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Animales de la Muerte is still alive [Now On XBLA/PSN/Steam Instead]

T

TheUnknownForce

Member
...but not on Wii.

Although it was originally planned for WiiWare, Animales de la Muerte is now being prepped for Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and Steam.

"It could very well be for WiiWare, as well," Nofsinger told us. "We did some WiiWare stuff ( Gyrostarr, High Voltage Hot Rod Show) and it did okay. We didn't lose money on any of that. But I would say it wasn't encouraging enough that we would be doing a ton of stuff [on WiiWare]."
Click to expand...

http://wii.ign.com/articles/114/1146741p1.html

They are working on this after Conduit 2, probably also shopping for their 3DS title (which is apparently teased on IGN's podcast) and The Grinder.

I doubt they could have fit the game on WiiWare anyways. They seemed to want to make this a real voice-heavy game. Still, they are not removing the possibility for a WiiWare release...then again, they have not made a WiiWare release in years. I'm guessing it just wasn't as profitable for them as it could have been.
 
D

donny2112

Member
Super Meat Boy-redux, I guess. Probably would've bought it on WiiWare, but that was thrown out due to space limitations. Probably would not buy it on disk for $30. If it's particularly compelling, may pick it up on XBLA, but kind of doubtful there, too.

Edit:
Still planning on getting The Grinder for Wii, if it's the game originally planned for. Probably not at its launch, though.
 
Davey Cakes

Davey Cakes

Member
Their two previous WiiWare games were mediocre at best. I know that WiiWare doesn't always seem like the place to make a decent buck, but you have to at least put a high-grade game on there and see it fail before you can truly write it off.
 
F

Forkball

Member
I think Nintendo really dropped the ball with WiiWare and the Virtual Console. I never felt like they pushed it that much and seemed to make putting titles on it a pain in the ass for developers.
 
D

donny2112

Member
Forkball said:
I think Nintendo really dropped the ball with WiiWare and the Virtual Console.
Click to expand...

They consider that ship long sailed. It been in coasting mode for a long time now just waiting for the next generation console/handheld to come out and try to fix most of the problems with the current service.
 
Davey Cakes

Davey Cakes

Member
High Voltage's games, in ANY capacity, require a lot of word-of-mouth to get any exposure and to generate any hype. The Conduit did alright but without the IGN push, who knows? I don't think WiiWare (or any DL service for that matter) would be the source of the problem when it comes to lackluster sales. That's more to do with how compelling the content is.

Then again, I don't pay strict attention to sales figures. How do middle-of-the-road titles perform on download services, typically?
 
R

Rush2thestart

Member
Disappointing to say the least. The IR pointing wouldve been absolutely PERFECT for this type of game. *sigh*

Oh well, will still buy. I LOVE the concept.

I really hope they find a publisher for The Grinder too, as unlikely as that sounds. The game looked and sounded way more appealing than The Conduit, or even Conduit 2. Well, at least the FPS Wii version.

Yeah I know... "shovelware" developers. I do admire their passion and how much they listen to their fans, so I'm just a tad more optimistic for their upcoming games.
 
A

A Human Becoming

More than a Member
Forkball said:
I think Nintendo really dropped the ball with WiiWare and the Virtual Console. I never felt like they pushed it that much and seemed to make putting titles on it a pain in the ass for developers.
Click to expand...

They seem to be trying to change this with the eShop, but we won't truly know until the 3DS has been out a full year.
 
I

I AM JOHN!

Banned
As screwed up as everything Wiiware is, the game never looked that great to begin with. I can't imagine it doing all that well on any platform.

Then again, I feel like I've been saying this about every High Voltage game since Hunter the Reckoning. Talk about a bummer.
 
D

DDayton

(more a nerd than a geek)
"It could very well be for WiiWare, as well," Nofsinger told us. "We did some WiiWare stuff ( Gyrostarr, High Voltage Hot Rod Show) and it did okay. We didn't lose money on any of that. But I would say it wasn't encouraging enough that we would be doing a ton of stuff [on WiiWare]."
Click to expand...

I find it hard to understand how a unique, quirky looking game's potential sales can be properly judged by the relative failure of two "basic" looking racing games.
 
D

Drkirby

Corporate Apologist
It is going to take something major to revive Wiiware this gen, I will be honest and that I dred getting anything on the service these days.

I don't know what is up with the Virtual Console, are they having problems getting companies to commit their games to the service and don't want to run out of back catalog? Why is it so hard to get games on Virtual Console and PSN, is everyone worried about devaluing a possible remake or $40 portable port?
 
