
It is certainly no secret that some people - be they fans or critics - don’t like the Wii U. It seems that every other day someone has something bad to say about Nintendo’s latest home console, and if they aren’t doing that they’re revelling in the company’s shortcomings. Some would argue that it’s not unwarranted. After all, Nintendo has been hit by a string of bad news recently that includes the unflattering reveal of its Wii U sales and the lack of developer support becoming more and more apparent. Thankfully however, even though things may be looking arguably bleak for the system, it seems there are some in the industry who are willing to keep the faith.
Introducing AE Games, a brand new game developer based in North Carolina with plans to make great games on the Wii U. AE Games states it's noticed the potential in the home console, and has seen what amazing things can be done with it when a developer has put time and effort in. It's also noticed the Wii U being an afterthought to fellow developers, and after watching so many third party companies move away from Nintendo’s latest system, has decided to instead move towards it.
According to the developer, other companies have forgotten to take partial blame themselves for the Wii U’s supposed failure:
It seems that late DLC, no DLC, missing modes, and selling last year's game as this year's, has been the way to go. Then follow that up with trying to justify poor sales by blaming consumers (or, even Nintendo)? There are examples of publisher support that shouldn't be forgotten, wonderfully terrible examples in our opinion, like a publisher releasing one game on the Wii U for $60, but selling a trilogy of that game series on the other consoles for the same price. Or, releasing the exact same game on all consoles at the same time, but pricing the Wii U version nearly 70% more than the other versions. Or, now even more recently, delaying only the Wii U version of a game that was already previously announced.
To AE Games, this is tantamount to sabotage, and so it wants to put a stop to it by showing its complete support to the system. In fact, it aims to build a happy relationship with Nintendo and start making games on the company’s other consoles, but for now the Wii U is at the forefront.
Unfortunately this resolute introductory post by the developer is all we have from them right now – we don’t even know about the people on board - but it has promised to unveil news on its first Wii U Game this coming Friday. So, has AE Games got your attention? Do you think it could be a valuable addition for the Wii U, or does its firmness strike you as naïve? One way or another we’ll have more to show this Friday, so watch this space.
[source aegames.net]
Comments 93
Nice to see a company giving Nintendo a good support! Let's see what they got in their pockets.
We shall see Friday......hopefully they have something more then a rant to be excited about
We will see what happens when they only sell 5,000 units when review sites give it a 4/10 because it isn't Mario or Zelda
AE Games... Everything Challenge!
Could they have picked a less unique name? EA is not exactly the best company to have your brand confused with.
I am very interested...
Pretty sure this is just a bogus front some fans built to air our frustration over the lack of support the Wii U is getting. I'll be surprised to see any actual content from them, but it's just a suspecition.
It'll be good to see a developer whose knife isn't constantly digging into Nintendo's back.
@StarDust4Ever, rumor is, these guys are former EA employees, from EA North Carolina. EA closed them last year, and apparently they decided to start their own studio. Not sure if this is true, but if it is, it explains the name
http://www.ign.com/companies/ea-north-carolina
I saw this pr yesterday, until they have something to show its abit of a non story.
Lets see I will support these guys if they deliver
@MAB that is the curse of the independent Nintendo developer.
Would be nice if they make alternatives to FIFA and Tiger Woods but do them well! I'm guessing AFIF 2015 and AGP TOUR Golf 2015.
@MAB And we'll be here blaming customers like you who think ratings are everything.
AE sports, it's in the game! Sorry i couldn't resist.
@Everly That wouldn't surprise me in the least and sounds plausible. Still it's good to hear news like this and if it's true they at least are keeping up on current trends regarding the Wii U. I for one love the system!
Interesting to see what their ambitions are - eShop or retail, what type of game, etc.
As other have already suggested, although factually correct the press release reads like a comment from this very website.
Good, we hope that they do good work! ^.^
Sounds unprecedented!!
