As you all know by now, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as King allows users to download content for an additional amount of Wii points. The game itself will cost $15 when the WiiWare feature hits Stateside, and all of the DLC available thus far will run you about $13 worth of Points. The content isn’t anything to brag about, but let’s hope this finally opens Nintendo’s eyes to the online realm and allows developers to utilize this “next-gen” feature. Hit the jump for the details.

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Hudson has released some details on their upcoming Japanese WiiWare title Karaoke Joysound, and it’s shaping up to be one of the freshest, most ambitious party games to hit the Wii yet.

When it is released, Hudson plans on having over 20,000 songs for users to download and will add an additional 1,000 songs to the existing list every month. Download you say? Yes, you read right: Karaoke Joysound will feature DLC - a component that has yet to grace Guitar Hero and will not be included in Rock Band. How we’ll be able to purchase the content has not been decided yet, but Hudson is considering a subscription-based system where you’ll pay a monthly fee, allowing you to download as many songs as you please within that time period. I wouldn’t worry too much about slow downloads, as it will have its own server dedicated to hosting all the newly released content.

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In Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My life as King, 1500 Wii points will get you the basic package. If you like what you see, and find yourself wanting more, have no fear! Costing 100 and 300 points respectively, downloadable costumes (see side pic for pirate costume) and extra races will be available.

It’s hard to take a side on this news, considering we are getting more content, and the original package is no doubt cheaper. But where does it all take us? Will we be paying through the nose later on for the full game experience?

Siliconera

Even though many of us have our calendars marked for the North American WiiWare release date, many of us wouldn’t mind just taking a tiny peak at what the service has to offer beforehand. Actually, some of us wouldn’t even mind watching someone just download games. While the video shows some internet “lag,” I can only imagine that the WiiWare servers themselves are being bombarded by hordes of download requests from eager Wii customers.

YouTube
via QJ.net

Check your Wiis for the signature blue glow, and you will notice that Nintendo has sent us a memo informing us to download a new firmware update. What is interesting is that in the memo, Nintendo has informed us that this firmware update is needed for the WiiWare service that is going to go live in May.

Unfortunately this is the only information that is given about this firmware update at the moment.

Now here’s something you don’t see everyday: developers defending Nintendo’s online plans and pounding on Microsoft’s. Everyone loves Xbox Live Arcade, right? Apparently not.

“Nintendo has made it very clear to us that we’ll not only be making a better royalty rate from WiiWare games, but we’ll also have a better chance of selling games - the service won’t be clogged up with the retro titles that have blighted the chances of many independent studios on Xbox Live Arcade.”
– Anonymous WiiWare development studio boss

“Frankly, we’re not looking at making games for Xbox Live Arcade because the service is full of sh*t.”
– Another WiiWare developer

Nintendo must have a pretty stinkin’ awesome arrangement going to have evoked these kinds of comments from developers.

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With the new arrival of Final Fantasy Chrystal Chronicles: My Life as a King, Square Enix has decided to give away free desktop wallpapers. The wallpapers are available in two resolutions: 1024×768 and 1280×1024. For those of you that can’t wait for the title to hit the Wii Shop channel, you can stare at your desktop imagining life as a king. For those that can wait, well, maybe you’ll want to download it too.

Square-Enix
via Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles News

While many of us are patiently awaiting for Wii Ware to hit the Wii Shop Channel, this week’s issue Famistu has stated that the price for micro-transactions (downloadable content) will be 500 points.

While this might seem a little steep for some considering full Wii Ware titles can be purchased for 1000 points, it is reassuring that developers are taking the opportunity to provide this option. Let’s hope that Nintendo provides us with a storage solution soon!

QJ.net

This is no ordinary Space Invaders game, and is most certainly not what you’d expect in the continuation of the long-standing franchise. Space Invaders Get Even puts you in control of the alien invaders, up to 300 of them to be exact, in a war of revenge against those darned humans. No word yet as to whether the game is to be released as a WiiWare title or in full-fledged disc form. Check after the break for some telling screenshots of the game in action.

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As the above image shows, WiiWare is about to hit up Japan’s Wii’s soon. Naturally, right before a highly anticipated product or service launches, the hype begins to rise dramatically. Most of the time with a fair amount of prodding by the developer or company behind it.

Which leads us to our topic! 11 titles are to be released alongside the service, including: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King, Everyone’s Pokemon Channel, Dr. Mario WiiWare, Magnetica, Bomberman, StarSoldier R, Marubou Shikaku, Angels’ Solitaire, Okiraku Ping-Pong Wii, Joysound Wii, and Word Puzzle Mojipittan Wii. Hopefully we westerners can get the same treatment come May 12th.

Nintendo of Japan (translated)