If you have been keeping up with recent Wii news, chances are you have heard of a little service that Nintendo is unleashing this month onto the U.S. called WiiWare. For those of you who haven't heard of it, it's this little service that will give developers the ability to create both games and applications for the Wii. These products are then made available to the user via the Wii Shop Channel. The selling point is that there are almost no restrictions and the developers own the property, not Nintendo. So as long as the developer follows the ESRB rating policies, any type of game or any type of Wii application can be made. This is a whole new world for Nintendo as well as a reason for some of us to dust off and start using our Wii again.

With WiiWare, it appears that some of these games and applications will utilize the currently growing online capabilities of the system. Examples of this is the remake of an old puzzle game named Dr. Mario Online RX and a brand new title Major League Eating: The Game. Major League Eating has been confirmed to have online, err, "battles" and from the title of the Dr. Mario game, I'm sure it is safe to assume that it will also have online battles. And this is just basic online abilities. With practically no restrictions, developers can add a slew of online features.

So what can this mean for Wii owners, as well as old Nintendo fans? This means that with the correct rights, a developer could possibly recreate games with online features and Wii specific controls. So for example, with the correct rights a developer could recreate GoldenEye 64 with online gameplay as well as Wii controls. Or maybe a Star Wars Episode I: Racer remake that has online races and leaderboards. Hey, if Digital Eclipse could remake the TMNT 1989 Arcade game despite needing several sets of rights, I'm sure any old Nintendo game could be brought to the Wii with new functionality.

And really, why shouldn't some be remade this way? The virtual console is great for a lot of games, since there is really no need to remake some of the old çlassics (I don't think I need Super Mario Bros. to have online play), but there are games that fans have been begging Nintendo to look into remaking with online play and other features. With WiiWare, the "straight port restriction" that seems to be tied to the virtual console (with exceptions to certain games; I'm looking at you Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream) will not be an issue and thus the possibility of remakes is much closer to reality, despite issues over rights ownership.

We can only hope that all this can become reality. The ability to do so is now available to the developers, but the only question is "Who will?" I'm eagerly looking forward to the future of WiiWare and I hope to see that some developer somewhere will consider this.

This week has been exceptionally rough. My stress level has gotten so high that I feel it mentally and physically. I don't think it has ever been so high. It is mostly due to the extremely high workload that has been placed on me. So many assignments due nearly at the same time, and no time to do them in. Losing sleep, high stress levels, and other things were basically beginning to destroy me. So for the sake of my own health, I had to make a decision: drop a class or not. I don't like doing this, but of course sometimes it must be done.

So the next question was a rather simple one: Which çlass do I drop? Unfortunately, it had to be Japanese, and this was a rather heavy decision. I love the language, the çlass the teacher, and my çlassmates. In fact it was extremely hard to talk to my teacher about it. I was obviously upset about the decision because I didn't want to drop it, and my teacher reflected this feeling when speaking to me, since the relationship between everyone in the çlass and the instructor was more of a friendship than a pupil-teacher. However, it is the only çlass that will not advance me in my major; it is more-or-less an interest çlass rather than required. This will free a great amount of time, because that çlass gives a very heavy workload. Still, it was a painful choice to make, but a wound that can and will heal better than had I stayed.

There is the option of taking the çlass next semester, but sadly it will not be with the same teacher. Still, it'll allow me to continue learning the language which is the ultimate goal of taking a language. I just wish I didn't have to make that choice. Oh well...

Here's to a brighter tomorrow.

Note: Using çlass because of the still messed up filter for posting entries.

What a crazy semester thus far. It actually feels completely backwards in some way. Usually I'm greatly focused on my studies and work as hard as possible, which usually pays off. Hasn't that way this semester. Also, where I was expecting to do well in Japanese like I did last semester, I am doing quite poorly right now. My guess as to why: last semester I worked myself well beyond my limits, and thus am still suffering from a mental fatigue that hasn't quite recovered (and not getting any better since I'm in the fray again), as well as life beating me upside the head with other things. It also leads to insomnia. This week I haven't really gotten much sleep, so right now the fact I am awake and somewhat conscious in the middle of statistics lecture is nothing short of a miracle. At least I'm making efforts through all of this to become more healthy. Playing racquetball with a friend of mine while trying to change some eating habits should bring about better health, which means a healthier mind.

To add to the craziness of it all, I keep finding out about random GS editors leaving. This is quite upsetting since all of them I am a fan of. Does that mean that I will leave GS too, as many have done in the wake of the "exodus" (as it is now being called by Joystiq)? No. Ricardo, Aaron, and Kevin are still around so I know I can still expect honest reviews. If they should leave, however, I will consider no longer coming here for reviews, though I may still come here for news. The most annoying aspect of this is that if I want reviews from Alex, Frank, Jeff, or Ryan, I have to find links from their blogs (or read them on their blogs) instead of coming to one, central location to find them all. I'm also going to miss the podcasts, which were often very funny and overall entertaining while informational. It is good to know that they aren't just quitting or leaving the industry all together. I suppose it's really hard to leave it when a large majority of your professional life goes into it. Overall, it is just unfortunate how all these events played out. Hopefully upper-management has learned something from all of this.

Furthermore, I still want to write some reviews, just haven't gotten around to doing so. So much I need/want to do, but so little time in a day to do so. I guess you could say in this case it is a good thing to be an insomniac. I get more hours in my day that way. Hopefully I will find some time over the course of the next few weeks to write a few reviews and maybe I'll eye the forums some more. I may even rant about the online demeanor of one of my roommates. I'll have to see.

A plus side to all of this is that I was able to reserve a copy of Super Smash Bros. Brawl a few months ago, and it's release is soon upon us in the States. I have been going to the site daily for about a year now taking in all the new information, and I am eagerly awaiting this game. It looks amazing on so many levels, and after reading an interview with the director of the game and Iwata-san, I have a greater respect for the game and its developers. It's really good to see them focusing on fun and longevity instead of recreating the wheel. It's what I aspire to be when I get my degree, and should I enter the industry. Time to get crackin' on those mod kits I suppose.

That's all I've got going in my mind at the moment, despite an extreme amount of exhaustion (made worse by the boredom I am feeling in this lecture). At least this has helped pass the time in here. Maybe I should make my stats lecture "blog time" instead and edit when I get back to my apartment for spelling/grammar errors...

...sounds like a plan to me. Until next time.