Beamdog's Trent Oster explains the problems he encountered when bringing MDK2 to WiiWare and voices concern about Wii U.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/29858
Beamdog's Trent Oster has not been shy about discussing the problems the company had with bringing MDK2 to WiiWare. NWR recently reached out to Mr. Oster to learn more about his experience with WiiWare and also to seek out his perspective on the Wii U. Below is his response:
"I'm not an oracle on the problems with WiiWare, but from my perspective the platform hasn't been a success for many developers outside of Nintendo.
The 40MB size limit on WiiWare makes it very difficult to bring larger games to the platform. We had to go to war on MDK2 to get it to fit within the 40MB constraints, taking a 400 plus megabyte game and cutting it a full order of magnitude in size. We put a lot of effort into managing the compromises to get the game down in size and still keep the quality level high.
When we shipped MDK2 there was a large confusion about demos on the platform and we never got a straight answer if demos were allowed. We were not allowed to set the price, Nintendo set the pricing, telling us after a week it would be 1000 points. As well, there was never any discussion of doing a sale or promoting the title. This all contributed to a title we worked very hard on not getting any differentiation from other titles in the WiiWare store. The result was large disappointment with the platform.
When the Wii first launched, I didn't understand it. I thought it was just a gimmick. After playing with it I could see the mass appeal, but I was afraid it would be treated like a toy by the family purchasers, where they would buy the Wii bundle with Wii Sports and never buy another game. I think for a lot of the family purchases this was true and a huge number of the Wii units only ever sold one or two games. The initial third party titles didn't do a great job with the controller implementation and I think that really hurt the perception of third party titles on the Wii as a whole. The end result was a platform where the perception was only Nintendo could make money.
For the Wii U, I once again don't get it. I'm having a hard time seeing how a tablet controller & console system is going to be revolutionary. I could be wrong, but I think the gaming world has changed irrevocably and there are now two fronts: Triple A console titles which resemble blockbuster movies and freemium/app store titles which are closer to television. The triple "A" titles cost a ton to develop and there is a market for the best of the breed, with the major brands doing huge numbers but many titles not even breaking even.
The freemium/app space has everything from "assware" (my pet name for poor quality freemium titles), up to what I would compare to HBO television titles, which are high production quality and well executed games which sell in the $10-$30 price point. The PC platform bridges both models, which makes it an interesting target to develop for. To me, the Wii U doesn't fit into either model and I see a lot of difficulty for it on either front. The app store/freemium model has redefined consumer pricing expectations, making consumers much less likely to invest $60 in a title without playing it first. The triple "A" model focuses on delivering the experience you expect at the agreed upon price, which is going to be hard to sell conceptually with a new platform like the Wii U. I wish Nintendo the best and I hope they can hit big with a major success."
..., I just don't see why this needs to be "news" besides being publicity for Beamdog.
... it has done nothing to improve the situation.
... it has done nothing to improve the situation.
+1
So guys, when you say that Beamdog should have known what they were getting themselves into when they decided to develop for WiiWare, are you indirectly admitting that the WiiWare platform was a very flawed one to begin with and thus developers shouldn't even bother with it?
Forget it. I'm going to full bore.So guys, when you say that Beamdog should have known what they were getting themselves into when they decided to develop for WiiWare, are you indirectly admitting that the WiiWare platform was a very flawed one to begin with and thus developers shouldn't even bother with it?
I'm not indirectly admitting WiiWare is flawed platform, I'm saying it seems to me like these flaws are very well known around the gaming community, and if a dev chooses to release on the platform anyway, they don't have a lot of room to complain afterwards about these things, as if they didn't know.
...
Seriously, the whole "It's the developer's fault" argument is stupid. It's like saying that a woman victim of rape shouldn't get emotional counseling and go to the police and report the crime because she decided to wear a blouse that showed some cleavage, because it is HER fault, not the criminal's.
But no... on YOUR logic, it is the developer's fault, Nintendo did nothing wrong, Nintendo is perfect and flawless and anyone that dares to speak about them in a negative manner is just a butthurt individual that wants to tarnish Nintendo.
Yes, WiiWare is not perfect. It's also not bad. The size limit is a foolish restriction.
The filesize issues, restrictions, and lack of publicity for WiiWare games is very common knowledge to even the more casual Nintendo fans.
WiiWare is a bad platform for many developers. No pricing control, and limited control over your release schedule.
Then there's the fact that you guys are saying that developers shouldn't talk about their negative experiences with WiiWare. How in the HELL do you expect Nintendo to improve their services if they don't have the feedback to know where they need to improve?
It's just like in sports, you work out your problems privately for the good of the team. When Trent goes about complaining publicly he is trying to stir something up against Nintendo because he feels he has been wronged and this is an effective means of either bringing about change or feeling vengeful. ... and do you really think this is the most effective way to get that change? No, it would be to sit down with his people and their people and, if they exist, the huge posse of other worthy developers who've been "wronged."
(http://img810.imageshack.us/img810/7343/closeears300x195.jpg)
Nintendo has no idea how (or no desire) to accomodate third parties. Nintendo's designs a system for Nintendo alone and if you want to participate as well you can if you adhere to their inflexible design where your needs were not taken into account whatsoever. If you have the same needs as Nintendo, you're fine, but with anything else you're fucked. This approach has completely destroyed the third party support on Nintendo consoles since the N64.Ian, you're upsetting 3DS. Stop it. She's trying her best.
In terms of helping developers turn a profit, would it be beneficial for Nintendo to adopt a system similar to Apple and the App store? I believe Apple takes 30% but at least the developer starts making some money from the get-go.
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Not sure how much it is now, but in 2009 Apple had a requirement of $150 in sales in a country before you got paid.
... In all other markets, Mario Bros wii would have been a downloadable game, sold for a Tenner, because that's what it's worth. With nintendo's model, no such luck.
