The Wii U has some fantastic indie support, and Nintendo has been doing a lot to support the indie scene as much as possible. But should Nintendo take it a step further? What if the NX is open to develop for, where all a developer has to do is use a consumer device as a dev kit, make something, and submit it to the eShop with ease. Something like what the Oyua tried to do, but with better execution.
No. The examples you gave should be enough to show just how terrible an idea it winds up being, and you didn't even mention the 3DO. There's more than enough shlock on the eShop as is, we don't need it turning into the Google Store.
@CanisWolfred Shovelware is a necessary evil for any successful platform. Nearly every major successful platform in the past 20 years or so has had its fair share of shovelware. PS1, GBA, PS2, DS, Wii, Steam, iOS, Android. They all managed just fine with all the shovelware. Nintendo just has to highlight the good stuff and ignore the crap.
@TheMisterManGuy Except you can't "ignore" the crap. You can only make sure it doesn't drown out the important stuff. The way electronic manufacturers do that, while also profiting from it, is by putting restrictions that prevent any random shmuck from putting a game out on your system. Obviously you don't want to go too strict, but requiring that people go through a vetting process ensures that no malicious or otherwise brand-ruining products make it through, and even better if they have to pay upfront: everyone wins in that situation, so long as the price isn't outrageous. Well, except for anyone looking to make a quick buck at the expense of the consumers, of course.
Really, what benefit would it have? The barrier to entry is clearly low - Nintendo isn't stingie with those Unity engines, though I've heard that Ninty can still be annoying when it comes to developer communication. Honestly, that's probably where they need to focus their efforts: Getting everybody on the same page. And an open platform is only going to make that part harder, to say the least.
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Topic: Should the NX have an open development environment?
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