be demo'd, too. They could do something like the demos on Super Smash Bros. Brawl, where you can play a game, with a time limit set to end the game, and the inablity to save progress.

...But only for the VC titles. For WiiWare titles, the demos released should be made by the developers. 'Cause I have seen articles where developers wish they could release demos of their games. This way the developers who dont wan't their games out in demo form won't be forced to. Plus full WiiWare titles would take a lot of memory, just to be allowed only 5 minutes of gametime before the game automatically ends.

@12. NINTENBOY
You can't be serious. Wii's storage is still too crappy for something like that.

DJ Triforce

48. DJ Triforce United States 04 Nov 2009, 06:45 GMT

Yes. :) Another point for Nintendo.

invmat

49. invmat Netherlands 04 Nov 2009, 07:03 GMT

They could include this option in the Nintendo channel, I mean DS demos are already there...
And is it possible to make a message service? In that way, you can get a message when a new demo is available..

Token Girl

50. Token Girl United States 04 Nov 2009, 08:47 GMT

@48 Draygone

In Japan you can download TV shows with the Wii no ma channel, so it is possible.

Starwolf_UK

51. Starwolf_UK United Kingdom 04 Nov 2009, 09:08 GMT

Nintendo already have the technology to do lazy demos:
http://wiibrew.org/wiki/Ticket
Enable time limit and time limit (seconds). But seriously, I hope they put some effort into them.

LEGEND MARIOID

52. LEGEND MARIOID United Kingdom 04 Nov 2009, 09:30 GMT

Free demos?!

pinta_vodki

53. pinta_vodki Russian Federation 04 Nov 2009, 10:12 GMT

finally. finally!

JimLad

54. JimLad United Kingdom 04 Nov 2009, 11:07 GMT

Any kind of demos is good news, though I still want retail demos more than anything (discs are still an option) For the price you pay and the amount of garbage out there, they should let you try before buy.

Raylax

55. Raylax United Kingdom 04 Nov 2009, 12:34 GMT

Yay. Maybe people will now stop actually paying for tat like that wordsearch game if they get to see how shallow it is first.

Hyper Luigi

56. Hyper Luigi United States 04 Nov 2009, 13:17 GMT

Finally! It's about time Nintendo!!

roro44

57. roro44 United States 04 Nov 2009, 18:09 GMT

And we scream "yay!"

Ian Daemon

58. Ian Daemon United States 04 Nov 2009, 20:57 GMT

Hi NintendoLife Staff. I think you're going to have to hit your readership over the head with future news. Far too many people missed the title and the image and the copy that read "WIIWARE demos".

Vaynard

59. Vaynard United States 04 Nov 2009, 22:52 GMT

^ I would agree with that if it was much more guaranteed. I think people are missing that this is only for a few games right now and is not confirmed outside Japan. Iwata isn't even that confident about demos right now.

Raptor78

60. Raptor78 United Kingdom 05 Nov 2009, 01:11 GMT

I would imagine that wiiware demos would probably be for the larger games around the 1000+ points mark and I would welcome them if done right.
The Brawl VC demos were very lazy relying on a very small time limit. What would be much better would be to either include one or two levels or the tutorial levels off of some games such as "swords and soldiers" etc.
It may be a pain to go back and make demos of already exsisting wiiware games but im sure that if Nintendo decide to go ahead with wiiware demos and dont charge 3rd party developers to put demos of their upcoming or existing wiiware games then im sure it wouldnt be too much of a problem to produce a demo and a full game at the same time, mabey they could include the option of buying the full game straight from the demo like you would buying DLC from some of the existing games.

I wasnt sure about retail demos, but considering how they managed to do a wiiware level of Punch Out im sure some retail games could manage to produce demos via the wiiware service. :)

Kevin

61. Kevin United States 05 Nov 2009, 15:45 GMT

I'd rather like to see VC game demos. As most of you probably know by now I'm not a huge WiiWare fan. I rarely download any games of that service at all unlike the VC.

Big A2

62. Big A2 Australia 06 Nov 2009, 06:54 GMT

@BellGoRiiing: My post was once edited too. Apparantly mentioning anything about being the first, whether it's spam or not, gets edited if you have the first post.

Panda

63. Panda United States 09 Nov 2009, 20:15 GMT

"First" comments are not tolerated here and will be either edited or deleted.

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