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Avalanche (Just Cause) - Wii U dev kits collecting dust, Nintendo is hard to reach

I'm pretty sure most of us would agree that both next gen consoles will sold BETTER and have HIGHER install base than WiiU. Also historically speaking consoles form Sony and MS have better 3rd party game sales.

nintendo on the other hand, have this stigma that 'only nintendo games selling on nintendo'. Which is true.

Re: the italic part. That isn't as true as people want to believe. In fact, I could list a host of titles which performed better on Nintendo consoles, where Nintendo consoles had the highest sale - user base ratio, or sold as well on their systems as the others, or which failed on PS360 consoles.

Re: the bolded part. Are you sure you want to go there? It isn't true, it's bullshit.

There are no guarantees in the industry as every title ever released is a risk, regardless of platform. So, no, I don't agree with the sentiments expressed in this post.
 

Mit-

Member
This thread is a neverending cycle of new people coming in with the same kindergarten rebuttals thinking they've foiled an entire corporation's business plan with a single sentence.

YA WELL PS4/720 HAVE 0 INSTALL BASE SO UR DUMB

They're also expected to not sell like shit. The Wii U already came out, and has been selling like shit, and no one is excited about it. Hardcore games aren't selling well on it. It doesn't appear to be selling to hardcore gamers. Its outlook is not good.

Not to mention developers want to make actual next-gen games. Next-gen games for next-gen systems that are expected to do at least as well as their previous iterations (unlike Wii U), and have a market that primarily consists of hardcore gamers (again, unlike Wii U).
 
The funny part is XBox barely beat it even with all the money Microsoft dumped into moneyhatting games and starting studios.

Xbox started from absolute scratch, launching against 2 monsters. It was even originally Dreamcast based

In hindsight, it wasn't a HUGE investment for a successful 20-year+ business
 
Tried to improve the translation from google, is this better?
As for Nintendo's Wii U console, it is not particularly enthusiasm to track with the Swedish trio we met in conjunction with the Game Developers Conference.
- It's a bit sad
Avalanche has no plans for Wii U, they say bluntly.

- No. Not at the moment. My kids play "Skylanders Giants" on Wii U. It's pretty much the only dealings I have with the console, says Christofer Sundberg, founder of the studio.

- We actually had some development kits that just collected dust. It's a little sad, because we wanted to do something. I think it is a cool platform, but right now it's not just up to us. We want the game to reach as many as possible.

- Is it that there are too few Wii U owners?

- Yes, it actually is, says Sundberg to PressFire

[...]
- Nintendo difficult to obtain
User base is therefore too small to Avalanche will take the risk of making a game for the Wii U. There are several examples of this kind of skepticism among developers.
[...]
Christofer Sundberg talks about some of the challenges they have had in trying to achieve cooperation. It is not only the number of console owners which give them little appetite:

- Nintendo have from our point of view has always been difficult to reach. You never quite know who to contact. Now, however, we have managed to get through, via the publisher we’re work with.

- I think Nintendo has a lot to gain by taking the same path as Sony, by reaching out a hand to the developers to get more on board, says Sundberg.

- If it happened, developers would be more enthusiastic, and perhaps wanting to make something cool and good. In Nintendo's case, it could be the use of GamePad controller for the Wii U.
 
Beat me to it.

EA get so much shit for the same thing. Except they are only doing what every other developer in the world is doing right now. Nintendo arent even getting current gen ports, why blame EA for not making Next gen ones.
Exactly. Instead of blaming the system's failure on the company that released a gimped console with no games on the horizon, some fans prefer to take their anger out on third parties, as if they're the culprit here. Why would any third party release a game on a system with such a small user base, many of whom will only buy Nintendo games? It doesn't make sense.

The WiiU's mindshare is dead. Just as the GameCube was labeled a kiddy console early, the WiiU is labeled as a weak system with no games. Releasing some games will fix that to a degree, but let's not kid ourselves: the GC had Mario, Zelda, Smash Bros, etc and still bombed. And considering the folks who made WiiFit big are long gone now (playing iOS games, social media games, etc), the WiiU's base will pretty much be Nintendo fans and some kids, like the GC.

