The continuing absence of Minecraft from Nintendo systems — a release even less likely following Microsoft's acquisition of Mojang — continues to frustrate some, especially considering the phenomenal popularity of the game. In recent days news emerged of a Minecraft clone on the way to Wii U, though we were uncomfortable reporting on it due to the absence of a named developer.
We can now confirm that Nexis Games is the developer of U Craft. The studio recently made its début on Wii U with BrickBlast U!, of which we were very critical in our review, while it is also working on another game for Nintendo's system called Dance of the Damned. As for this latest project, the developer has told us that it's aiming to release it "before Christmas", though that is not 100% guaranteed.
There's little doubt that this could fulfil a key gap in the market on the Wii U, though it seems like a hugely ambitious project for such a small and relatively unproven studio. The proof of its quality will, as always, be in the final game.
Are you interesting in U Craft, or are you concerned that it won't have adequate building blocks for a solid foundation? Let us know.
Comments 73
If they are devoted into keeping this game alive and adding updates for the game, it shouldn't be too bad I guess since this is the only minecraft like game on the system and so this can get attention if done right.
It really does look horrible from a visual standpoint.
Probably a case of a developer thinking "Oh, its just a bunch of pixels it shouldn't be hard at all."
And then they realize it is too much work, rush out a copy and it is terrible.
@Jazzer94 it's a game with blocky art you take what you get
@Mega719 Minecraft actual tries to put a bit of effort in the block textures.
http://images.eurogamer.net/2012/articles//a/1/4/8/2/5/3/2/Minecraft_PC_010.png
Ucraft just looks like someone used MS Paint making everything looks horrible so I'd take Minecraft any day over this then.
@Jazzer94 this game is still in development, they aim for a Christmas release which is a while away. Why criticize it now?
@Jazzer94 plus it's made by an indie developer so of course it won't look high quality but a lot of indie games don't look top of the line yet they are still great. Be happy they are doing this it may be a great clone
@Mega719 Three months = not a long time and going from their last game I'm fairly confident this game will be awful and I'm criticizing this because it looks like an alpha build. Why should I be happy when I've already got Minecraft and hello Majong were an indie developer when they made Minecraft and it blows this out of the water.
I say bring it on since Mojang is being such a jerk about Minecraft. It even frikkin ported it to the PS Vita of all things but not the 3DS at least.
This must be that AAA game the dev was banging on about on some forums?I guess enough poor suckers must have bought Brick Blast U then to help him fund it.Judging by that screenshot though,maybe not enough
intresting, I might keep an eye on this one
@Mega719 If the developer aims for a Christmas 2014 release, the product needs to be sent to Lot Check pretty soon. And since the developer has already released a Wii U game, the developer would know that.
They should release a physical retail version, that would get non Wii U owners interested,,,.
@Takerkaneanite6
why? Non Wii U owners will buy real minecraft.
As long as there are (at least near) infinite worlds and eventual texture packs, I'll be fine with it. The fun of Minecraft, for me anyway, was having seemingly unlimited resources to work with when creating.
"Are you interesting in U Craft, or are you concerned that it won't have adequate building blocks for a solid foundation?" Huehuehuehue
Gee, this looks interesting. I'll buy it if it improves on some of the more dumb aspects of Minecraft.
Hohoho nice one
While I glad that the Wii U will have kind of minecraft. For me I will pass on it as I have the pc version and I have too many mods install on it that I really should remove some.
Hmmm im a bit skeptical but nonetheless intrigued at the same time…but at the end of the day the minecraft expert in the house is my son…so if he approves of the final product then i shall spread the good word
Theres a ton of these on Xbox Indie. Don't get your hopes up that a fourth-rate indie dev (thie last game was reviewed as a "muddled mess that gamers should avoid) can put together anything that really competes with Minecraft in 3 months. It's a race to be first and have it out for Christmas.
Nexis Games...The same guys that has done brickblast u....My toad senses is telling me this may end badly.
Eh.
@ikki5 I mean, on the Wii U e-shop will only apply for current Wii U owners, if it had a disk release, then any Minecraft fans that see it might consider buying a Wii U and picking up the game based on reviews and current and future content...
If it happens to be quality, I'll buy it without even thinking. I want Minecraft on Wii U!
The visuals remind me of cube world, an alpha of a game that was in July 2, 2013, and has still has no updates, i'm not sure if i should be holding my breath on this one.
Going by this guys previous work and poorly thought out comments on forums,if this scores any higher than a 3 or 4 I'll be shocked.My prediction? 1/10
@Dragoon04 Mojang is owned by Microsoft, now, so....
@Dragoon04 Yeah
I'll wait for the review before I decide to purchase it.
Minecraft is a pretty basic game, so clones aren't too hard to do well. But from an inexperienced developer, not too confident about this one. Good luck to them, though.
I have nothing against Minecraft clones. The game template is so simple that if other developers can offer a similar or better product, it's fair competition.
Why, yes, I like to think I'm interesting. I'd wait for a couple of review, though, before considering the purchase of this crafty (or crusty) piece of work.
If this has online coop and it should i will be all over this!
Getting it!
NIce to see somebody trying to offer something in this genre. Hopefully the game will be at least competent.
@icedude545 not now Microsoft owns it, the only reason the PS4 still has it and the Vita is still geting it is because Mojang had a signed contract
the only way Nintendo will get anything like Minecraft now will be with games like this
I'm buying it. A. it looks fun and B. I want to spite Mojang/Microsoft for being so immensely silly.
They are probably just trying to fish as much money as they can as the only "minecraft" game on the platform til people start realising it's a crap game.