@Spoony_Tech I saw this report earlier and I work in NC. Found no record of the business anywhere beyond the 3 page site that is shown in the article. That, plus usually when you see strong words like what was issued there are some details regarding who makes up this company and what they have planned.
lets look at the bigger picture AE mite take over EA that would have us all talking lol
Hmm, looks like we have both AE and BNC games to be revealed this week...
I'm sure they will both be pretty low key titles but hey it's more than Nintendo has given us this month!
It's hard to blame a bloke that buys his 3rd party & indie games at full eShop DIGITAL 4 LYFE price on day one... If everyone was like me then these companies would be selling 4 - 5 million units on Wii U within the first week and making profit
I'll be looking forward for their games.
I like the enthusiasm. I'm not sure it's going to work out for them though, there isn't much of a market. And even if it's an amazing game the sabotagers who always say "There's no games" will change their tune to "I don't want to buy the system for this one game" or "too little, too late" like they have been doing since the Gamecube days.
I agree with what they said, and i like that they talk the talk. Let's see them walk the walk
Heh, heh, They're like the light version of EA.
Well, they sure got me interested, we'll see Friday wether we can be excited or not.
It's nice to see support, but we know nothing about them. We'll see what they have up their sleeve.
@StarDust4Ever
I fully agree with you, they could have picked a better name.
@platypus357 That would explain a lot, and it would be a good thing too. That might mean they can pull off EA quality games without being a jerk. Go AE!
@platypus357 It could very well be what you implied. And if so, then at least these guys are able to put their money where their mouth is. When I wasn't considering them to be former EA employees I was thinking more about another indie developer, but if they truly are former EA, then this could potentially be a good thing. I've read the whole 'rant' on their site and they already have one thing going for them and that is a great sense of humor:
http://www.aegames.net/2014/02/introducing-ae-games.html?m=0
@Frapp That, and then some...
Here's to a very nice surpise this friday...
I like the cut of their jib.
A short, but punchy statement, lets hope they walk the walk and not just talk the talk.
Looking forward to Friday's announcement.
This sounds great!
@Laxeybobby if you only read the quote that NLife posted, you should check the link I provided in comment #32, the statement in full is even more hilarious and VERY much to the point. Some things they say in combination with the other info available makes it reasonably likely that they are indeed former EA employees that have a score to settle with the @sses that fired them...
This is a hoax, right?
@kuribo4 if so, we'll only have to wait till Friday for it to be debunked...
Hmm just Google'd AE games and a couple of other Nintendo websites are declaring this press release as a hoax by some troll.
They are saying to back up their claim of a hoax
"The site is made on the blogger platform plus the press release is rather unprofessional, by that I mean sounds like it was written by a fanboy."
&
"Unless they formed over the weekend there's no listing in incorporate listing in North Carolina for an AE Games company. There's an AE mobile games but that's not the same company. This is just angry blogger with too much time on their hands."
(both quotes cut & pasted from other sites)
It will be a shame if it is a hoax.
Fake or not you can't argue about what he stated about how big fish publishers are treating Wii U owners. I want to see more developers speak up like this
Whether this company exists or not, it will not be enough. Nintendo simply cannot depend fully on first party and indie developers to survive as a console maker.
By supporting nintendo, AE has my complete suppot!!! Show me some good games at E3!!!
You know its a slow news day when there is a story posted about a development studio who may or may not exist, talking about releasing software that may or may not exist.
I enjoyed reading the comments on their FB page about AE Games maybe being a hoax.
Probably two fanboys in a garage working on a Flappy Bird clone...but I'd like to be proven wrong.
srsly guys, just look at the logo with the default Photoshop lensflair and the shadows...do you really believe this is real? And when it is, i don't expect anything great this friday...they can't even create a good company logo...or even name...AE games...
Whoa, this screams hoax.
Fanboys trolling fanboys?
so much truth in their words
just hope they are good enough to create something great ^-^
His or her message might be accurate, but I doubt this is from a legit developer. If I'm wrong, I'll be okay with that, but it seems pretty fake. At least the message is legit, though.
I'll support them if it's something good. I have a feeling it will be some kind of need for speed like racer and if so I'll probably pass.
I'd love to see a football game on the wii u but since EA has a monopoly on NFL licensing people probably wouldn't support it.
I'm just not sure WHY Nintendo didn't just make a more powerful system. I mean they HAD to know what the competition was planning as far as power goes. I mean they were SIX years late with HD. Did they just not want to spend the money? NTDO fans have been SUPER loyal, we deserve a powerful system that gets 3rd party support. We're certainly paying a high price for Wii u games @ $60, just like MS & Sony games are priced.
AE Sports
It's in the name.
Yeah, while it expresses a frustration very well they probably do not exist.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/AE-Games/501349156648512?ref=hl
https://twitter.com/AEGamesNC
So far they look sorta legit
EA has always sucked. They never take blame or regret for anything.
Bring it I'll contribute $100 to them if they show me some ideas and plans. I like there attitude it's what the Wii U needs. Whatchha got AE? bash some heads write some code, lets do this!
AE, our hero.
Let's hope they have good games to back up their claims.
Hmm.... Let's see then.
YIKES!!! Careful with your name fellas, you might get confused with a company that excels in collecting back to back Golden Poos and made Shaq-Fu!! See ya friday....
@Yorumi I can name for you the last time I cared about console sales numbers: never. I care about the quality of the games, including the visuals.
Not that visuals make a great game but for the $ we pay for Wii u games, Yea, it should be on par with its counterparts in the market. Plus it does inhance the the game and attract much needed 3rd party support, we have very few games for the Wii u. I can't see any reason why NTDO couldn't add more power, if only for 3rd party support.
I dunno. Friday is Valentine's Day which means it may be a party "love" game or something like that. Hopefully not, personally I'm not interested in that game type generally.
Is AE's full name "Alectronic Erts?"
I'm skeptical of this studio and all, but part of me wishes Nintendo themselves would take the gloves off concerning some of the points they made in this PR release.
AE Games must be EA's "good twin", lol.
What a crock. It's just some bitter Nintendrones. Look at their low-rent Blogger "website", you think those guys are going to make a good game? Keep dreaming.
@Yorumi lol first of all, I'm not obsessed, I agree w/ your point about too much focus on power/visuals. Gameplay and content should be priority. I still don't have a reason why they COULDNT add power, though. You don't have to skimp on anything else, just add power to the equation. How is that the ONE thing that would lower sales!? It's the one thing 3rd party devs are looking for. It would open up opportunities for NTDO and take pressure off of them from the public and please a wider audience of gamers. If there's one company who I believe could balance power while maintaining artistic integrity it's NTDO. I for one LOVE the gamepad and think all of Wii u's games look amazing. Having the ability and added support of having AAA games wouldn't hurt the Wii u or the company itself a bit. In a NTDO direct vid Iwata said "we have given DK realistic, hd fur, EVEN THOUGH it would cost us more money." That really came off as them being cheap, like they were doing something so extraordinary, while other companies have been shelling out for YEARS. They could still make their great 1st party games and have the extra power for your other AAA games. There was nothing stopping them from doing that, and they're unfortunately suffering from that now.
I don't know why everyone gets so worked up over the lack of third party support for Nintendo. It has not mattered for some time, just take a look at the game sales for every Nintendo home console. The top 10 for every Nintendo console is dominated by their own software. There may be a blip or 2 from a random third party but every single Nintendo console sells based on their own software alone. Now look at Sony and Microsoft's game sales, their machines NEED third party games to survive (their top 10's are littered with software from EA, Activision, etc).
