It was revealed by Famitsu and a thorough translation by N-Sider reader Samer that the Nintendo Game Seminar is resulting in not only educated students but also demos for the Nintendo DS. Games made by the students attending the Seminar will soon be available for download by shop goers in Japan via the DS Download Service. There were four carefully selected games, the first of which will appear on April 13.
Apr 13 - Apr 24: Nekosogi Toruneedo (Nekosogi Tornado)
Apr 27 - May 10: KuruKeshi (Rotate and Erase)
May 11 - May 24: bioum (Abrv. of 'bioform birth')
May 25 - Jun 07: Chii to Fuu no Oishii Ehon (Chii and Fuu's Delicious Picturebook)
» Nekosogi Tornado
A shooting game where you touch various objects in the town streets and fling them on enemies approaching from the sky.
» KuruKeshi
Puzzle game. Touch triangles made by linked stars and rotate them to create matching colour triangles which are then erased along with the links inside them.
» bioum
Things drawn by you become living creatures (Bio's). Bios multiply inside your DS and create an ecosystem.
» Chii and Fuu's Delicious Picturebook
A picture book you can play around with. Control two mice, collect ingredients and make a pancake.
In March, Nintendo announced it would kick off its third annual Nintendo Game Seminar, which provides incite into the game industry to hopeful men and women trying to get a foot in the door. The seminar is held in Nintendo's Tokyo office. In a ten-month time span, students receive intimate hands-on knowledge of what goes into video game development. This includes classes on design, programming and sound for a platform such as the Nintendo DS. Applications must be received by May 8. Only 40 students will be selected after an additional examination and interview.
The fact Nintendo is offering this type of user-created content on the Nintendo DS, bodes well for the future of that platform as well as Nintendo's Virtual Console service for the Nintendo Revolution. Unfortunately there's currently no word on whether or not these software demonstrations will make it outside Japan.