Amazon.com is now selling WiiWare codes, the online retail giant’s second big step into the realm of digital distribution.
Wii owners will be able to purchase codes from Amazon which can then be entered into the Wiiware Shop Channel, launching the download of the game. The system is similar to Amazon’s Xbox Live Arcade trial program, announced by the retailer earlier in April, in which customers buy codes from Amazon and then use them to download games from XBLA.
And also like that system, there doesn’t appear to be any financial incentive to buy the codes through Amazon rather than getting the games directly via WiiWare. The first game on offer, the critically-acclaimed World of Goo, is normally available for 1500 Nintendo points, which translates to $15 in real money; the World of Goo code on Amazon sells for $14.99.
Unfortunately for Wii owners outside the U.S., Amazon says it currently has no plans to expand the program beyond the country’s borders. The virtually identical pricing takes much of the sting out of that news, although the opportunity to trade in your old games for new WiiWare stuff via Amazon’s trade-in program is certainly intriguing.
Source: Casualgaming
Published: Apr 22, 2009 04:42 pm