Dan Adelman's job title of Business Development Manager may not reveal much in itself, but as explained to us late last year, he's the man responsible for working with and encouraging small developers to bring their games to Nintendo's eShop platforms. It's an approach that seems to have been bringing increasing dividends, with the 3DS eShop in particular flourishing over the last two years. As for the Wii U eShop, it's still early days, but there have been some excellent titles already with a good number on the horizon for the remainder of 2013.
Speaking to Joystiq, Adelman reiterated the message that Nintendo is opening the doors and spreading the word to developers that its platforms are ready for business.
Historically, Nintendo has seemed kind of hard to approach, kind of like there's a closed system where if a developer already knows somebody at Nintendo or has some kind of 'in,' they're in, but otherwise there's no way to interface with the company. I think we're putting a lot of effort into changing that and making ourselves more accessible, so I really want to make sure that people realize that it's actually pretty easy now – and we're trying to make it easier – to work with us and release games on our systems.
Various restrictions in the past included a requirement to have a registered office address, as well as punishing sales thresholds on the Wii Shop, but those have been stripped away. There are also opportunities for those with development talent but no previous experience or notable portfolio, with Adelman stating that "if you're actively working on a game, that should be sufficient."
Nintendo seems to be gaining the attention of developers, with the recent Wii U developer's website — launched during the Game Developers Conference — drawing over 1000 applications, which are still being processed. Adelman also told Joystiq that, all going well, there could be 20-30 "new indie games" on the Wii U eShop by the Holidays.
Right now it's still in the early stages, particularly for Wii U. I think 3DS is a much more mature platform in terms of the volume of games. There's still a relatively small number of indie games that are on the Shop, but we've got a whole bunch more coming this holiday. It takes that much time for games to go through the pipeline and finish development and release, so I think we'll see a lot more content coming through.
In terms of purchasing eShop content from smartphones and computers, Adelman stated that he wasn't directly involved but that gamers will be able to "log onto the site and set [purchases] up for download so that once they get home, it'll be available for them and they can have that at their fingertips whenever they need it.".
It may have endured some quiet spells to date, but the upcoming line-up on the Wii U eShop does have a promising range of multi-platform and exclusives coming, even if firm release dates are largely elusive so far. If Dan Adelman's expectations are met, we could have plenty to download in the coming months.
[source joystiq.com, via joystiq.com]
Comments 33
20-30 titles? My poor wallet...
"Beauty fades, gameplay is forever."
That's some quote he just produced right here.
What about Chronicles of Mystara? Please?
I hope that, of the 20-30 titles, only a few are 2D platformers. Already too many platform indies being made!
Sounds good... We haven't had an indie game in awhile.
@GamerZack7 that will be eventually this month... I think Capcom confirmed it hit a snag but should work its way through this month.
that's all good but what about dat account system.....
@TruenoGT I was going to reply to @Captain_Gonru , but you seem to have done a fine job! I couldn't have put it any better. I personally buy probably 80 percent of my downloadable content for my Xbox from a browser.
Uh, I have a theory..
Nintendo pushes out Wii U in time for the holidays. A success.
Then, due to lack of must-have software, and confusion among consumers, momentum slipped. But shortly before that, Nintendo said they'll give 3rd parties a chance on the U, while they'll use the quality time to develop their 1st party games. But that backfired too, 3rd parties saying CPU is slow, or We don't have any ideas for the Gamepad, etc. But Nintendo had to make quality games, delaying them when necessary. Now we have bad sales for Wii U. Now the big hitters are coming soon and beyond, and there is a chance that WiiU's fortunes will turn around.
So Thomas, please did I leave anything out?
I'm optimistic about the WiiU's future, pikmin 3 is proof of that!!!
I'm optimistic about the WiiU's future, pikmin 3 is proof of that!!!
Oh yeah, I forgot to write something....
I'd bet the 1st party developers were making other games such as Metroid Prime 4, Super Mario Strategy , A new 3D Mario like Galaxy, and the Ninty next gen games. But because of heavy loss of momentum, Satoru must have proposed to developers to create safe games for Wii U to make it stay afloat, while developing the other games bit by bit.
@VolcanoFlames You left out EA being scumbags and not releasing Crysis 3 after saying the Wii U wasn't powerful enough. Then the developer came out and said it actually ran great, but EA didn't think it would sell enough copies and canned it. But yeah thats about it.
@Nico07 well, yeah... a lot of things have happened during the last 7-8 months...
Pachter predictions, E3, Developers sayin' they won't create games for Wii U 'cuz of low install base, EA.....
Wii U is a fun console. I mean, it's Ninty in HD! So why all these hate 'n' negativity?
I'm excited about the prospect of more Indie games. I also really like the idea of shopping for new content from your PC or phone and having it load to the Wii U right then.
@VolcanoFlames
Nintendo in HD isn't enough. Not today. The market changed. Nintendos omehow doesn't want to make ''Blockbuster'' games like Bioshock Infinite or The Last of Us (And yes, i know YOU don't like 'em. But i do and many others also) These games have themes that are explored in cinema or recent televison shows. Or lets say it can be presented in a serious way. Like Game of Thrones, Bordwalk Empire or Mad Men. Exploring morlale not in a trivial way. People that wathed TV and movies now also have realised that videogames can also be a form of storytelling. They see the marketing of The Last of Us etc. and buy the games.
Somehow i believe that Eiji Aonuma realised this but Miyamoto is holding him down.
