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Avalanche (Just Cause) - Wii U dev kits collecting dust, Nintendo is hard to reach
- Thread starter Flightmare
- Start date
Calm down, I was just gently ribbing BlackJace. The CPU can't be to blame if they aren't even making games for it, can it?
Interesting that you expected to read comments to that effect though, blu.
You crazy. Zombi-U is fantastic.
metalslimer
Member
Or maybe....just maybe...people don't want to work for another weirdly designed architecture from Nintendo for a console selling like dogshit. But hey, maybe if we keep blaming it on prejudice things will get better despite the fact that publishers decide where to put games and not developers and if publishers saw a good chance for money they would go for it. But I'm sure 3rd parties will be even more open to developing reading about how they are lazy fucks who are out to destroy Nintendo.
BlazingDarkness
Member
Truth.
They need Mario Kart/ Wii U Sports and Wii Fit U etc if they want to try and capture the Wii demographic again.
Monty Mole
Member
Firstly, it doesn't work like that.
And this isn't about Avalanche having no intention to develop for Wii U. Avalanche is bound by its publishers and what they want. If they're not going to publish a Wii U version, why on earth would Avalanche develop one?
electroplankton
Banned
Urban legend? Big studios and publishers always buy dev-kit. They're cheap for them. Nintendo sent dev-kits for free to indies, for which the cost might not be negligible.
It seems just not able to build contractual relationships with third parties. Games were never present on the platform, and that's something you should plan years before the release of the platform.
The WiiU is a poorly executed system from concept to completion. Games are the most important thing and that why you build the hardware and offer support developers and gamers want. MS and Sony will have far more games on their system at this rate while also having far more powerful hardware. The Wiiu is a system built by Nintendo for Nintendo.
Twenty7KVN
Member
Where is Avalanche based?
http://neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=498093
(I know that Avalanche is not a Japanese developer, but the outlook isn't any better over there really)
Well, the CPU is pretty bla.
If there is then it's Nintendo's fault.
Monty Mole
Member
Sweden.
HamPster PamPster
Member
If all these indie devs are saying Nintendo is great to work with they need to hurry up and release some stuff. I did my part and bought Kung Fu Rabbit - now give me something good
Months? No my dear, try: 5 years.
If the CPU isn't to blame, then it's the GPU/RAM/whatever. The small user-base is a symptom, but if developers can't put their engine on the system what is the cause?
BlazingDarkness
Member
Er, not really. It's not like third parties flocked to the Wii just because it sold a tonne, the same thing would happen this generation. They'll develop for PS4/720 and not give a damn about Nintendo hardware.
Garbage. The last time Nintendo did this it was a vastly different world. Had they did this and truly competed tech wise, they would have gotten dirty ports just like everyone else. You really think most PC ports do blockbuster sales? They don't have to. It's a cheap and easy port and it's pure profit as a result.
You can't release a system that requires significant effort to port and expect publishers to support it without significant returns.
hahahaha
There's a reason there's an anti-Nintendo feeling in the western development world: see this thread.
Thought you were serious
Oh, one of your comments in OT got me in stitches yesterday.
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Fair. Not everybody has plans for every system. Lots of factors to consider.
Wasn't sure they'd have devkits, but point No.1 kinda makes this obvious.
Correct, and from what we've heard software attachment rates are quite low (unless your name is New Super Mario Bros. U and Lego City). This is particularly true when Avalanche is no doubt dealing with publishers funding their projects. They are, for example, apparently making a Mad Max game. Given that would be published by Warner, Warner would have a pretty big say on which platforms their willing to fund development for.
Interesting. Some seem to have no problems. This could be a regional thing though. Avalanche is based in Sweden, meaning it would be up to NOE to deal with them. Perhaps European contact is a bit iffy.
If they've personally had a better time with Sony than Nintendo, then I can't really argue with that. Their experience is as subjective and relevant as anybody else, and they can only go off what they know.
Developers much smaller than Avalanche contacted Nintendo around GDC and got their kits a few weeks later, so I'm not quite sure what Sundberg is talking about. Also, this really isn't hard to find. The installed base issue is fact, no way to spin it, but I don't buy the "hard to reach" part.
Doesn't seem to be the case judging by all the European devs who got approved recently.
If the console was selling at crazy, they wouldn't support it. Look at the Wii. Yes, it was underpowered, but it was selling like crazy and if they put effort in, they could have got a decent selling game on it.
The western world is focused on power. If Nintendo went the power route again, like they did with the Gamecube, it would again fail, and it would destroy their financials
Can't be serious.
Its one if the most engrossing games I've played in years.
Yeah it could use some polish, but like Uncharted Drakes Fortune, you forgive the flaws in the first game of a new IP destined to become a franchise.
ZombiU is great.
Hey! After years of paying at most £30 for a game suddenly being asked to cough up £45+ for one was a big ask. I didn't even buy NSMBU day one until I managed to snag a cheaper copy with some discount vouchers. Also being in the UK has conditioned me to know that a month later the price of a game will be slashed.
metalslimer
Member
What about the Japanese world? No one is supporting the wii u because it's a badly designed system architecturally selling like shit. This is all on Nintendo and if they want to fix things I hope they aren't droning on about how everyone hates them
It is. With Frozenbyte and Trine 2 (based in Finland, basically the same situation as in Sweden) it worked because NoE approached them and made the project happen.
