Nintendo Company Ltd. is busy developing a “full blown app store” for its next home platform according to a secretive source of website, The Daily. The storefront would carry apps to be used in conjunction with the Wii U itself, as well as some made specifically for the U’s tablet controller.
The man on the inside went on to disclose that the store “will go far beyond” what is currently possible with the Wii and 3DS virtual shops. An app for MLB.TV was the lone example provided. It’s not hard to imagine a plethora of ways that they can expand things considering how scanty Nintendo’s current and past offerings have been in this realm, though.
No further details, such as naming or pricing strategies, were divulged. Nintendo President Satoru Iwata has come out strong against low-priced and free-to-play games in the past and specifically said that the Wii U will not have freemium titles available on it. Iwata-san has also condemned companies that concern themselves with the mobile gaming space and games that sell for just a few dollars as being responsible for devaluing quality games in the consumers’ eyes.
The publisher will be on hand at next week’s CES (January 10-12th) and has said that the Wii U will be playable on the show floor. It’s possible that we’ll hear something official about the supposed app store then, but there is of course no evidence that we will.
[Sources: The Daily and Develop-Online]