Nintendo's WiiWare service has a minimum sales threshold set for each individual region, according to a new Gamasutra report. If indie developers fail to reach the established minimum sales mark, then they don't see one dime. Gamasutra speculates that the mystery figure is somewhere in the thousands for North America and Europe.So is WiiWare still a worthwhile destination for indie developers to pursue? That's hard to say, as Wii's large install base and the relative ease of developing for the platform (both monetarily and architecturally) have to be appealing, despite the pressure of the alleged threshhold. One thing is certain, though: WiiWare developers should be relieved a storage solution is finally in place. Hopefully, that will prove to help more than one studio sell its wares.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Did you buy a Zapper from GameStop? Then you paid $5 over MSRP, just for the "privilege" of being able to visit GameStop (unless you bought it used, of course). It appears that the retailer will employ the same pricing scheme of "$5 more than" (what it's supposed to be) for the MotionPlus attachment.GameStop's website currently lists the peripheral at $24.99, five bucks over the price announced this morning. The retail listing uses an image matching the new appearance of the device (inside a new, larger Wii remote jacket), suggesting that GameStop has had time to update the price to match Nintendo's announcement -- but hasn't. Of course, there is a chance this isn't GameStop's final price.If you don't mind waiting, Gamestop is taking preorders of the Wii Sports Resort/MotionPlus bundle for the recommended $49.99 price. If you do mind waiting and you don't want Resort, then ... go pretty much anywhere else.[Via GoNintendo]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Nintendo of Japan just opened up a site for Made in Ore, featuring new screenshots and even video of the DIY minigame creator, including shots of the process of creation. Many of the 90 (!) included samples look just like real WarioWare minigames, which speaks highly of either the creation tools or the staff at Intelligent Systems. In fact, it's basically as if there were a full WarioWare game included in the package. The sample minigames, like those in other Wares, are divided into groups based on which WarioWare employee "created" them. Mona's games are "Strange," like in the original GBA game. Jimmy T's theme is "Sports," Ashley's is "Food," Orbulon's games are "IQ" themed, and 9-Volt is "Nintendo."Not only can you play these sample minigames, you can open them up and mess with them! You can alter the art and music (and look at, but not alter the base gameplay) in the samples, as well as games that you get from your friends.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Fresh off the announcement of The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks at GDC 2009, Nintendo of America head honcho Reggie Fils-Aime had some interesting things to say about Nintendo's plans for this year's E3. "From Nintendo's perspective, we always go into E3 with a very high bar wanting to satisfy not only the core fans but also ourselves," he told GameTrailers TV, teasing the reveal of a release date for the upcoming Zelda. "We haven't announced a launch date -- maybe we'll do that at E3."So, conclusive evidence of a brand new Kid Icarus game? Not quite. Though Keighley hammered "the Regginator" for details on what exactly Nintendo would be bringing to the "glamour and sizzle" fest of this year's E3, the exec kept mum, saying, "Everyone wants to know what we're going to announce at E3 and my answer is, come to E3 and you'll see." Guess we're waiting 'til June 2 like everyone else.[Via Play.tm]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments