I was with you until the end, when I become a bit disappointed. Sure, you could develop for an older hardware platform in order to get it distributed via emulator, but associating the SNES with the novel is problematic, as the SNES is a platform and the novel is a medium. Its more like saying "you should write books for the paper-back format", implying that doing so will circumvent 1st party publishing gates.

Here's a better alternative, slightly older but no where near as old: Flash 8. Thats right, Wii's Opera browser is compatable with Flash 7/8 according to the folks at Wiicade, an aggregator portal for Flash games that could work with the Wiimote's pointing. If you make a clever Flash game, which could take as little as one person over a weekend, you can post it on sites like Wiicade and get your free game freely distributed. There should be a nice boil of mechanical innovation along those lines.

The real excitement will come with a Flash 9 API to LiveMove, allowing high quality casual or serious games (I've recently blogged on the dynamic between the two, and how the distinction is transitive at best) to be produced in the 100k range. As it stands, you'd probably need 150 to 500k to produce games using the standard dev kit and channels.

Thanks for reporting that Nintendo is willing to listen. Its likely they'll be screening not for ideological content but for whether the proposed download-able title makes able use of the Wii-mote (since they're not funding, presumably, if they are they'll do the standard publisher ROI evaluation). If they recieve submissions for titles that don't take advantage of the home turf, they'll likely point the developer to XBLA or Sony's E-DI, or maybe even Manifesto games or PlayFirst, depending on the nature of the title. And by "they'll likely point" I mean they'll likely not even reply to a bulk of the inquiries and let the developers figure out an appropriate means to market on their own. The means are out there, however.

Also, I think you were falsely allusive when you said that interface innovation doesn't mean expressive innovation - sure, not nessecarily, but you should also connote that it does widen the design space considerably. For instance, you can use the Wiimote as the basis for a casual microgame that is nested in a serious macrogame.

But other than these two points, great article, glad you're writing the column.

Patrick -- I'll grant that the SNES:novel analogy inches toward a false one, but the novel is not a medium either; it's a literary form. Take the sonnet or the haiku if you prefer. These are literary forms too, constrained by formal properties like a computer platform. So, it's more like saying, "you should write sonnets." I probably should have used that comparison instead.

The Flash/Opera idea has some promise, but really I think most people will prefer to play web games on their PCs. I think we massively overestimate how difficult it will be to get people to use systems that aren't deeply hard-coded into the console. Maybe that will actually happen over time.

In any case, my main point is that developing new games on classic platforms is a valid and desirable creative practice, not just an easier way to get indie games out there. Flash is a platform too, with its own pros and cons. It's not a replacement for the NES.

On the last point, about interface innovation, I think I allow plenty of leeway for interface innovations in the argument. In fact I say much the same thing you do ("interface innovation does not lead automatically to expressive innovation.").

Thanks as always for reading!

Good!China toy games wholesale

First of all, why not include Gametap in this virtual console call to arms? I realize the overhead of working with Turner, but how different is it from working with Nintendo?

I really don't see Flash as the indie doorway to established consoles, although I've been on that bandwagon in the past. Simply put, when is it going to happen? I realize devs haven't really gotten their shot yet (last I checked, the psp still doesn't support Flash), but Flash Mobile is out there. It is a pain in the ass, but it is out there. Where is the flood of indie cellphone games? Also similar battle cries were issued when the porn industry released a few DVD-based games for X-Box and PS2. I never played any of those, but since the craze never caught on, I'm guessing embedding a lesser game expirience into a more advanced interface didn't pay dividends. I realize that Flash is much more powerful than DVD scripting, but still...

Finally, a point I think that is often missed with the virtual console is that this is far from new territory for Nintendo. I believe that the GCN was the first Nintendo/Famicom console that didn't have an online mode (most were Japan-only features). If memory serves, there is a 'lost' Zelda online-only episode for Famicom only.

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We've already been promised Reality and a Dolphin, so let's see what this Revolution has in store...

Dakota --

I think the difference between GameTap and previous Japan-only online modes is that the Virtual Console offers a channel to actually *sell* games, not just to distribute them. While an indie licensing arrangement from Turner is not out of the question, it is a strong exception to their current business model. Also, GameTap is a subscription service, which demands a different value proposition.