And as studios consider smaller, digitally-distributed formats as a lower-risk avenue for new game concepts, launching Wiiware with a title like LostWinds might herald further potential for the service and those like it.

How are clean, compact ideas like these born? We spoke in-depth to developer Frontier about the possibilities for WiiWare and the inspiration for LostWinds' breezy world; hit the jump for the full interview.

David Braben, chairman of Frontier, said it often takes the failure of countless other ideas to create the success of one, and LostWinds rose to the top in the studio's internal "game of the week" competition. "We all suggest game ideas, and we criticize them furiously and the ones that survive... are the ones that are quite good," said Braben. "It's a very constructive, open and positive thing."

The concept for LostWinds actually predates the Wii, said lead designer Steven Burgess. "Then, once we'd seen the Wii, it all clicked together."

The game's mechanic of "drawing" gusts of wind in the air to guide the player character could only have been achieved on the Wii, Burgess said. The control scheme and game mechanics were laid out first over the first few weeks of development, initially just using blocks and triangles to get the feel just right.

"In trying to make a world that fit the design of the wind, we wanted to have lots of things the player could interact with and blow around and move," said Burgess.

LostWinds' standout aesthetic, with its high blue skies, tall grasses and cherry blossom trees that can be gently rustled in the wind, grew later. The visual style, which has a naturalistic tribal feel in its character design and environment, was the domain of artist Chris Symonds.

"The culture is very based on the idea of the wind," Symonds said. "It came very naturally to have a culture that lived in high, indigenous environments, and we immediately centered it to an area thinking of a Tibetan culture, or cultures in the Andes. And so there was a cultural influence from those areas, and a blending and emerging of some of those aesthetics that they have. The world developed from there, quite organically, really."

Added chairman Braben, "The organic feel of the whole thing also fits in well with those cultures, and trying to make sure that the puzzles vaguely center around that sort of gentle mechanic."

LostWinds teaches the player the gameplay gradually through its narrative, rather than through a separate tutorial phase, so learning to play doesn't feel divorced from the game itself. Despite having an objective in mind, the player is generally free to navigate the game's areas on his or her own, and the world opens up over time as the player learns new skills, enhancing the sense of discovery.

"I was very conscious, because I don't like being led by the hand," said designer Burgess. "It's better to let the player learn about how to do something through experience, rather than being told 'this is how you're meant to do it'. It has a bunch of things lying around, and you don't necessarily know how they all fit together, but you discover eventually."

The game industry is riding high on a wave of large budgets - but with that comes large risk. WiiWare, along with the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade, hope to offer developers the freedom to test out new ideas and to develop the games they'd personally want to play - to write for themselves, in Braben's words. Burgess is certain that without the unique opportunity afforded them in WiiWare, LostWinds might have never been made.

"Trying to describe a game about the wind to a publisher... the word 'platformer' alone kind of scares them," Burgess said. "Experimenting with the Wii... scares publishers. [WiiWare] is small enough that we can experiment without failing miserably and spending millions of pounds and not having a result. It's a really good platform for new ideas - hopefully, other people will start experimenting, and it will result in better games."

Braben said the comparatively small file sizes were not an issue, as every project always has some type of constraint. "Fantastic" support from Nintendo also helped the Frontier team turn out the project on a tight time scale. "I think what's happened is this wonderful virtuous circle, because we all care about the game. It's a very interesting opportunity that's only coming up now because of local storage on machines, and how the service is managed in the future is going to be really key."

"I'm very hopeful about WiiWare... as a player, rather than as a developer. From a developer point of view, it means if we do a good game then it will be seen and it will be found and it won't get lost in the morass. It's not marketing dollars anymore that's going to sell it... quality is the ultimate test where it's worth going the extra mile."

Burgess said WiiWare could play a role in legitimizing Wii as a "serious" platform. "It's doing serious numbers... but there haven't been as many titles that you expect to use the Wii the way its designed to. I'm hoping that WiiWare will help make developers and publishers realize that it's actually got more legs than they're giving it."

