Where did you first find out about Nintendo's WiiWare service for original downloadable games? Yep, right here on Level Up, where North American president Reggie Fils-Aime exclusively revealed the company's intention to create a way to allow developers of all sizes, from garage band programmers to corporate behemoths, to develop games for digital distribution. Well, here we go again, eight months later, with another scoop: the first Q&A with Nintendo that delves into specifics about the WiiWare service, which will debut in North America on May 12th. During a phone interview late last week with Frontier Developments founder David Braben about his WiiWare launch title LostWinds, Nintendo of America director of project development Tom Prata sat in on the call to answer any questions that went beyond Braben's purview. You can read that interview in its entirety here, but we'd like to include in this post a few of the things that Prata had to say about WiiWare. Excerpts:

On file size restrictions for WiiWare titles: We are encouraging developers to make a game that is more compact in nature, and not have to let's say compete on--as it relates to the very large volumes--filing up maybe lots of disk space like you would see in a conventional retail type of product. The reason for that is that we want the WiiWare development to be more cost effective and have low barriers to entry to allow the content creators to create with that type of risk.

On WiiWare's pricing structure: WiiWare, like Virtual Console will support a variety of different prices for the consumers in terms of Wii Points. So we'll have content that is--just like we do with Virtual Console--for let's say NES or Super Nintendo 64 at different price points.

On whether or not there will be downloadable WiiWare demos: The intention is that the creators will create the game and we'll make it available on WiiWare after it passes certification. But we really don't want to impose kind of too many restrictions on developers, or too many requirements. As an example, in many cases we don't want to say just because people can connect to the Internet that they have to make a multiplayer via the Internet version, or Wii Connect 24 modes, or take advantage of all the types of features that are available. The key for us is not to impose too many restrictions on the content creators and allow them to create the content that and the features that they think are more suitable to express their vision of the product. And creating demos or having demos as a requirement is a very costly type of endeavor, so it's not a requirement from Nintendo.

Note: Nintendo's PR agency, Golin Harris, followed up with the Level Up staff after the Q&A to add: "We do not intend to have a ‘try-before-you-buy’ model that requires developers to create expensive demos. Nintendo plans to provide information on games similar to what Nintendo in Japan is doing with the Everybody’s Nintendo Channel where creators can share information on their game directly to Wii consumers."

To read Nintendo's press release in its entirety, see below.

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NINTENDO REVEALS ITS NEXT ENGAGING EXPERIENCES

WiiWare, Wii Fit, Super Smash Bros. Brawl Shown at Game Developers Conference

REDMOND, Wash., Feb. 20, 2008 – The Game Developers Conference in San Francisco attracts the top creative minds in the video game industry. With that audience on hand, Nintendo announces news that reinforces its commitment to provide entertaining and enriching experiences for veteran and new gamers alike. WiiWare™, Nintendo's new downloadable game service, launches May 12 and expands development opportunities for developers the same way Wii™ expanded the world of video game players.

"We are excited to participate in the Game Developers Conference this year to share with developers and consumers alike our upcoming unique services and products," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. "We are hopeful that they will appreciate our offerings of WiiWare, Wii Fit and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which represent a trio that will continue to attract new players to the world of video games."

At the conference, Nintendo speakers will outline a number of plans for the coming months on their respective panels:

WiiWare: Nintendo's upcoming WiiWare changes the way both developers create and consumers access video games. Through WiiWare, Nintendo hopes to offer developers a virtual laboratory that serves as a breeding ground for new games, which encourages great ideas that creators always wanted to develop. The combination of low development barriers and unique game experiences found only on Wii should enable developers to try new ideas with lower risk in a quicker, more creative and affordable way.

Meanwhile Wii owners can download a multitude of cool new games from different genres, including some that are unprecedented, which can be purchased from home at a dynamic price range. WiiWare also empowers consumers to determine with their Wii Points which games have the right stuff to become the next big thing.

WiiWare will be a repository for all types of experiences – literally, something for everyone. Early WiiWare games will come from celebrated developers like Square Enix, which is creating FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: My Life as a King, a simulation game for all ages. Also watch for games from up-and-coming developers like Frontier with its fresh, enchanting platform adventure LostWinds and a new episodic game series from Telltale. The first U.S. WiiWare games will be available on May 12.

About Nintendo: The worldwide innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii™, Nintendo DS™, Game Boy® Advance and Nintendo GameCube™ systems. Since 1983, Nintendo has sold nearly 2.5 billion video games and more than 430 million hardware units globally, and has created industry icons like Mario™, Donkey Kong®, Metroid®, Zelda™ and Pokémon®. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, visit the company's Web site at www.nintendo.com.