Member Avatar for timmyj97

I am new to game development and programming. I wanted to develop a very simple game for the WII game console. I am 11 years old and I do have some development software, I have visual studio 2008 professional. My question is how do you get the SDK’s for the WII system? I was able to get them for the xbox 360, but I cant seem to find them for the WII. If anyone could help me with this it would be greatly appreciated.

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Short answer: there are two practical paths — the official, licensed route through Nintendo, or the hobbyist/homebrew route that uses community toolchains and emulators. As noted, the official SDK and dev kits are distributed by Nintendo through their developer portal; start there if the goal is a commercial release. (developer.nintendo.com)

Official route (commercial releases): register on the Nintendo Developer Portal, complete the application, and follow their onboarding (agreements, platform-access requests and any required paperwork). Nintendo’s portal documents native C++ support and the account requirements (applicants must be of legal age, organizations can register, etc.). This is the legitimate way to get console dev tools and testing hardware. (developer.nintendo.com)

Hobbyist route (learning, prototyping, homebrew): the community toolchain devkitPro (libogc for GameCube/Wii) is the standard way to build native homebrew; it provides libraries, examples and a package system for the toolchain. Use the Dolphin emulator to test builds before trying them on hardware. Installing the Homebrew Channel and running unsigned code is technical and carries real risks (bricking, warranty voiding), and the homebrew ecosystem has had recent upheaval affecting available tooling and support — so factor that into any decision. (github.com)

Practical next steps and learning path (for beginners, echoing ): learn C++ fundamentals first (resources like LearnCpp are good), make small PC games or demos to understand game loops and input, then try compiling devkitPro examples and running them in Dolphin. Avoid piracy or attempts to run copied retail games; only run original code or software you legally own and be cautious when modifying consoles. (learncpp.com)

References above point to the official Nintendo developer site for the licensed path and to devkitPro, Wii homebrew documentation and Dolphin for community development and testing.

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Member Avatar for MattEvans

You need to represent a game company with development + release experience, and pay sums for a licence to get your hands on the official Wii SDK.

If you're talking about C# + XNA as being 'the Xbox360 SDK', you're a bit out, XNA is not the complete XBox360 SDK.

You can usually get dev-kits for last-gen consoles easier than you can current-gen i.e., today I can aquire a PS2 dev-kit easily, but not a PS3 dev-kit. ( Even this is probably legally 'shady' though; it's something of a back-of-the-shop affair ).

Member Avatar for CoolGamer48

Do you know any programming languages? Before using SDKs you're going to need some basic coding knowledge. C++ is probably what you should shoot for (if you've found XNA and used it, you would be using C#, Microsoft's variant of C++). Learn C++. Some people may say its too difficult to learn as a first language, but I learned it as my first real language, and it wasn't too bad.

Member Avatar for morrock

It doesn't look as though you can get the Wii SDK legally without a license, so MattEvans must be right. However, I have heard of people designing flash games to be played with the Wii's web browser. A quick search and http://wiioperasdk.com/ came up, that looks pretty promising if you still want to design for the Wii.

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