Winds of Change

Ed Fear visits Frontier Developments to find out more about how those LostWinds came to blow again…

If you had asked people two years ago what they thought the star of the WiiWare launch line-up would be – or, more pertinently, who would be behind it – not many would have plumped for Frontier Developments and its LostWinds game.

It was the Cambridge-based group that, alongside Square Enix, provided real weight to the line-up. Both brands managed to prove on day one that the service wasn't just going to be home to lightweight experiences but for proper, retail-quality games. Internet forums and blogs lit up with praise for the innovative platformer, which used the Wiimote to mimic wind-based powers to help a boy explore the world. It even picked up a Develop Award last year, beating Heavenly Sword, Crysis and Overlord to win the Best New IP category.