@Jazzer94 Not me..I'll take this over minecraft anyday
I already knew who made this before this site did. But it's a day one buy for me since i will never buy minecraft..It's Nintendo's time now and the haters deal with it..It maybe a clone but im happy to have it
Nexis games is actually a humble developer, and his other game, the dance of the damned looks damn good.
Can't wait to see how this turns out
Hi Everyone!
Thank you all for the support and I just wanted to assure you all that I am putting 200% into developing UCraf and making it the best game it can be. Please do not judge my skill by BBU as it was my first game. I have over 20yrs of coding experience and I have been working with the wonderful minds at Nintendo of America to perfect all of our future releases.
From this day forward you can expect magic from every release from Nexis Games. We love you guys and we thank you for the opportunity to share our work with you
@Statusphere I trust you to make this good and do it justice. Good luck bro, but not that you will need it with 20 years coding experience
Thank you, I will not let you down! That is a promise!
@Statusphere my kids want this so badly. I am pulling for you. If you haven't already you should check out Eden on iOS for a reference. My kids enjoy that building game, but they want something on Wii U.
Will download it on my iPad today! Thanks for the tip!
Heh, reminds me of Total Miner and the other Minecraft clones that plagued Xbox Live Arcade before an official version for 360 was released.
Can't imagine this being as good as the real deal, though. It's bound to be missing features considering the scope of the game it's based on, imo. Combine that with the developer's track record and in a best case scenario, I can see it being a compromise for those who have no other way of playing Minecraft, nothing more than that.
Really sad that Minecraft will probably never come to Wii U because it's a ridiculously perfect match. This has very little chance of being great and as much as I support indie developers... the evidence so far shows little chance of being good. (Show me evidence otherwise please!)
Minecraft is brilliant. There is a VERY nice clone on iOS devices called Survivalcraft but it lacks the crucial multiplayer and the long game. Still, I'd love to see that developer take a serious effort on the Wii U. It's not quite carbon copy so that would help.
To really make this happen, Nintendo needs to make a Minecraft-esque game themself. Maybe it's Pikmin themed maybe it's Samus Aran (from Metroid Games) stranded on a planet and needing to survive, but just take a Nintendo approach to the genre and I'll be hooked in solid.
This has got disaster written all over it. Mojang has spend years perfecting the code. And these guys think they're gonna do it in a few months? Nopeeee
@Statusphere do you think that you might be able to release a version of this on the "new" 3ds sometime in the future? Especially since it will have more processing power.
I'm looking forward to it personally. The WiiU seems like a great system for this type of game and it's a shame the system is being shunned by so many companies and developers. I'm glad to see indie development supporting the system and will support them in return for supporting my platform of choice.
Sorry but am I the only one who thinks minecraft is way way overrated and boring ..?
@Statusphere Good to hear, will definitely keep an eye out for this!
I found minecraft to be extremely boring.. I tend to be more of a twitch player but I really don't see what the fuss is all about..
@odd69 Hi, Thanks for your comments but what crapish games are you referring to? Certainly not The Dance of the Damned, Ride, or Ball or Nothing.
Whats crappy about this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0Fr2iBt8hw
I'm interested. As much as I enjoyed Minecraft, I'm actually excited to see someone else's take on the series, especially on a system as well adapted for it as the Wii U. I just hope it has the depth that Minecraft did with things going beyond building, like the abandoned mines, hidden villages, the nether, and finally the end. Plus I loved the soundtrack. These things are what made Minecraft so memorable and feel so deep beneath the fun blocky surface visuals.
@Statusphere
That video you posted is nice i can see myself enjoying it, but tell the team to put more polish in the graphics for the ps4 version, those sony fanboys WILL rip it up.
@odd69 Thanks and I am the team, its just me! lol... That video is just to show where I am with the project and does not represent the finished game. A work in progress describes it best! Thanks for the comments!
@statusphere
What? that is amazing dude. I just may pick it up on that alone.
@odd69 Thanks, the fact that I will make it great will be a bonus I guess! Thanks for your support!
If i was told this was made buy a one person team, i probably wouldnt have been sooo hard on it. Im sorry(looks at you nintendo life!). I was referring to Brick Blast in my comment though.
BBU was my first game and will be updated and improved shortly! Can't wait to see what NL and the world thinks of the update
@Jazzer94 To be honest, I actually like the minimalist/'cartoon'/plastic packs in MC. Something about the aesthetic is very pleasing to me.
@Takerkaneanite6
no... why would they buy a cheap ripoff to minecraft... let alone go out and buy a $300 console just to buy a crap copy?
Find it funny that Nintendo Life, specifically Thomas Whitehead is unveiling the game to us, as only a few weeks ago, were in a bit of a heated debate about the site. I suppose they all made up and it was a misunderstanding?
im getting the 3ds clone not this one.
I'm just gonna keep playing Minecraft instead thank you.
This is just about as embarrassing as the whole Mad Men Football thing. Just more ammo for the non-nintendo gamers to throw at us.
Buy this one or that 1, the point is support Nintendo! Thanks for the comments!
@Sergio151 no way that happens. There are probably a hundred Minecraft clones already on XB360, they'd go after those first. I doubt it'd be worth the bad press, lawyer expense and backlash to do so.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPrQJEVsTIE
I can't wait to see the finished game, the only thing I hope they do that has not been mentioned is machine building that was the major draw for me to mine craft!! Being able to build unique machines that even the developers hadn't planned for!! If they put that kind of feature in I will buy all the dlc's specifically for it!!! For example I built a self repairing house with a secret treasure hold! I am a big fan of nintendo and there is a lot of potential for games like this, the biggest draw is player creativity, heck people have created a working calculator using digital machines in mine craft, so if you can do stuff like that in this u craft I can see I new title being added to Nintendo's hall of fame!!!!
I'm getting this just so I can tell Microsoft to go to Hell.
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