Nintendo announced that the company will start distributing software development tools for the Wii U for free both in Japan and overseas.

Previously development software was granted only to development studios that paid a fee for its usage. Now not only the software will be free, but personal registration will be available to grant single programmers and small teams the possibility to easily work on the console.

The move has been announced in order to try and address the lack of games affecting the console, that is slowing down sales, and to bring "innovative games not tied to existing ideas" to the Wii U.