S

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
doink

Way back in 2008, developer High Voltage Software (The Conduit) announced Animales de la Muerte for WiiWare. A game about kids mowing down zombie animals in a Mexican zoo, it was immediately placed on our "most anticipated WiiWare" list. And then it disappeared. We've had no update in over two years.

Until now!

According to the developers, Animales de la Muerte is still "very much" on the way. During a visit to the IGN office today, High Voltage showed us a more recent video of the game in action. It is still filled with lots of bloody cartoon violence.

"We finally have some bandwidth to put on [Animales de la Muerte] now that we're ramping down on the Conduit 2," said Eric Nofsinger, Chief Creative Officer at High Voltage.

Although it was originally planned for WiiWare, Animales de la Muerte is now being prepped for Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and Steam.

"It could very well be for WiiWare, as well," Nofsinger told us. "We did some WiiWare stuff ( Gyrostarr, High Voltage Hot Rod Show) and it did okay. We didn't lose money on any of that. But I would say it wasn't encouraging enough that we would be doing a ton of stuff [on WiiWare]."

We should see more of Animales de la Muerte at the Game Developers Conference next month. For more details from High Voltage (and to listen to us play a secret 3DS game) listen to our interview with High Voltage on this week's Game Scoop! podcast.
Click to expand...

Trailer, circa 2008, WiiWare

Possible directions this thread could take:
1. High Voltage Software sucks/doesn't suck
2. WiiWare sucks/doesn't suck
3. This game looked cool/stupid

I'm on pins and needles on which way this will end up going
 
C

charlequin

Banned
DavidDayton said:
I find it hard to understand how a unique, quirky looking game's potential sales can be properly judged by the relative failure of two "basic" looking racing games.
Click to expand...

Well, it's not like there's much in the way of other success stories to hang their hat on here instead.
 
S

Shiggy

Member
I could not see this succeeding on WiiWare (nor on XBLA or PSN). The gameplay looks like the other trash on the very same platform.
 
R

Raide

Member
Gameplay looks like half Ape Escape and half top-down zombie shooter. Might bite at 800 points or less.
 
S

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
Sorry TheUnknownForce, I didn't catch your thread. I did one search but totally flubbed it and only got an old thread.
 
V

VerTiGo

Banned
Keeping it solely on WiiWare would have been foolish. Making it multiplatform and dumping a WiiWare version also seems foolish to me.

If HighVoltage's two biggest game productions to date have only appeared on Wii, you would think it would be wise to continuously cater to your fanbase.

I have faith in HighVoltage and can applaud their efforts to try and become a more recognizable and well received developer. I can't say I'll dump money on The Conduit 2, tho.
 
C

Chopper Dave

Member
Well the wiiware version was canceled a long time ago with talk of a retail release. Nobody really seemed to want a full disc release and after awhile few expected the game would release at all. As someone who liked the Conduit and looks forward to it's sequel, I think this will meet the same quality standard as their wiiware titles. The PS3/360 versions of The Grinder are still retail release right? I wonder how long that will last.
 
S

Shiggy

Member
VerTiGo said:
If HighVoltage's two biggest game productions to date have only appeared on Wii, you would think it would be wise to continuously cater to your fanbase.
Click to expand...

I don't really think this game caters to anyone outside a few at NeoGAF, unless it's a high quality game (which it does not look like and which we should not expect from High Voltage).
 
S

SmokeMaxX

Member
Chopper Dave said:
Well the wiiware version was canceled a long time ago with talk of a retail release. Nobody really seemed to want a full disc release and after awhile few expected the game would release at all. As someone who liked the Conduit and looks forward to it's sequel, I think this will meet the same quality standard as their wiiware titles. The PS3/360 versions of The Grinder are still retail release right? I wonder how long that will last.
Click to expand...
Pretty sure they're XBLA and whatever the PSN equiv is.
 
H

Hero of Legend

Member
Haunted said:
hero of legend on suicide watch

everyone else shrugs
Click to expand...

Wrong, I never really cared for them much, Conduit looked to bland, I admit that this game looked the most interesting and it would've been nice to have seen the game made it to retail (WiiWare's never really hooked me), but no big loss.
 
O

onipex

Member
donny2112 said:
Super Meat Boy-redux, I guess. Probably would've bought it on WiiWare, but that was thrown out due to space limitations. Probably would not buy it on disk for $30. If it's particularly compelling, may pick it up on XBLA, but kind of doubtful there, too.