Frozenbyte (Trine 2 DC) is based in Finland (right next door to Sweden). They seemed happy working with Nintendo (although it does seem like most Indie stuff is run through NOA).
megabytecr
Member
What I don't understand is the Wii U has an advantage in the userbase regarding nextgen, even if it is not selling well right now, PS4 and Durango have 0 install base, so that argument is flawed IMHO.
We know Nintendo will push the Wii U hard this second half.
Now Nintendo needs to fix a lot of things, I hope they pull through.
We know Nintendo will push the Wii U hard this second half.
Now Nintendo needs to fix a lot of things, I hope they pull through.
Unregistered007
Banned
I think all Nintendo needed to do was make a console only 1.5 more powerful then the current xbox360 and ps3.
I could have easily tipped the scale toward Wii U having better ports and leading us to PS4 / 720.
Good I am glad Nintendo is failing. They need to redo the Wii U asap.
I could have easily tipped the scale toward Wii U having better ports and leading us to PS4 / 720.
Good I am glad Nintendo is failing. They need to redo the Wii U asap.
Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
You keep bringing up a western bias but Japan doesn't give a shit either.
Man-is-Obsolete
Member
Yep, this has nothing to do with Nintendo prejudice, but rather their decisions. As soon as I heard about the Gamepad, I knew this system was headed for trouble. You could see it coming from a mile away. The Gamepad is not going to capture the large casual audience the Wii attracted and it is going to affect the console in such a negative way in power and resources that developers would stay away as well.
If the Wii U dropped the Gamepad and stuck with the Pro Controller, boosted the performance of the machine , made it x86 architecture, and kept the price $300-$350, then I for sure would have bought one around launch and most likely there would be more games on it by now and I bet stories like this wouldn't have existed. Even Nintendo seems to be affected by the Wii U's design! Iwata just admitted in their investors call that they are behind on development.
The Nintendo difference has always been their franchises, not their control scheme. Instead of realizing that they tried to catch lightning in a bottle again with the Gamepad, and that was a poorly conceived idea in my opinion.
fluffydelusions
Member
I hope Nintendo is planning some sort of spectacular relaunch or something for Wii U.
You, Sir, are awesome!
Twenty7KVN
Member
Ok would that mean they have to deal with NOE?If so other companies in that region seem to have no problem contacting Nintendo.
So you'd really want a third, near identical, system? How exactly would that sell?
very unlikely, they'll announce first party games which should have been among the first batch of games.
Prejudice? You really think publishers and devs would ignore a platform if it was worthwhile to them?
Alexios
Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
What stops people from outside the country from contacting the UK branch? Games aren't local like that, I'm sure these guys work with tons of people from abroad... I don't see how that could be it.
What does this mean?
Also, the whole EA FB engine thing, seems a bit strange, so at one point there was the unprecedented partnership and they didn't told Nintendo their current tech couldn't handle their most important internal engine? really?
Man-is-Obsolete
Member
Better than the current one, and with more games.
If your differentiatior is a controller and a more obtuse architecture I fail to see the advantage that gives anyway.
Schnozberry
Member
Like the Gamecube....oh wait.
metalslimer
Member
Better than WiiU is.
Monty Mole
Member
It's not just about console sales and install-base. It's about demographics. Yes, the Wii sold like crazy, but not necessarily to the types of people that buy lots of games every month and play sports and shooters etc.
Also I was one of the many people who bought a Wii. And I played Nintendo games on it. But everything else? On my 360 or PS3. Especially with how blatantly awful Wii looked on an HDTV even back in 2006, and especially having already owned a 360 a year before it came out. I didn't give a crap about the 'power' or specs, just how things actually looked and played.
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
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.
Man-is-Obsolete
Member
The Gamecube had a storage media issue right?
IrishNinja
Member
True. I'll be way too busy for that when the next gen consoles arrive
dave a smiley implies humor, there is nothing funny about this harsh truth
i said goddamn
can you even imagine "the saturn is not our future" at an E3 in our digital age? i honestly can't
i figure you're basing this on the gamecube somehow, this is a weird thing to say
Wasn't Nintendo really vocal about how they were going to offer devs as much help as they needed? I think I remember reports earlier, close to Wii U launch, about some dev studios that received a lot of help from Nintendo. Did they decide to cut back on helping out or did Avalanche just not try very hard to get in touch?
It does sound odd that a dev studio with a Wii u dev kit wouldn't know how to contact Nintendo. Of course...it is Nintendo.
Yeah, but many developers and publishers gave up on the Wii U long before it was even released
No, it's because of the audience, simple as that. EDIT: beaten
PS3 as far as I understand had/has a weird architecture and started quite bad as well, but that didn't prevent developers from giving it support.
It's a vicious circle that right now I believe only some heavy moneyhatting (or at least co-developing efforts) could break.