Nintendo could have completely changed their image if they handled the launch correctly. They had a nice window to own the market until the PS4/Xbox arrival, to get a head start, build a user base (including an online gaming presence). IE give developers a reason to continue releasing worthwhile ports on the system in late 2013 and beyond due to a solid, growing userbase. That opportunity is gone.
 
Nintendo should have consulted with third parties to see what they wanted, so Nintendo can somewhat accommodate their demands. Nintendo of course like any other company looking for their own interests. But talking and somewhat accommodating third party demands, like more powerful CPU and bigger memory, not to expensive but modern tech, third parties then won´t have much excuse to ignore them. But Nintendo does not give a shit about third parties, since they built the WiiU for their own studios to develop.

Come on guys, there is always a prejudice against Nintendo. If they made an ultra powerful console, sold it for $99 and offered you a puppy with every purchase, developers would still not get on board.

You cannot say that there isn't an anti-Nintendo feeling in the western game-development world

This persecution complex is always funny.
 

Haunted

Member
I can't keep up with all these developers shitting on WiiU! Might be time for a catch-all "third parties snubbing WiiU" thread. :eek:
 

Kimawolf

Member
This thread is a neverending cycle of new people coming in with the same kindergarten rebuttals thinking they've foiled an entire corporation's business plan with a single sentence.

YA WELL PS4/720 HAVE 0 INSTALL BASE SO UR DUMB

They're also expected to not sell like shit. The Wii U already came out, and has been selling like shit, and no one is excited about it. Hardcore games aren't selling well on it. It doesn't appear to be selling to hardcore gamers. Its outlook is not good.

Not to mention developers want to make actual next-gen games. Next-gen games for next-gen systems that are expected to do at least as well as their previous iterations (unlike Wii U), and have a market that primarily consists of hardcore gamers (again, unlike Wii U).

lol umm.. what industry have you been watching where this "hardcore" gamer supports anything? Last generation survived on the back of the most casual console there was, and once it died out, lo and behold studios began closing shop and laying off constantly, but suure the hardcore will definitely be able to support the even higher budget games, on only two consoles no less, no problem.
 
I get that Nintendo didn't want to stack the launch with first party games and scare everyone away, I get that, but no third party is going to touch the console as is, and it's Nintendo's responsibility to drive the hardware sales, not theirs.
 

Shahadan

Member
This persecution complex is always funny.

Gamecube, cheap and powerful : no support
Wii, sold bajillions : no support.
Even the n64 which was the most powerful at the time had little support.

You have to admit something is amiss. Even completeley new things like PS1 and Xbox 1 had better support from the start.

Yamauchi considered third parties like slaves and took a lot of royalties, and playstation came. After that if we believe what we're told Iwata tried to repair relationships and talked a lot with third parties.
Apparently wii u got a boost in ram because they asked it. Also Ea "unprecedented partnership". There wasa lot of talk about discussions with third parties before the Wii u was even unveiled.
3DS got region locked by third parties demand and launch was supposed to be left to them. They didn't do shit and aren't still doing much.

I don't think Wii U launch was supposed to be the same however, and Nintendo failed to capitalize on their headstart. But at every Nintendo platform launch we have a nice reel with big names from third parties and then nothing.
 

Anth0ny

Member
I dream of the day where Nintendo has a press conference announcing their new home console that has me nodding in approval throughout the entire thing.
and not silently weeping, as was the case at E3 2011 and 2012
It happened with Sony's press conference this last February.

I hope Nintendo takes some notes, and the PS4 is a great success.

Gamecube, cheap and powerful : no support
Wii, sold bajillions : no support.
Even the n64 which was the most powerful at the time had little support.

You have to admit something is amiss. Even completeley new things like PS1 and Xbox 1 had better support from the start.

Yamauchi considered third parties like slaves and took a lot of royalties, and playstation came. After that if we believe what we're told Iwata tried to repair relationships and talked a lot with third parties.
Apparently wii u got a boost in ram because they asked it. Also Ea "unprecedented partnership". There wasa lot of talk about discussions with third parties before the Wii u was even unveiled.
3DS got region locked by third parties demand and launch was supposed to be left to them. They didn't do shit and aren't still doing much.

