Nintendo has officially launched the WiiWare service in Japan today with nine titles available for download. The launch titles are priced from 500 to 1500 Wii points include Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, Plonpos, Dr. Mario, Star Soldier R and Pokemon Ranch, among other games.

The service is set to launch in the US on May 12 and in Europe, where it will be known as Wii Software, on an unspecified date.

In related news, the company also announced that Master System games from Sega will also be available on the Virtual Console service. These games will be the cheapest yet.