According to the Nihon Keizai newspaper in Japan and as reported by Bloomberg news, Nintendo is offering 10 to 20 million yen (about $83,000 to $166,000) per small developer for trial versions of prospective games. If Nintendo is impressed with the demo, they may choose to fund the rest of the game.

This seeding process is similar to a program Microsoft is running in North America for its Xbox system. Nintendo also has a company in Japan called Marigul that is essentially a coalition of tiny developers (including Param, the crazy guys behind Doshin the Giant).

By encouraging new creative visions from these small companies, Nintendo hopes to find a gameplay concept with the potential to match Pokemon's success. Pokemon, or Pocket Monsters as it is officially named in Japan, was conceived by a very small start-up called GameFreak; the series has sold over 60 million units worldwide.

Nihon Keizai adds that one game has already been produced from the new program, and has been in full-scale development since August.

Thanks to GameCube Advanced for the tip.