As for the complaining about a new Mario Kart or Super Smash Bros being just another iteration, what about Halo, Call of Duty, Assassin's Creed, Uncharted, God of War, etc. that endlessly poop out sequels and everyone just laps them up? Why is it ok for those games to pump out endless titles (sometimes EVERY freakin year) but Nintendo catches flack for doing this when they do it like once for each console? Talk about hypocrisy. I can't blame them for not wanting to do a big budget new IP because when they do, nobody buys it (Wonderful 101). The funny thing is that had Wonderful 101 kept the original design which starred all the Nintendo characters, it would've been an easy million seller (kind of makes me sick when Gamer's and journalists beg for new IP's).
Also, why is everyone just wishing for the Wii U to go away? It's like nobody can shut up about it despite it not really having an impact on the other 2 machines. At this point, the Wii U doesn't even try to compete with the PS4/XBOne yet everyone keeps acting like it does. I'm also confused how this is even an issue for "Nintendo Fans" who buy each of their consoles. The third party thing has been going on for so long (over 15 years) that I can't see how anyone bought the Wii U with the expectation of having the supposed triple A titles from other machines. I know Nintendo said they had good partnerships with third party's but that happens every generation and like clockwork, those same companies bail on Nintendo after the first year. It happens every time and fans buy Nintendo machines for Nintendo games (refer to the beginning of my post about the top 10 in software sales), so why get upset when it happens again? You know what you're getting with the Wii U and at least this time, we are getting a MASSIVE level of indie support to supplement first & second party software so it's a win win situation. I have every Nintendo console (as well as many Sony, Sega & Microsoft machines) and I have enjoyed the hell out of the Wii U and will continue to do so as Nintendo releases more games for it.
@Noonch @Legromancer @Yorumi @Technosphile @Everly Nope, this is actually a true dev that currently has a wii u exclusive in the works
Menashe from nintendo enthusiast said this:
"I just saw their email to us. I didn't think they were legit until that email. The email definitely gave them more credibility. In any case, they didn't want to do an interview until after their Friday reveal."
Nintendo magazine did say they were going to announce a new game, so it's probably this one.
So a group of Nintendy fanboys got together one day, formed some random indie team that nobody knows ANYTHING about and just because they propped up the Wii U we're supposed to praise them? Pfftt... please.
Can't believe Nintendolife staff took this troll seriously...
Just look at their logo, it's a joke. We don't know who they are what they have done and their 'press release' doesn't really make sense, they're just attacking other 3rd parties rather than introducing themselves, what they have done in the past, their experience in the industry etc... Or they are attacking 3rd party Wii U devs as a publicity stunt because they know how to cater to their Nintendo audience..
@PokeTune Well darn! i was about to say something along those lines myself!
Everybody here rails against people from a studio that, you know, some people actually heard of, who say that the WiiU is in a sub-optimal position with matching prospects, and now everybody's expected to go all "hallelujah!" when some utterly unknown studio with no reputation, no concrete plans and a joke name says other people are doing things wrong but not to worry, they'll do it right! Yeah, sure...
@MAB Too true! The Nintendrones always say they want third party support, yet they never buy anything other than Mario and Zelda. Even Nintendo exclusives like Pikmin 3 and The Wonderful 101 sold poorly! Proving Nintendrones are only interested in Mario and Zelda.
@Emblem
Considering negative Wii U news is posted around every website from anonymous sources, I don't see how a specific source's statement is not newsworthy, especially when they're announcing information on a new Wii U game in 2 days.
Heh, Legit team or not, we don't have long to find out what they're made of.
@MysticX
???
The points made by this development studio are legit. Can you deny their statement or prove it wrong? Are you denying that 3rd parties have done the things outlined in this statement? Of course you're not, because it's well documented. Everyone knows about Mass Effect 3, and Deus Ex, and Watch Dogs, and Splinter Cell Blacklist, and Batman Arkham Origins, etc.
I don't think anyone is "supposed" to be saying hallelujia. But if people are, more power to em. What's the problem? Are you upset there's a developer out there that actually has the sense to support Nintendo's console without, what they labeled, as sabotage? This is good news. One more developer on our side. Why are you upset? So you're totally ok with negative statements, but God forbid someone actually supports the Wii U? Why would anyone be upset about a developer pledging support and a Friday announcement? Do you WANT to see no one support the Wii U or something?