Edit:
Still planning on getting The Grinder for Wii, if it's the game originally planned for. Probably not at its launch, though.
Click to expand...


If Conduit 2 bombs I don't think The Grinder will hit the Wii.



VerTiGo said:
Keeping it solely on WiiWare would have been foolish. Making it multiplatform and dumping a WiiWare version also seems foolish to me.

If HighVoltage's two biggest game productions to date have only appeared on Wii, you would think it would be wise to continuously cater to your fanbase.

I have faith in HighVoltage and can applaud their efforts to try and become a more recognizable and well received developer. I can't say I'll dump money on The Conduit 2, tho.
Click to expand...

I agree.

I have little faith in the company to be honest. I thought The Conduit was ok , but these guys seem to be living off the lip service from what may be a dead ( or soon to be dead) website.
 
D

donny2112

Member
onipex said:
If Conduit 2 bombs I don't think The Grinder will hit the Wii.
Click to expand...

I cannot imagine a situation where Conduit 2 will not be considered a bomb. Seriously. How would that work? I'll get it for $20 at some point, as the controls are ace/fun, and am interested in the story. However, The Conduit went to $20 within a year (6 months?), so with a continuous backlog, no plans to get it soon after launch. Therefore, I guess The Grinder is dead on Wii, too. Not a terrible idea considering the Wii's state for the past year in terms of software. Hope 3DS gets out the door soon, so Nintendo can maybe talk about Wii 2 for next year.
 
B

boiled goose

good with gravy
Nintendo has really dropped the ball with wiiware.
Pretty much advertising what so ever on the console (yeah nintendo channel is not good enough)
no account based system. makes me a afraid to purchase games.

At least in my personal experience, I have not purchased wiiware or VC games in a really long time not because the games dont look good, but because the infrastructure sucks ass.
 
N

nincompoop

Banned
I AM JOHN! said:
As screwed up as everything Wiiware is, the game never looked that great to begin with. I can't imagine it doing all that well on any platform.
Click to expand...
Pretty much this. The game would've bombed/will bomb no matter where they release it.
 
D

Dragmire

Member
Hey, Nintendo. Developers are dropping the Wiiware service left and right. And not just questionable developers like High Voltage. You just recently got around to the 90s-era concept of downloadable demos, but even the best games don't sell on your service unless it's Mario or a virtual aquarium. I mean if you're happy with that, cool, but... Do you think, maybe that you should, I don't know, do something at all for your service so that developers and consumers actually want to support it? Or is sabotaging your own service part of the master plan? I mean if it is, I guess you're doing a great job and stuff. But it seems kind of like a bad idea.
 
D

DDayton

(more a nerd than a geek)
Dragmire said:
Hey, Nintendo. Developers are dropping the Wiiware service left and right. And not just questionable developers like High Voltage. You just recently got around to the 90s-era concept of downloadable demos, but even the best games don't sell on your service unless it's Mario or a virtual aquarium. I mean if you're happy with that, cool, but... Do you think, maybe that you should, I don't know, do something at all for your service so that developers and consumers actually want to support it? Or is sabotaging your own service part of the master plan? I mean if it is, I guess you're doing a great job and stuff. But it seems kind of like a bad idea.
Click to expand...

Sarcasm aside, what would you have Nintendo do differently? I'm curious... other than revamping the shop channel to make it easier to use, perhaps.

For that matter, do we actually have evidence of developers "dropping . . . left and right"? We've had a few recent cases of developers dropping WiiWare releases due to size constraints, and I wouldn't doubt that developers WERE being wary of WiiWare -- but what evidence, exactly, are you using when you claim that developers are dropping out with great frequency?
 
C

charlequin

Banned
DavidDayton said:
Sarcasm aside, what would you have Nintendo do differently?
Click to expand...

Not force a ludicrously small size cap on all games with no room for title-specific negotiation. Have a real demo infrastructure for all titles. Promote games directly through the user interface more directly. Have a shop interface that is even remotely usable. Have a system of content accounts that does not leave it to chance whether your content is lost due to system failure. Build in universal system features like support for leaderboards based on a systemwide friends list that are supported by all games. Just to name some of the really obvious low-hanging fruit and not even delve into the legion more subtle or incremental possible improvements.
 
T

TheUnknownForce

Member
Stumpokapow said:
Sorry TheUnknownForce, I didn't catch your thread. I did one search but totally flubbed it and only got an old thread.
Click to expand...

