Sunbreak Games - the development studio founded by former Metroid Prime developer Jason Behr - recently ran a Kickstarter campaign for its upcoming title Buddy & Me, which is headed to mobile and tablet devices.
The studio added a stretch goal part way through that stated a Wii U version would be made available via the eShop should enough money be raised. However, the campaign has now finished and although it managed to obtain the $40,000 of funding it set out for, it failed to meet the $55,000 target set for the Wii U version.
Buddy & Me managed to bring in $42,093, which is unfortunately not enough.
All hope is not lost however, as Sunbreak Games left the following message to disappointed Nintendo gamers:
First up, let me say that we owe our loyal Nintendo fans so much. You guys have been amazing, and are one of the biggest reasons this Kickstarter survived after its first three weeks. You’ve reminded the team of how much our previous games meant to you, and really inspired the team. We will not forget that. We don’t want to let you down.
Bottom line, it does cost a lot extra to port to Wii U, and we will need to find that funding somehow, somewhere, sometime. We can’t in any way promise or guarantee it until we’ve figured out how to do it… but what we can promise, is that we’ll try.
Crucially, the studio has already been in touch with Nintendo to see if there's any way to help bring Buddy & Me to the Wii U eShop:
You’ll be happy to know, we’ve already reached out to Nintendo (Nintendo of America headquarters is just a few miles away from us), and are trying to figure out exactly what it would take to get development kits, and get more familiar with the technology
What are your thoughts on this? Would you like to see Buddy & Me make it to the Wii U? Let us know in the comments section below.
[source kickstarter.com, via nintendoeverything.com]
Comments 20
Interesting, normally when a Kickstarter goal isnt reached, it's the end of the line for whatever proposed.
I am glad they understand that a lot of their backers wanted it for Wii U and they are going to try to support it, even if the Wii U version misses the initial release date
@Hexonberik Except it meet the required funding.
Well they could always go back to Nintendo and borrow a few ten thousand dollar cash to finish it but only if the game is Wii U exclusive.
Nice, keep up the good work
Weren't Nintendo giving out the dev kits for free recently?
@AJWolf
It's not as much the price of the kits themselves, they were never very expensive with Wii or Wii U, but more the time it will take for the whole developer registration process and for the team to familiarize themselves with the Wii U system, not to mention actually getting the game running and tested on the thing and going through the approval and release process.
All takes time, and time is money.
Though I hate to say it, I tend to think the biggest reason he added Wii U support as a stretch goal was just to save his dying project. With only a week or so left, and well under half the funds he needed to make the game at all, he finally added Wii U support, which managed to net him in one week about twice what he got in the first three weeks. In other words, reaching the Wii U goal would have been a serious stretch, but adding it did help him raise enough money to make the game for other devices.
That said, I still hope the game comes to the Wii U at some point. I honestly think he would have done better by putting it there in the first place, with his many fans on Nintendo systems, and his game looking right up the Nintendo fan alley.
@haxonberik: It only means the end of a project if they fail to meet their primary target (in which case they don't get funded and backers don't lose their money). This project did reach its target, it was the "stretch goal" (a second target after the first is reached) to get it ported to Wii U that they missed.
@Haxonberik There can be some exceptions like Bloom: Memories for example.
this game, from what i saw on kickstarter, i feel more belongs in the app store than on the wiiU eshop, imho. it's games like this that belong on portable systems for download. i would be pleased if i found this in the 3DS eshop one day.
Well, let's be honest... They used Wii U owners to hit their goal. Success was very much in doubt before they added the stretch goal and Nintendo fans flocked to their campaign.
Personally I don't see the appeal here. Particularly, the prospect of success on the Apple platforms seems dubious... A generic game with a lame name standing out in that swollen marketplace? The only selling point is the art style, but even that is too similar to Wayforward's A Boy and His Blob to be original or exceptionally striking.
The reality was they were always going to consider branching out to other platforms if they reached their funding. Once development is funded, the appeal of porting to a wider audience will always be too appealing not to capitalize. That stretch goal was a carrot to lure in Nintendo fans and wring more funding in the process.
I'm not being funny but i don't understand why console players would support mobile/tablet games, if your playing them on that platform i would understand. As there is no guarantee that these mobile/tablet games would reach the target needed for Wii U support. According to some news articles mobile/tablet gaming could wipe-out console gaming, so your actually helping to destroy your own platform of choice (console).
I haven't really seen anything interesting about this game so I'm not particularly disappointed that it didn't reach its Wii U kickstarter goal. Regardless, the Wii U could always use more games as long as they actually turn out to be worth playing.
Should have just made it for Wii U first, considering that's where more than half the funding came from.
Hmm interesting, I thought they were giving out dev kits with no cost. Have they stopped doing this already?
I'm glad they acknowledge how enthusiastic a number of fans are to see this on the Wii U, and it's nice to see that they're taking action to support this regardless of the stretch goal.
However, I can't help but ask myself whether this Kickstarter would even have reached the main goal without introducing the possibility of an eShop version of Buddy & Me. It's a suspicious motive judging by the project's progress beforehand, but they seem committed to finding more about the Wii U now regardless so I digress.
I'm glad to hear the game itself being made though, Wii U or not. The Kickstarter trailer was beautiful and the developers themselves seemed really inspired with the entire concept.
@banacheck IOS and Android games will never wipe out console gaming. And if it by some crazy miracle does, it won't be for a long time. Yeah mobile games are cheap and good for a quick bit of fun on the bus or when you've got a minute to spare. But out of all the people that grew up playing games with buttons (I don't believe all these new controller docks for android and iOS will stick around long) very few of those people have ditched the console experience they've grown to love for angry birds and kung fun rabbit. Both of those games are available on consoles now, and kung fun rabbit (at an increased price) will be a day one purchase when it releases on Wii U in NA, it always looked like a cool game, but touch screen controls? No thank you. And remember all of the people that grew up with consoles probably have all 3 last gen consoles (ps3 360 and Wii) plus a Wii U, if not they have a combination of some sort, be it 2 or 3 consoles, or are just not fortunate to have enough disposable income to own all consoles. Most of the fan boys online that argue their console of choice is best seem to be young people that got into the gaming scene when their non-gamer parents bought them an Xbox or PS3, or sometimes Wii, not as often though because IMO as an owner of all consoles, I've taught my siblings, as I will teach my children if I have any, that all consoles have their strengths and weaknesses. If you look at it from that POV and assume that even 20% of gamers grew up with consoles and encourage their kids to give all consoles a fighting chance for their equally great exclusives, with a hypothetical average of 2 kids per family the future looks good for consoles. Add in the once again hypothetical 80% who just ended up with an Xbox or ps3 as a present, who will play with their friends and encourage them their chosen console is best, then you have a lot of potential buyers. Sorry for the long post. Just hope you see my reasoning because I hate the thought of people actually thinking iOS and android is better because they have most games for free, 99 cents, $4.99, and in some ridiculous cases $30-$100. The $1 price tag doesn't justify the fact that the games take a fraction of the production costs, have usually terrible controls, can't hold most peoples attention for more than 5 minutes, and are just generally terrible overall.
@tddct89: Did you honestly just compare the quality of $1 mobile games to that of $40 home-console games to argue the misled sentiment of iOS/Android gaming having no potential?
YES I think this game looks really cool. It would be great if they could still find a way to bring it to Wii U.
Tap here to load 20 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...