Acer is looking to purchase iGware, the company that supplies many online features to Nintendo Wii, DS, 3DS and, soon,
wii controller(presumably, given the history). The Taiwanese company has said it will chat to Nintendo, iGware’s biggest and “most important” customer, about future partnership and support with the acquisition.
The purchase is setting Acer back a cool US$320 Million – and they’re hoping to re-coup their costs by charging
Wii Wheel$30 Million a year for the cloud-blased services. It’s unclear how much Nintendo currently pay for the same deal. iGware has a long history with Nintendo, thanks in part to software designer Dr. Wei Yen who’s company ArtX designed the GameCube’s “Flipper” graphics processor before the company was sold to ATi.
Yen went on to found iKuni (now AiLive) who worked with Nintendo to develop software tools for developers making games for Wii. The company went on to co-develop the “Wii Remote” accessory, which is now included in every new Wii Remote sold and is necessary to play this year’s The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. The accessory basically makes it easy for developers to use Wii MotionPlus in their games.
Once Acer’s purchase has gone through, iGware will become known as “Acer Cloud Technology Co.” and will continue to provide cloud services. Nintendo have not yet made an announcement regarding the acquisition.