It's 2:10 on the good ol' west coast, and I'm tired. Dog tired, boss. But here I am, delirious with fatigue, getting this post ready for you night owls and early-to-risers. Why? It's big news, that's why. Wii owners and those of us who shake our tiny fists at the heavens at every quick-and-dirty VC release will be pleased to know that tomorrow morning (or four to six hours from now, y'know, whatever), Nintendo will unveil WiiWare, downloadable games for the underdog console that would be king. Unlike the currently available Virtual Console line of emulated classic titles. WiiWare will be home to original games in an arrangement meant to rival Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network.

The scoop comes to us via Newsweek's N'Gai Croal who, with bated breath, had been strung along by Reggie and the gang since GDC concerning some big announcement for Nintendo's little white box. Indeed, this is big. The development of a strategy similar to Microsoft's wildly popular Xbox Live Arcade could be what puts the Wii's online strategy on the map, especially if the right crews hop on board to provide content. Big-name developers won't be the only ones contributing, though. From the article:

What's more interesting is that Nintendo isn't only seeking WiiWare from established publishers and developers like Ubisoft and Sega. At a Nintendo developer's conference earlier this week, the company informed attendees that it was seeking from indie developers as well. Shorter, original, more creative games from small teams with big ideas; these are the buzzwords that you'll be hearing from Nintendo when its Wednesday announcement goes wide.

As already evidenced by the wide variety of remote-heavy flash games playable via the Wii's web browser, there's plenty of room for creativity with the system, thanks in no small part to Nintendo's unconventional control scheme. With every developer and their dead grandmothers looking to catch the Wii's thunder, it's not unlikely that we'll be seeing plenty of unusual efforts in these shorter, original titles. Me? I'm hoping for Aquaria -- you hear that, Bit Blot? Make some calls, get things in motion. I'm sleepy and making irrational demands! Do it now!

We'll keep you posted when Nintendo's official announcement drops tomorrow (or later today, depending on your sleep schedule). 

[Update: The official Nintendo PR hit our inbox today, and there's not much there -- N'Gai pretty much hit everything right on the head. With no WiiWare hitting the Shop Channel until 2008, and with Nintendo not showing their hand right now, this still seems to exist simply as an idea. Let's hope we see something substantial at E3.

Hit the jump for the small poof which could have been a gigantic bang. - Nick]

Nintendo's WiiWare Paves The Way For Fresh Games, Cool Consumer Experiences
                                       
Nintendo Sets a New Paradigm: One Game Can Still Make a Difference

SANTA MONICA, Calif., June 27 /PRNewswire/ -- The search for the next ingeniously ground-breaking video game has begun. At a private developers conference this week, Nintendo announced the introduction of WiiWare(TM), a game-creation service that will allow developers large and small to create new downloadable video game content for sale by Nintendo through the Wii Shop Channel of the hot Wii(TM) home video game system. WiiWare paves the way for smaller, more creative games to make their way to the public at lower prices, without any inventory risk to developers. The first WiiWare content will launch in early 2008.
    
"Independent developers armed with small budgets and big ideas will be able to get their original games into the marketplace to see if we can find the next smash hit," says Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. "WiiWare brings new levels of creativity and value to the ever-growing population of Wii owners."
    
The possibilities for WiiWare are limited only by the imaginations of developers. WiiWare provides game creators a simple method by which they can get their games to the public. This approach, combined with the remarkable motion controls of the Wii Remote(TM) and Nunchuk(TM), will give birth to fresh takes on established genres, as well as original ideas that currently exist only in developers' minds. The reduced barriers to development provide developers the freedom to create and an inexpensive, clearly defined path to reach consumers who will ultimately determine which game will become the Next Big Thing.

WiiWare will be posted on the Wii Shop Channel. As with current Wii Shop Channel offerings, users will redeem Wii Points(TM) to download content. It will support a variety of pricing options. Details about that and upcoming projects will be announced at a later date. For more information about Wii, visit http://www.Wii.com.

The worldwide innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii(TM), Nintendo DS(TM), Game Boy(R) Advance and Nintendo GameCube(TM) systems. Since 1983, Nintendo has sold nearly 2.4 billion video games and more than 409 million hardware units globally, and has created industry icons like Mario(TM), Donkey Kong(R), Metroid(R), Zelda(TM) and Pokemon(R). 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 http://www.Nintendo.com.