Nintendo Takes a Page From Apple and Steam With the Wii U eShop

Though the eShop may be suffering from launch woes, Frozenbyte has revealed to IGN Nintendo's startling decision to allow developers some flexibility in pricing and patching.

In stark contrast to Microsoft's XBLA (and Sony's PSN), developers can set their prices. While guidelines have to be followed, developers can also choose when and how to offer sales prices.

Equally important in light of recent issues including the plight of 'Fez' is the elimination of stiff fees for content updates. The time related for Nintendo to approve patches may stay the same, but the lack of a heavy fee should help indie developers be sure that their games work for all users.

Furthermore, instances of free content updates for the PC version of a game versus paid content on the 360 is something that the developer can control on the Wii U. The reason for the changes are simple, Nintendo looked at their experiences with WiiWare and the policies of Apple and Valve and elected to go away from "all of the old methods."

Source: IGN

See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.