Seems like people are REAL quick to attack these guys. Why? They said there'd be more info on Friday. Is it too much to ask to reserve judgement for 48 stinkin hours before people start condemning these guys? If it's not legit, we'll find out soon enough. But this is crazy. People cheer when developers attack the Wii U, yet they lash out at anyone who supports the console. What kind of fanbase is this?
@JaxonH
Welcome to the internet, where instant gratification is a requierement.
@AJ_Lethal
Ya. I just don't get it. I love my fellow gamers but some of these people are just too much! Idk if it's an age thing- maybe Nintendo fanbase has a greater number of adolescent fans or something. But people don't act like this on Sony's fan site.
@JaxonH Because its an unverified press release. No one makes an unverified press release into a full story, only video game "journalism" can get away with stuff like that.
Anyway i didn't insult them or anything, when they show us what they have then that will be a story, for better or worse.
@Emblem
Fair enough. Nintendolife isn't perfect, but they're pretty good when it comes to their stories I think. In any case, we'll know Friday to what end this is heading...
Announcements of announcements are always stupid and pointless. Their first 'press release' or whatever the crap this is, should have been to properly verify who the hell they really are, without the lame fanboy ranting.
How can you be shocked at people not taking this seriously?
@ScorpionMG
Like I said, I hope I'm wrong. We'll see if they get a Nintendo Direct mention. At this point Nintendo would be happy to have 3rd party support from anyone.
i hope is not fake i want at least some developers seeing potential in the wiiu.
@PokeTune a group of nintendo fanboys making a team for the wiiu wtf and you dont like nintendo fanboys cause they go crazy defending nintendo saying everything is okay or you just dont like nintendo cause i been reading these articles and i always see you have post taking about fanboys why?
If they can bring quality to the table, they may be able to hold their ground with that statement.
They certainly have my attention because they're announcing a new game on Friday!
If they are a new indie they just got their name out there. If it is a hoax, well done, you got a lot of people.
Guess will find out Friday
@SecondServing @MAB Please Understand......2% to 4%.
@Doma @Cyrso What puzzles me that they suppose to be "developers" why in the world would they rant just like the fanboys (not everybody) from NintendoLife commenting the same delusional broken record BS i've been reading all freaking week from here. Really I thought Developers suppose to be "professional" at they jobs first not ranting like these idiots are doing about other 3rd Parties trying to "sabotage" and also "praising" the Wii U and Nintendo. Isn't that THE PROBLEM with the game industry today Developers going to a brand because what they like best rather than being a professional and going where the successful sales goes times are changing.
@GunstarHero234 I wouldn't call it ranting but more stating the obvious, because perceived tone of the message aside, all points they made are valid and a lot of them also reflect my personal issues with third party developers on Wii U. They DO set their games up to fail from the get go, and only a handful have truly tried and in my humble opinion those that did are the ONLY ones that are allowed to complain that their game(s) did bad on Wii U. The other ones should just have used logical reasoning and should have done their own game justice by bringing the full experience to ALL consoles, and not just incomplete versions of them, that were brought to Wii U either as a test run or as an afterthought. Especially if they wanted to test the waters, they should have brought the full experience to get valid results. No gamer in his right mind would buy the "no DLC/no online" version of a game on Wii U if he also owned an Xbox 360 or PS3 that DID receive the full versions of these games. And that is only one of the things they pointed out that I can agree with. (and I don't have to be a fanboy to do so)
Like I said, the tone of the message might not be very professional, but maybe we should look at it this way: what if they truly are former developers of a large company (not necessarily EA, since over the last two years lots of talented people have been fired by several publishers) that never had any problem with the Wii U hardware to begin with, but due to either time or money constraints were never able to do what they would have liked to do? And now they're on their own, they can finally do what they want. I'll keep a cautiously positive mind about all this; I'm a bit too old to be so naive as to expect a brand new AAA game from them, but I'm willing to reserve my final verdict of damning them to hell for being a hoax until this Friday, when they are supposed to reveal themselves and their game. I do agree with many people about the simplistic logo though; makes me think of Battalion Wars. As for the game they are supposed to reveal this Friday: just expect nothing, instead of something worse or something really great and you won't end up disappointed.
