News: Happy birthday to you... Happy birthday to you... something about monkeys...
Nintendo has happily passed along the word that the WiiWare downloadable games service celebrated its first birthday on Tuesday. In the past 52 weeks, 81 games were added to the service, with more than half created by independant development houses with five or fewer employees.
The company also highlighted five major WiiWare releases that should be coming soon:
Cave Story from Nicalis, arguably the best-known indie game of all time. Cave Story takes players into a world where a race of rabbit-like creatures runs free on a serene island.
Icarian Kindred Spirits from Over the Top Games, where players control Nyx, an enigmatic winged girl, who must descend from heaven in search of her missing friend Icarus.
Super Meat Boy from Team Meat, an indie game in which players take the role of a cube of raw meat who must save his princess from the clutches of evil.
Bit.Trip Core from Aksys Games, the follow-up to the well-reviewed Bit.Trip Beat with a similar graphic style and rhythm component, but featuring a completely different retro game mechanic.
Final Fantasy IV: The After Years from Aquare-Enix, the long-awaited sequel to Final Fantasy IV that takes place over a series of nine episodes.