I don't think Wii U launch was supposed to be the same however, and Nintendo failed to capitalize on their headstart. But at every Nintendo platform launch we have a nice reel with big names from third parties and then nothing.

N64 and Gamecube had decent third party support, in an era where third party exclusives were still a thing. You could bet that if they released a Gamecube today (i.e, a console with power on par with the other two), it would get every major third party game.

Also...

N64 had cartridges. Third parties didn't want to pay for that shit.

Gamecube had mini discs and a controller with not enough buttons. Third parties didn't want to work around that shit.

Wii had shit graphics and a motion controller. Third parties didn't want to deal with that shit, despite the astronomical sales of the console.

Wii U has shit graphics and a weird controller.

Nintendo has never really treated third parties right. As it says in the OP, they should really go with the Sony strategy. They ALWAYS do their own thing, and while it payed off for them with the Wii, it's biting them in the ass with the Wii U. I can't imagine a single dev wanted to work with an underpowered console and a controller with a screen.
 

jmood88

Member
So at what point do Nintendo fans start to blame Nintendo for their situation? Every time a developer comes out with reasons for why they aren't developing for the Wii U, it's always the developer is "lying" or "making excuses".
 
Yeah, that's true. Just seems to be a weird situation in Europe. Really impossible to tell without getting some more details from other European developers, both small and large.



It's a little more complex than that. All platforms are a gamble, including new ones. If developers wanted to make the safest bet they'd not bother releasing anything on a new platform.

With the case of PS4/X720 and Wii U, publishers may be gambling on the former harder than the latter, simply because they project their success as greater. The perceived power gap between the systems may also make building primarily PS4/X720 games difficult to port down to the Wii U (obviously not counting cross generation titles). And finally, software attachment rates need to be considered. The PS4/X720 have no market penetration at all, but that's exactly what makes them a fresh gamble. The Wii U does, and it's crappy, meanwhile software attachment rates are apparently low.

At the moment it's probably not very appealing to publishers, publishers who are in the middle of dealing with high gambles and expenses of a two more soon-to-launch platforms.
I would argue that publishers gamble on the PS4/Durango because they have a similar demographic. Target audience for the PS4/Durango are the same ones that most publishers are trying to get. Nintendo´s demographic is different than what most publishers are going for, and therefor no support. Add to that that Nintendo did not talk/negotiate with third parties about the WiiU hardware.
 

Shahadan

Member
I dream of the day where Nintendo has a press conference announcing their new home console that has me nodding in approval throughout the entire thing.
and not silently weeping, as was the case at E3 2011 and 2012
It happened with Sony's press conference this last February.

I hope Nintendo takes some notes, and the PS4 is a great success.

Well to be fair ps4 is a great success because they didn't tell much about it, except for the architecture and philosophy, which are a good thing.
Other than that and the RAM craze it created (lol) they didn't show much and left out things that can get pretty ugly real fast like price, the box itself, and what games exactly will come out in the launch window.


Regarding the rest of your post, cartidges, kiddy and casual and graphics and lack of buttons (lol) are juste excuses third party gave. the Wii concept itself comes from the lack of third party support GC and 64 had, which lead to nintendo doing "their own thing".
 

Gori

Member
Wow people still beliving this? No, it isn't. It's all about the slow sales of the machine + the lack of consumer interest showed by the bad sales of the launch ports.

Still believe what? That they fucked up and made a console that is hard to port to, or that they seem to not handle developer relations even nearly as good as the other big two?
 

D-e-f-

Banned
Gotta say, 'saying awful things' got a proper belly laugh out of me. Cheers, chap.

I was referring to something very specific from another thread. Wasn't funny at all.

So at what point do Nintendo fans start to blame Nintendo for their situation? Every time a developer comes out with reasons for why they aren't developing for the Wii U, it's always the developer is "lying" or "making excuses".

See, thing is I don't see many people claiming Nintendo is NOT at fault for any of what's happening. It's just that I see a great deal of people acting like it's ONLY Nintendo's fault.
 