So, here's to Friday and if by any chance it all happens to be real and good, then I most definitely will laugh in the face of all these negative Nancy's for practically going overboard with thrashing a possibly interesting new addition to the humble list of companies that actually DO want to support the console that they own and if it's fake, then nothing is lost, because I don't expect anything.
P.S.
It seems that the last line of your comment should be the other way around: currently, most companies do NOT necessarily develop for the platform they LIKE, they develop (for simple business reasons) for the platforms that will offer them the most successful sales, and THAT is the problem. If I read you wrong on that, then just ignore this last bit of text.
@TheRealThanos I want to agree with most of your statement which are correct but just frankly I don't agree with how these developers just can waltz out of nowhere without stating who they really are and what their future plans is just to be negative to state that the other 3rd Parties are trying to sabotage the Wii U to fail. Like I said from my last comment I read this broken record negativity over and over on forums. So I wasn't trying to sound really negative but just in my form my opinion of how and why would anybody can be a developer but you got some kinda "vendetta" against on other developers and other console companies.
Regardless of it though I hope they isn't full of it and trying to use the Nintendo community to put they name out there because that will cause serious repercussions to their reputation so I will also see Friday if i'm wrong oh well if they are frauds they will automatic be on my Developer Blacklist.
(Also they probably did get layed off from EA or whatever company I really don't know the resources though)
@GunstarHero234 They might be developers, but like us, they're also just human. I also think that a lot of people are labeling the things they said with their own emotion, because it is always up to the interpretation of the reader how a piece of text "sounds". I have now read it 5 times and for the life of me I can not detect ANY hostility in it, only matter of fact arguments and some stating of the obvious. Or like they themselves have said on their Facebook page:
But what if it is true? Then just imagine yourself in their place before they started for themselves: while working for a large developer/publisher you are seeing possibilities to optimize or improve the Wii U version of a game but your boss tells you to shut up and do the part you were paid for and nothing else.
These people, ESPECIALLY after having been fired, will be VERY frustrated because not only were their suggestions not listened to, they also got fired because their game (logically) sold really poorly. I also don't think that third parties are purposefully trying to sabotage Nintendo, but they ARE killing their own sales (which is what they actually said, by the way) on Wii U, because they deliver half baked products to a system with a moderate user base AND moderate interest for titles like these, so they are setting themselves up for double failure and in that sense I can understand the sentiment of the irritation, because with all these measures taken, they will already KNOW well before the game ever comes out that it will fail on Wii U and whether they will use it or not, it DOES give them the opportunity to say "See? What did I tell ya, our game won't sell on the Wii U. Let's pull the plug on it". Go figure...
Just for clarification, here is the entire piece of original text and I have highlighted the specific valid points they made:
So it's Friday,where is the game reveal?
The reveal has happened and the game is Mad Men Football (another jab at EA). While this is a small indie developer and the game is for the eShop, the idea behind the game is insane but sounds like it could be brilliant fun. It is a retro style American football game which takes historical figures and groups from battlefields, and puts them on football fields! When they say "retro style", I believe they mean gameplay and not graphics and will probably translate to a game that plays more like Tecmo Super Bowl (or maybe even NFL Blitz) as opposed to Madden. Expect to throw passes with historical figures like George Washington which effectively sidesteps EA's NFL license issue. Personally I think that this sounds quite unique (and fun) and provided they can nail down the engine with some tight gameplay, we may have a Wii U exclusive sports title worth bragging about.
@Yorumi yea I agree with you on that one, we'll just have to wait and see if they're legitimate or not
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