In this generation Nintendo has been open-armed and welcoming to developers of all sizes, fostering the 'Nindie' age and opening the Wii U (and eventually the New Nintendo 3DS) up to development tools such as Unity. It seems to be stepping up those efforts, having launched a new Developer Portal with key information and an integrated application process.
The website has three distinct sections - Game Developers, Tool Developers, and Publishers. Each makes the same basic pitch - Nintendo is there to support your goals on its platforms, with the new website being a key point of entry. Developers will have access to intuitive tools to enable them to get the most out of the dev kits and so on, while publishers will soon have "advanced project tracking and ROM submission, project-based message boards and more" to help them along.
All of this culminates in a registration page where applicants can create a Nintendo Developer ID and specify their goals and credentials. It seems to be a more automated application process - though will naturally be assessed by a team at Nintendo - and existing developers are encouraged to contact their Nintendo admin to setup a developer ID account.
It seems like another positive move in making the process accessible and welcoming for developers interested in Nintendo systems. It's an interesting time for developers, certainly, especially if reports of the NX starting to get sent out to some teams are true.
[source developer.nintendo.com]
Comments 18
Has small new 3DS. Confirmed to be European page.
(And yes I know that the small new 3DS was released in America)
I really wish Nintendo would create a "Consumer" portal so we could be informed on what the heck is going on with them, rather than rely on leaks and rumours and hunches and suspicions and retailer tweets. Just make a page, call it "Nintendo News" and put everything we want to know on it. Like Sony does w/ it's PlayStation blogs. Yes, they have a website, but it doesn't cover news in a timely manner, Hence why I put "News" in the title rather than just calling it "Nintnedo". One webpage for all of their Twitter, Facebook and news release announcements.
@RCMADIAX Same here. It looks a ton of a lot friendlier than their last page.
After I registered already 2 weeks ago too.
Anyone know the minimum age for signing up? I recently started using unity and I have been really wanting to be a Wii U Nindie.
@NewAdvent
What do you mean by needing to be a registered company? Where would one register as a company? Does that cost a ton of money?
Wow, this has been a long time coming!
The old WarioWorld.com site is quite... old looking.
@CadenH Look up LLC, Incorporation, and a few related terms. You can use Wikipedia for now. Being a corporation typically stops you from being sued to an extent- if Caden the Guy accidentally steals an IP or an asset and doesnt realize it, he can theoretically have his house or car taken as assets. If Caden Company, LLC gets sued, but his office is just a $200 computer and a pencil, then the suer can take...his pencils.
@rjejr They actually have one: http://www.nintendo.com/whatsnew/#all
Well finally, it's looked the same and underdeveloped for ages.
I just risked and signed myself in, afterall they are open even to people with little to no experience and if anything I know a little about Unity and I'm even in contact with some artists.
Time to get serious ^O^ (Or cry in a corner because Nintendo itself ignored me XD;;; ).
@NewAdvent Thanks for the info, good luck to you too!
How bizarre, I was just about to set up a company to register as a developer. Seems I don't need to, I can register as an individual. Might still go for the company option anyway, keeps the finances simple.
While this news doesn't directly imply anything meaningful, it is at least a good sign.
Nintendo needs to change their web developer. And I can't believe that they are STILL using jQuery. pfft
@BakaKnight good for you, no crying in no corner though, good luck!
@RCMADIAX Likewise, first I've heard of this. I wonder if existing devs will get access to it (or maybe we're just not high up enough in Nintendo's standings)? Kinda tempting to go through the registration process just to see what happens.
In any case, I've been quite critical of some of Nintendo's systems in the past. Anything that makes ROM submission easier is a big win in my books. As I said in comments on a previous article, really hope they merge the separate NOA and NOE publishing portals.
Nevermind, managed to get access. Was just using the wrong password
@kiigu Hey thanks for the weblink. It's so funny they call it "Nintndo News" and everything. They only update 2 or 3 times a week it looks like, and there's no comments or anything, but for a super secret organization like Nintendo that even the Illuminati would be proud of at least it's something. It's bookmarked and it will be checked 1st thing every morning. Thanks again.
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