Just my 2 cents.
@Nintenjoe64 I hear that Joe, but there is always plenty of room for quality platformers with different ideas and mechanics. We just don't need the "been there, done that, new skin" platformers. Some JRPG's or SRPG's would be nice. I know there are a few in development already for the eShop.
@Legromancer I strongly believe they are making 'blockbuster' games. Heck, I have a theory and I state that Metroid Prime 4 may be in the works.*
And who says I don't like those games?
Secondly, It's just a theory! Metroid Prime 4 MAY be in the works.
@Legromancer The day that video games become interactive movies will be a horrible day for gamers and video games in general. What sets video games apart from other forms of art like film is their gameplay, drama, and psychology. Nintendo knows this. If you want interactive stories, you and David Cage will get along great. Sure, designers need to take advantage of the newer technologies like realistic physics and lighting techniques, but if they forget what is really important... Well, I don't want to think about that. Being a designer myself, I'd rather have Nintendo do what they do well and Sony do what they do well and leave it at that.
I'm still not convinced to get a Wii-U. The only title which interests me within the next year is Xenoblade. I also can't believe that Nintendo could not convince Square to Bring out Dragon Quest X to North America and Europe on Wii and Wii-U. Coming to PC! Come on man!
Alright, hopefully two of those games are Don't Starve by Klei Entertainment and Rogue Legacy by Cellar Door Games. I would love to have those two games on my Wii U.
@element187: Sweet!
Nintendo, please pick up the phone to Konami and get them to licence you download titles such as Rocket Knight and Castlevania: Harmony of Despair for the eshop.
Eshop will be WiiU's key thing. They should really really keep up the already great progress theyre making with it.
@Legromancer i think you underestimate the size and scope of the gaming universe. I too liked Last of Us and think it deservews GOTY consideration, one of the greatest stories ever told, yet really it is a very linear game with very little choice. Still there are plenty that like the classic action that Nintendo brings and the light hearted humor of something like paper mario. We will get more serious content when we get new Metroid or even thinngs like X amd I expect SMTxFE to be a trip being modern day themed and with Altus' affinity for scantily clad demons. Oh and just so you know.....go check the sales on Bio....they have been like poo selling less than 2mil total on ps360 in NA...this on a basenof 150mil users and with a critically acclaimed game that had a TV advert campaign I saw plenty during the NBA playoffs......not everyone wants the same things and us types that play good games across all generes are getting rarer and rarer. You can give me anything from Tomb Raider to Cave Story and I am good but what I don't ever want is Nintendo to sell out and start making the same games that EA, Activision or Sony would make....variety is the spice of life and we need Nintendo just doing their thing just doing more of it.
@Obito_Tennyson Mark of the Ninja by Klie is one of the best 2D platformers ever and best game on XBL IMO.....don't starve would be perfect on wiiU....also we need something like Sins of Solar empire....a large scale mMsrpg would so put wiiU in a different light,
@Windy X will surely be awesome but with the variety of games coming to WiiU in the next three quarters my question would be what type of games do you like? If it is JRPG then you better have a 3DS with the excellent SMT4 just released as well as Etrian Odessy and many other good rpg and fire emblem. Other than that PS3 has some great exclusives like Demon Souls and Ne No Kuni......just curious?
Good to hear.
@DePapier
my beauty never fades.
Hurrah....AND NOW FOR THE THIRD-PARTY RETAIL GAMES!!!
No-one buys a Wii u for downloads alone!!
@QuickSilver88 Yeah I have a 3DS with every Jrpg made. I also have a PS2 with a huge backlog of jrpg's. I also like to play some Sidescrollers and Prince of Persia Type of games. I thought Assassins creed was incedible on Xbox 360. My favorite system right now is 3ds. I may have bought my last system. I'm an older gamer and Just don't really see a reason to buy anything anymore with my backlog and Im really satisfied with 3DS only ATM
@Windy You and me game nearly the same. But I absolutely love my WiiU. Amazed at how much I loved Lego City and I will finally play Windwaker, since I thought I was too cool for the style when it came out. Love off screen play especially since it has a great range so I can use them in "other" rooms and not stop playing. Could definately have more games I concur, but you would probably love Earthbound on the VC.
@Zodiak13 I definately havent ruled out the Wii-u. Im just waiting to see if more Rpg's hit the system. In fact if dragon quest X ever makes it I cant get one fast enough
@Windy
Yeah I am a big RPG/SRPG/JRPG fan as well and the 3DS is turning out to be a great system. If you have a Wii there are a suprising number of titles that kind of flew under the radar that are really good including the pricey and hard to find XenoBlade and the cheaper and pretty easy to find The Last Story. I just found out Sakura Wars came out on Wii and I never even knew it so looking for that in the used bins now. If Ninentdo snaps up Altus like they are rumored to be interested in then I think we will see a lot of JRPG coming to WiiU. I do have a WiiU but am also not in a huge rush to get another next gen system. I just have too much to play on 3DS and am looking forward to a lot of the titles coming on WiiU in the next year +. I am just working on Mass Effect 3 now and still have to tackle Skyrim so those are some lengthy undertakings. I played ME1/2 on X360 but picked up ME3 used (and cheap I might add) on WiiU so I could play offTV. That is a huge bonus for me on the RPG style games because I can just get a lot more playing time in if I have the option to play them on or off TV. I have replayed a lot of ps1 RPGs on my psp/vita which if you like the square classics its great to play them portable.
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