I think this research done by Ron Carmel, co-creator of World of Goo, shows that Wii/DS/3DS/Wii-U owners are kind of screwed when it comes to future indie developer games on Nintendo platforms, especially if you look at this graph.

Sure, his post is about developers migrating away from XBLA, but it goes on to show data that getting your game to market with Nintendo is extremely difficult (but still not as bad as with XBLA).

At least this might at least answer the question as to why there is still only one 3rd party eShop game available for the 3DS six months after the system launched.

Although they admit the “average iPhone/iPad gamer is more interested in pleasantly passing time than being intellectually engaged or challenged,” indie darlings and World of Goo creators 2D Boy view App Store games as the future of video games. At least the kind of games they make — really awesome and clever puzzle games. To whit:

World of Goo’s launch on iPad gave us a new perspective on that discussion. In the first month of sales on the iPad App Store, World of Goo sold 125k copies (thanks to being prominently featured by Apple). In comparison, World of Goo’s best 31 day period on WiiWare was 68k copies (thanks to a mass mailing by Nintendo), and on Steam it was 97k copies (thanks to two promotions at discounted prices). So far, the iPad version is by far the fastest selling version of the game, both in terms of number of units sold and in revenue generated.

What makes this even more amazing is that this is a two year old game released on a platform that is less than a year old. The iPad doesn’t have the benefit of an install base built up over several years.

In the short term, we still think that if an independent developer can get their game on a console it’s a safer bet than playing the App Store lottery, but one might wonder whether, in the long run, it even matters who wins the PSN / WiiWare / XBLA race.

Whatever happens, what this really means is that prices for video games, even Nintendo ones, must fall. When that happens, we all win, people!

Independent of platform, these are the best low-profile games this year, because I said so. What are your favorite hidden gems of 2008?

Only one in ten people playing World of Goo has actually paid for it.

Or so says 2D Boy’s Ron Carmel, a member of the two-man team responsible for the hit puzzler.

“Last we checked, the piracy rate was about 90 percent,” said Carmel in a Rock, Paper, Shotgun posting.

Joystiq contacted Carmel yesterday to confirm the piracy estimate, and he said the figure is “about right.”

“We’re doing okay, though. We’re getting good sales through WiiWare, Steam and our Web site. Not going bankrupt just yet.”

In good faith, 2D Boy released the PC and Mac versions of World of Goo without digital rights management, controversial software that aims to prevent piracy. The so-abbreviated DRM has been the focus of debate since the release of EA’s DRM-laden Spore in September.

World of Goo costs $15 on Wii through the Wii Shop Channel. It is available for PC and Mac users for $20 on 2D Boy’s official site.

European gamers, often unfairly overlooked by the games industry, have gotten want they wanted.

And all they had to do was ask.

World of Goo developer 2D Boy has announced the game will release in Europe via WiiWare for “most likely” the same $15 American price.

“Ever since we realized releasing World of Goo as a retail game in Europe is unfair to those on the other side of the Atlantic, we’ve been in discussions about how to make things right,” said 2D Boy’s Ron Carmel in a statement on the two-man team’s official site.

The physics-based puzzler was planned for a retail release in Europe, prompting vocal opposition from European gamers dismayed they’d be forced to pay a higher price for the game as a retail package. 2D Boy hopes to release the game in Europe “sometime in December.”

World of Goo released to WiiWare in October to universally positive acclaim. With an aggregate review score of 9.5, it is the second-best rated Wii game on Metacritic, trailing only Super Mario Galaxy.