S'alright. It didn't have many posts at the time anyways. :p

Not force a ludicrously small size cap on all games with no room for title-specific negotiation. Have a real demo infrastructure for all titles. Promote games directly through the user interface more directly. Have a shop interface that is even remotely usable. Have a system of content accounts that does not leave it to chance whether your content is lost due to system failure. Build in universal system features like support for leaderboards based on a systemwide friends list that are supported by all games. Just to name some of the really obvious low-hanging fruit and not even delve into the legion more subtle or incremental possible improvements.
Click to expand...

From what Nintendo execs have said regarding the Nintendo eShop for 3DS, the Wii Shop Channel is sorta FUBAR. They can try fixing it, but it is something that cannot be updated too easily beyond revising the current setup again.

Small size caps are probably because the games actually expand on opening and require a specific size for compression to work, but I happen to believe that Nintendo did not anticipate the growth of DLC this generation. There is a reason WiiWare didn't launch until May 2008. They wanted VC to grow, but with emulation and third parties kinda shrugging it off in favor of new titles on XBLA/PSN/Steam, Nintendo shifted away toward WiiWare, even though Nintendo knew WiiWare games were spacehogs in comparison. Had Nintendo prepped the Wii with at least one GB more in harddrive space, things would have looked a lot better nowadays.

Yeah, demo infrastructure would be good. At least the demos don't fill the Top 20 like the used to, and 3DS is certainly improving by combining Nintendo Channel and Shop togethr in the eShop.

They are already promoting games, but their own OS is in the way. They have the Nintendo Channel and Nintendo Week doing what they can to focus on particular releases. The Wii Shop Channel has multiple sets of Recommended Titles on the main page, and even the main OS has an image which rotates through specific software available on the Wii Shop Channel. Short of sending spam messages to all users, the OS has done everything to try and promote the titles that come out. And even so, Nintendo itself has stated that it plans to use a "push" model rather than "pull" model for the 3DS software.

Accounts can't happen with Wii without a major overhaul. Attach it to a Club Nintendo account and they can fix it that way. I do agree that profiles need to be dealt with more thoroughly with Nintendo, but alas, 3DS seems to sit on a one-profile-per-console setup.

Same with unified learderboards and Friends systems. Can't happen with Wii. The OS is built too deep into Wii to be fixed via anything short of sending Wiis to Nintendo to reflash.

Ultimately, the problem with Nintendo's Wii downloadable services happens to be the Wii OS itself, which is, in itself, hindered by the console's hardware. The 3DS has shown great strides to improve it, but until Nintendo gets a group of people who are seriously dedicated to improving the DLC content on Nintendo services, they won't match XBLA or PSN anytime soon.
 
C

charlequin

Banned
TheUnknownForce said:
From what Nintendo execs have said regarding the Nintendo eShop for 3DS, the Wii Shop Channel is sorta FUBAR.
Click to expand...

Take it as a "this is what you should do to prove you learned your lesson" checklist for the 3DS eShop, then. I agree many of these have technical challenges that would prevent them from being fixed on the Wii at this point.
 
R

Rush2thestart

Member
donny2112 said:
I cannot imagine a situation where Conduit 2 will not be considered a bomb. Seriously. How would that work? I'll get it for $20 at some point, as the controls are ace/fun, and am interested in the story. However, The Conduit went to $20 within a year (6 months?), so with a continuous backlog, no plans to get it soon after launch. Therefore, I guess The Grinder is dead on Wii, too. Not a terrible idea considering the Wii's state for the past year in terms of software. Hope 3DS gets out the door soon, so Nintendo can maybe talk about Wii 2 for next year.
Click to expand...

I wouldnt go that far. Conduit 1 was a bomb by GAF standards for sure (under a million)... it sold 300k. Apparently that was enough to greenlight a sequel, so I'm not sure they would consider it a bomb.

The thing is, The Grinder is a different beast. It's rated M. That would be much harder to greenlight for HVS. So even if Conduit 2 does similar numbers to Conduit 1, I dont think a publisher will publish The Grinder.

And I'm not sure how well Conduit 2 will even do. I'm sure that the Wii COD's and Goldeneye have raised a bit more awarence of FPS on the platform, but on the flipside Conduit 1 and HVS have a baaaaad stigma against them. Even if it ends up a good game, the first game might actually work against its sales much like Red Steel 1 did to Red Steel 2. There's not nearly as much awareness for Conduit 2 as the first game.

Anyway, we'll see. I was burned by Conduit 1 pretty hard, but I'd like to see The Grinder greenlit. That game, in its primitive build, looked way more fun than the original Conduit at its release.
 
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