Ex-Naughty Dogs become WiiWare developers

Steel Penny Games, a Texas-based developer formed last year by Naughty Dog veterans Jason Hughes and Andrew Gilmour, has been accepted into Nintendo's WiiWare stable of developers.

The company spent the last year building a proprietary engine geared towards the Wii platform and is currently working on an original IP title to be released in mid-2008.

Hughes described Steel Penny's development strategy as "the modern equivalent of the garage method for an independent to gain a foothold in the industry - a unique opportunity WiiWare presents that we appreciate."

"I am impressed with the egalitarian approach Nintendo has taken toward WiiWare developers. It allows the risk burden to shift back onto the creative developers."

Nintendo revealed WiiWare - to be known as WiiSoftware in Europe - last June.

Although a specific launch date has not officially been confirmed, one developer pegged the release as taking place in March 2008.