Dunlop

Member
Nintendo should have consulted with third parties to see what they wanted

Historically Nintendo will not do this above and beyond the minimum. The problem with the Wii-U is they sold it like they had.

I own a Wii-U and hope Nintendo falls on it's face and changes the sell cheap hardware and live off of the bank of their first party titles, everyone else be damned.

They are so far behind MS and Sony while there is no reason as they just sit on all their profits.

Of course I am someone who wants them do go third party, so feel free to disregard :p
 
Well to be fair ps4 is a great success because they didn't tell much about it, except for the architecture and philosophy, which are a good thing.
Other than that and the RAM craze it created (lol) they didn't show much and left out things that can get pretty ugly real fast like price, the box itself, and what games exactly will come out in the launch window.

Because Nintendo were totally forthcoming about all that stuff with the Wii U, right?
 
Basically Nintendo needs to bypass discussions with publishers, speak directly to developers. I think it has more to do with communication on the development side. Say they decide to try an get the game running on WiiU, the team runs into some issues during optimization. Now assuming the port was quick, it still needs work and documents are lacking. So Avalanche tries to contact Nintendo for more detailed documentation, while trying to avoid going through the games publisher.
 

onipex

Member
This thread is a neverending cycle of new people coming in with the same kindergarten rebuttals

Its really coming from both sides. Same crap in just about every Wii U thread. One side thinks the developer is full of shit and other side think Nintendo is full of shit. I think they both are.

Nintendo could have done a lot more to get more developers on board. At the same time these same developers ignored Nintendo's best selling hardware ever so there is little chance they would bother to support their new console no matter how it sold.
 

Shahadan

Member
One side thinks the developer is full of shit and other side think Nintendo is full of shit. I think they both are.

Nintendo could have done a lot more to get more developers on board. At the same time these same developers ignored Nintendo's best selling hardware ever so there is little chance they would bother to support their new console no matter how it sold.

Thank you, reasonable person.
 

jmood88

Member
Other studios - the few who actually have stuff in the works - seem to have no problem contacting Nintendo. Heck, even Indies have spoken about the ongoing contact/support they've been getting.

Of course, that's not to say their claims have no merit - there's a lot more Nintendo could and should be doing. Yes, things do tend to gather dust when you don't use them. Still, once we cut through the convenient excuses/complaints - however valid they may be - not supporting Wii U is the real story, and it's their (business) decision at the end of the day.
I don't understand why every reason they give is an "excuse". They are talking about why they aren't supporting the system and those are their reasons.

Why is it so hard for 3rd-party to just state it plainly? "Wii U is a financial risk we aren't willing to take." The multitude of excuses is a weariness. Are they afraid they'll ruin their relationship with Nintendo? The one they never had? Are they hoping not to burn bridges, in the event that Wii U sales pick back up? Is it better PR toward a few disappointed fans? IDK, just thinking aloud.

article at the beginning of the thread said:
User base is therefore too small to Avalanche will take the risk of making a game for the Wii U.
 
Because someone talked about it first and I had something to say about it? You people are tiring.

But the person you were replying to was highlighting the contrast between Sony and Nintendo's console unveilings. By all means you could say why you thought Sony's unveiling was actually shit, but if the reason is something Nintendo are much more guilty of, why would you expect not to be called on it?
 

andthebeatgoeson

Junior Member
I agree with many things he said. They could easily take pointers from reaching out to devs and imitating PS+. Doesn't have to be many things but a unified login on VC games would be helpful. If you bought it in the last two generations, it should be easy to transfer between devices (DS, 3DS, Wii and Wii U).

It's a thank you. I'm talking about VC games. Games that should be easy to replicate. NES, SNES and N64 games should be easy to get working on all 4 of those devices. And if you already bought it, you shouldn't have to buy anything again. I felt like a tool spending $1.50 on SMW when I already have it on Wii and transferred it to Wii U. But I want my kids to play good games. And I have $8 on my account. But, I'm not gonna buy a lot more. I guess they believe many will feel the same. But it's a gesture. A well intended gesture in light of their sales. It seems like a lot of people would love to play these games and they shouldn't worry about making pennies. Get people in the door and they will buy some other games. But this gesture would make a few people consider the 3DS and Wii U as indispensible.