Finally, with all this enthusiasm, what about those LostWinds sequel hints we saw recently?

"We would be mad not to consider following it up," said Braben, "But we're still in that gray area... where we really want to push for it, but we still have to wait for our figures to come back. But we're very excited by how the game's being received so far... there's much going on that we can't really say."

"If the response we have gotten so far is reflected in sales, we think we're on a good push for that one," said Burgess.

Click here to REGISTER FOR ADVANCE INFORMATION on Frontier's forthcoming LostWinds sequel containing amazing new gameplay as Toku and Enril's incredible adventure to save Mistralis continues.

Frontier Developments [via Go Nintendo]

The six titles are:

Final Fantasy: 1500 Wii Points
LostWinds: 1000 Wii Points
Defend Your Castle: 500 Wii Points
Pop: 700 Wii Points
VIP Casino Blackjack: 700 Wii Points
TV Show King: 1000 Wii Points

[UPDATE] - Obviously, no Dr Mario on the list. Nintendo have let us know that despite a release date appearing in the trailer, at no stage was Dr Mario announced as a launch title.

Nintendo Launches WiiWare: An Open Playground for Creativity

Downloadable Game Service Delivers Developers' New Ideas Directly to Consumers

REDMOND, Wash.- Nintendo's Wii™ console has already changed the way people play games. Now its new WiiWare™ service decisively tears down limitations for how developers create games - and the way people receive them.

Starting today, Wii owners with an Internet connection can download new, creative games from a wide range of developers, from large publishers to indie shops. By reducing the barriers that make console game development prohibitively expensive, WiiWare showcases original ideas in the most democratic environment in industry history, connecting the people who make games more directly with the people who play them.

WiiWare frees developers from the traditional constraints of video game development. WiiWare lets developers experiment with big ideas and small budgets to the benefit of players everywhere. Newer, smaller teams now have an outlet for their creative ideas. The constantly growing WiiWare library will have a regular flow of unique video gaming experiences consumers might not otherwise have access to.

"WiiWare is to the video game industry what independent films are to Hollywood," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. "WiiWare lets developers experiment with new ideas and experiences. Combined with our collection of classic Virtual Console games, Wii provides one-stop shopping for the greatest games of the past - and the future."

WiiWare games are easy to download. Just go to the WiiWare section of the Wii Shop Channel, find the game you want, redeem Wii Points™ and start the download. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. New games, at various Wii Point values, will be added to WiiWare on Mondays. The newly launched Nintendo Channel on Wii will let people view videos of and read information about WiiWare games and other Nintendo products. Users also can see player opinions to help them decide what to play next.

Today, the inaugural lineup of WiiWare games is just a taste of things to come:

FINAL FANTASY® CRYSTAL CHRONICLES®: My Life as a King™ (Square Enix, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone - Mild Fantasy Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes, 1,500 Wii Points): FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: My Life as a King takes a legendary franchise and launches it into the realm of simulation gaming. Players are challenged to rebuild a kingdom, leading its young king on a path of discovery through an adventure bristling with mystery and intrigue.

LostWinds™ (Frontier Development, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone - Mild Fantasy Violence, 1,000 Wii Points): A fresh, enchanting platform adventure that puts the power of the wind in the palm of your hand - from raging tornados to the gentlest breeze. You'll wield your Wii Remote™ controller to power Toku's jumps and glides, suspend and smash enemies, meet friends and solve puzzles using LostWinds' novel, intuitive and playful control system.

Defend your Castle™ (XGen Studios, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone - Cartoon Violence, 500 Wii Points): Defend your Castle takes place on a grassy plain surrounded by invaders. You are the commander of your castle, and it is your duty to fling the invading enemies sky-high, watching them plummet to their demise. As you progress, add powerful spells and upgrades to your arsenal for repelling the attacks. How long can you hold them off?

