WiiWare

WiiWare was a digital media entertainment service operated by Nintendo that allowed the download of games and applications developed for the Wii video game console. These games and applications could only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii Shop Channel under the WiiWare section. Once the user had downloaded the game or application, it would appear in their Wii Menu or SD Card Menu as a new channel. WiiWare was a companion to the Virtual Console, which specializes in emulated games originally developed for other systems instead of original games.

WiiWare was promoted as an avenue for developers with small budgets to release innovative, original, and smaller-scale games without the cost and risk of creating a title to be sold at retail (akin to Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Store). The development kit cost around US$2000 and developers needed to be licensed with and approved by Nintendo. According to Nintendo, the "remarkable motion controls will give birth to fresh takes on established genres, as well as original ideas that currently exist only in developers' minds". Nintendo handled all pricing options for the downloadable games.