In terms of reaching out to devs, we have to take their word for it at face value. I'm leery of comments like this but it keeps coming up. Just get a team out there in each region to make relationships and help these guys out. They need games and can't depend on generation-defining (or once in a lifetime) mechanics to bail their ass out each time (motion).
 

Haunted

Member
I get that Nintendo didn't want to stack the launch with first party games and scare everyone away, I get that, but no third party is going to touch the console as is, and it's Nintendo's responsibility to drive the hardware sales, not theirs.
And they will, and third parties will say "look at the sales! only Nintendo games sell on the thing".


Its really coming from both sides. Same crap in just about every Wii U thread. One side thinks the developer is full of shit and other side think Nintendo is full of shit. I think they both are.

Nintendo could have done a lot more to get more developers on board. At the same time these same developers ignored Nintendo's best selling hardware ever so there is little chance they would bother to support their new console no matter how it sold.
Well, such a compromising approach only works to avoid debate and discussion if you think the blame truly lies 50% with each side. Most people think that's not the case.
 

Sendou

Member
So what is stopping them from making a game for the thing? Because they are working on PS4/ Nextbox games which have a big ole 0 install base. Gotta start somewhere I suppose.

Don't forget PC which has an install base of like 1 billion or something.
 

Shahadan

Member
But the person you were replying to was drawing comparisons between Sony and Nintendo's console unveilings. By all means you could say why you thought Sony's unveiling was actually shit, but if the reason is something Nintendo are much more guilty of, why would you expect not to be called on it?

I didn't say it was shit and I didn't say Wii U's launch/unveiling has been good (I even said the opposite) but whatever.
 

CamHostage

Member
Ah, that sucks, Just Cause 3 (assuming it's another one of those cross-generation releases) would have been a perfect long-form game to tide over for a long time those who have been missing chaos and violence on Wii U, and these guys have the kind of amazing engine that would have done the system good even with the next generation slamming in.
 

AOC83

Banned
Gamecube, cheap and powerful : no support

Sold like shit, had a special format and probably a far worse third party software ratio than the Box. Third Party support was leagues ahead of what the WiiU gets nonetheless.

Wii, sold bajillions : no support.
The Wii had support, maybe not the support you like but still.


Even the n64 which was the most powerful at the time had little support.

Had cartridges, sold considerably worse than the PSX and the PSX was far easier to develop for as far as i remember. Porting wasn´t easy because of the format.
 

Jonm1010

Banned
So you'd really want a third, near identical, system? How exactly would that sell?

You said games sell consoles earlier? No?

Clearly the industry is receptive and actively moving toward a more unified development standard for next gen. Consoles and pcs are similar in architecture and consoles are similar in power. Which helps reduce the intensive labor costs needed for next gen consoles. Online infastructure is robust and feature rich and growing the social community aspect of that area is clearly a focus all around.

Nintendo is once again on the outside of the playground, playing alone and being anti-social. They put out a console with poor architecture, that's difficult to develop for, underpowered, with middling online capabilities, gimmicky controls that add little to the experience and poor software lineup. They are, like they have been for generations now, the odd kid in school that is always trying to be different and ignore the trends around them only to every now and then capture the attention of someone with one of their weird ideas, but only temporarily. Which would be fine but they need a following if they want to survive.

And now, for one reason or another, they have a low attach rate and a low install base.

At least with an x86 based system they could make the case to developers that porting wouldn't be as difficult as it could of been but instead they have an architecture that isn't quite ps360 and isn't ps4/720. And it's looking like the opportunity cost are too great to waste resources on the wiiU and despite what you say only Nintendo is to blame for the mess they are in.
 
Sold like shit, had a special format and probably a far worse third party software ratio than the Box. Third Party support was leagues ahead of what the WiiU gets nonetheless.


The Wii had support, maybe not the support you like but still.