Pop™ (Nnooo, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone, 700 Wii Points): Pop bubbles to score points and stop the timer from running out. Pop can be enjoyed by anyone - casual gamers can simply play to pop bubbles and keep the game moving, whereas advanced players will need to pick their shots rapidly and accurately and generate combos to maximize their score.

V.I.P. Casino: Blackjack™ (High Voltage Software®, Inc., 1-4 players, Rated T for Teen - Simulated Gambling, 700 Wii Points): V.I.P. Casino: Blackjack re-creates the casino experience, with fully animated players and a realistic Las Vegas dealer. Single players can increase their bankrolls, while multiple players can engage in a head-to-head mini-blackjack tournament.

TV Show King (Gameloft, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone, 1,000 Wii Points): TV Show King transforms your living room into a real TV quiz show studio where you'll face the challenge of answering more than 3,000 questions across six different categories. Compete against family and friends and use your Wii Remote controller in original ways to make it to the finals to see who can win the greatest amount of cash in one final, deciding duel.

For more information about WiiWare, visit WiiWare.com. Remember that Wii features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other Wii features, visit Wii.com.

• Dr. Mario Online RX
• LostWinds
• Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life As A King
• Defend Your Castle
• Critter Round Up

Dr. Mario Online RX is shown priced at 1000 Wii Points, more commonly referred to as $10 USD. While we're not taking this as 100% confirmed yet, we will continue to be able to sleep soundly tonight assuming that the five titles listed above are prime candidates for next Monday's launch.

Taku can only progress through the game with the help of the wind, displayed on-screen as a pale blue cursor, a sentient being whose motions are controlled by the Wii Remote. The nunchuk is used to control Taku himself—his motions are quite limited—with the two working in tandem to lift the wee protagonist to high ledges and across wide gaps.

The wind in LostWinds can be used to manipulate more that just Taku, as stiff breezes can move fire, water, even rock to other locations on the map, lighting torches, watering plants and weighing down levers respectively. Players will, however, find themselves moving Taku to and fro with the help of a strong gust and the little boy's cape.

LostWinds looks to be rich in puzzle solving and platforming, a winning combination that doesn't seem to be represented elsewhere on WiiWare. Add to that solid gameplay mechanic a gorgeous artistic design that evokes warm memories of Ico, The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker and various Square Enix classics, and Frontier may very well have a hit on their hands.

LostWinds is innovative, especially easy on the eyes and the clear product of high production values, making it one of the most high anticipated titles to appear on Nintendo's system, regardless of how it's being delivered.

Frontier's 'LostWinds' puts 'The Power of the Wind in the Palm of your hand' on Wii.

Leading independent developers announces innovative title available exclusively via WiiWare.

Cambridge, UK. 20th February 2008. David Braben's Frontier Developments ("FrontierTM"), one of the games industry's leading independent developers, today announced its first title for WiiWareTM - LostWindsTM; a high quality, enchanting adventure bursting with new gameplay ideas that embrace the innovative controller of the Wii™

Built with Frontier's in-house 3D game-engine technology LostWinds puts "the power of the wind in the palm of your hand" as you wield the awesome powers of Enril the wind spirit - from raging tornados to the gentlest breeze - to guide and protect Toku, a young boy who is the only one who can help you release the curse placed upon the world of Mistralis by evil Balasar. Mistralis is a stunningly presented, magical land full of wonder and intrigue that bursts to life with your every action and exploration. The game's novel, playful control mechanism lets you use Enril's elemental powers to help Toku in your quest to overcome Balasar - powering his jumps and glides through Mistralis' different regions, buffeting and smashing enemies, and solving puzzles.

"LostWinds is an innovative game, and an exciting project for many reasons," commented David Braben. "Not least the fact that it's one of the large number of excellent concepts that have arisen through our long running internal forum discussions on game ideas. Frontier is packed full of talented game enthusiasts, and contributing creative ideas and feedback is actively encouraged. WiiWare offers a perfect extra outlet for that creativity, and I hope that LostWinds is the first of many games that will follow this process."

More details on LostWinds can be found at www.frontier.co.uk/games/lostwinds.