Pop Creator: WiiWare Offers “Far Better” Royalty Split

WiiWare has launched in the States and, as usual, Australia is left sitting on its hands as Americans throw their Wii remotes around in delight. We do have one point to be excited about – Pop, the bubble-exploding game from Balmain-based developer Nnooo! – made it as a debut title for the service.

Nic Watt, creative director over at Nnooo!, has only praise for Nintendo’s platform for bite-size games, particularly its economical advantages over conventional distribution mechanisms:

The advantages [of]it are: being able to control the whole of the creation process, owning the IP, being able to distribute straight to the consumer, having a far better royalty split than we would ever get on a disc based title.

Microsoft has pushed XNA and Xbox Live Arcade as the perfect package for independent developers. Could WiiWare be a serious contender for the role? Can any developers provide their two cents?

Nnooo!’s press release for the launch can be found after the jump.

Monday, 12 May – Nnooo is thrilled to announce that Pop™ is a launch
title for WiiWare™ in the North America.

Players 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.

The downloadable video game has been designed with the whole family
in mind – not only allowing children and parents to play a non-
violent, fun game together, but also the ability to play it
competitively.

“We were inspired by Nintendo’s approach to expanding the audience
for video games, so we designed Pop to appeal to all Wii™ users and
to take advantage of the innovative features, not only of the Wii,
but also the Wii Remote™,” said Nic Watt, creative director, Nnooo.

“Pop is a pick up and play style game. It gives anyone the ability to
jump in and start popping straight away.”

If someone is already playing a game of Pop™, anyone in the room can
simply grab an extra Wii Remote and join straight in – no complex
menu systems, no hassle in setting up the controller – just get popping!

“So, if your daughter is finding a part of the game difficult, you
can jump in and help her or perhaps when your mates visit, all four
of you can grab Wii Remotes and start competing for the highest
scores,” added Watt.

Official Nintendo Magazine (UK) said Pop™ was an “essential download”
and in its preview stated:

“There are certainly subliminal elements like the music building as
you increase your chains but overall, it’s as accessible as they
come. Does that matter? When the experience is this relaxed and
enjoyable, not really. It’s as competitive or as sedate as you make
it, which renders it a perfect candidate for [WiiWare]awesomeness.”

Pop™ – a puzzle/shooter – is part of Nintendo’s WiiWare launch line
up and is now available to download for 700 points in the Wii Shop
Channel.