Had cartridges, sold considerably worse than the PSX and the PSX was far easier to develop for as far as i remember. Porting wasn´t easy because of the format.

Yep
 

Shahadan

Member
Sold like shit, had a special format and probably a far worse third party software ratio than the Box. Third Party support was leagues ahead of what the WiiU gets nonetheless.


The Wii had support, maybe not the support you like but still.




Had cartridges, sold considerably worse than the PSX and the PSX was far easier to develop for as far as i remember. Porting wasn´t easy because of the format.

"Sold like shit" is a consequence. Except for Capcom and Capcom 5 there wasn't many things exclusive from third parties, even before the GC started to sell like shit, and the ports stopped coming real fast. "kiddy console", remember" But yeah it had a better support than Wii U, that's not saying much though.
Wii had mostly rushed shovelware and only from a few third parties, are we now saying it had support?
 

Jonm1010

Banned
Leagues ahead?

I don't think so.
Leagues ahead is damn right. Despite the gamecube missteps with disc format that ignored the growing trend of DVD's(many people bought ps2's simply because they could play DVD movies as well), a launch lineup that appealed mostly to kids, the console looking like a child's toy- adding to its kiddie image - and its poor western third party communication coupled with the legacy rift that came from N64 with their cartridges and difficult architecture, the gamecube saw pretty much every single cross platform game come to their system.

The wiiU on the other hand is facing the possibility of missing out on most EA yearly franchises and looks to be struggling with courting every other major franchise as well.

That's a hell of a change.
 
You said games sell consoles earlier? No?

Clearly the industry is receptive and actively moving toward a more unified development standard for next gen. Consoles and pcs are similar in architecture and consoles are similar in power. Which helps reduce the intensive labor costs needed for next gen consoles. Online infastructure is robust and feature rich and growing the social community aspect of that area is clearly a focus all around.

Nintendo is once again on the outside of the playground, playing alone and being anti-social. They put out a console with poor architecture, that's difficult to develop for, underpowered, with middling online capabilities, gimmicky controls that add little to the experience and poor software lineup. They are, like they have been for generations now, the odd kid in school that is always trying to be different and ignore the trends around them only to every now and then capture the attention of someone with one of their weird ideas, but only temporarily. Which would be fine but they need a following if they want to survive.

And now, for one reason or another, they have a low attach rate and a low install base.

At least with an x86 based system they could make the case to developers that porting wouldn't be as difficult as it could of been but instead they have an architecture that isn't quite ps360 and isn't ps4/720. And it's looking like the opportunity cost are too great to waste resources on the wiiU and despite what you say only Nintendo is to blame for the mess they are in.

Good post. There are plenty of ways to differentiate yourself from the competition outside of architecture and controller type. The Share integration of the PS4 is big deal and having everything natively support remote play is another big differentiation. Those are things that differentiate the console but have no effect on developers. Nintendo has spent nearly two decades doing everything in their power to be different in all the wrong ways. Controllers without enough inputs, a storage media that is behind others, and generally cutting corners in every way possible (poor internet integration, movie playback, no unified account, and even not supporting Dolby Digital!!!). There is absolutely no way Nintendo has been communicating with 3rd parties and involving them in this process, so why should 3rd parties bother?
 

DashReindeer

Lead Community Manager, Outpost Games
Tried to improve the translation from google, is this better?

- Nintendo have from our point of view has always been difficult to reach. You never quite know who to contact. Now, however, we have managed to get through, via the publisher we’re work with.

I guess I haven't been following the whole discussion here, but it seems like this cleaned-up translation actually points to the fact that Nintendo is getting easier to contact? I mean, unless I am interpreting this incorrectly, in the past Avalanche felt it was hard to contact Nintendo, but that now they are in contact.

I dunno, this surely isn't good news for the Wii U, but it's not unexpected either. Avalanche seems pretty straightforwardly stating that the userbase just isn't there to support a game, so they hadn't been working on anything yet, but that now they are in contact with Nintendo. The onus is now on Nintendo to prove to Avalanche that it's worth developing there. Nintendo really has its fucking work cut out for it across the board, but this is hardly mindshattering information.
 
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