Nintendo to Show Efforts to Expand Range of Developers at GDC

GDC Nintendo to Show Efforts to Expand Range of Developers

Seemingly in response to weakened third party support, Nintendo is looking at a variety of solutions to boost content on its portable and home consoles. In addition to partnering with other developers, as it is with Atlus for Fire Emblem X Shin Megami Tensei, Nintendo will be seeking to "expand the range of software developers."

"At GDC (Game Developers Conference) to be held in March, we will show you some of our efforts to expand the range of software developers," said Iwata. "They will include the development environment used for 'Wii Street U' and some VOD services, where you can develop the Wii U software using web technologies like HTML5 and JavaScript and Unity, a cross-platform video game engine used by many users."

Exactly what that means is anyone's guess. Will Nintendo reveal increased game development? New non-game applications? Fortunately we'll only have to wait until late March to find out.

Nintendo has to move fast to repair all the damage that was caused from bad third party games like Batman and Madden and then other devs running away from the Wii U's weak hardware to more processor friendly companies.

I expect that Nintendo will try to show as many third party devs as possible and stress that there's going to be the same experience as elsewhere, something Nintendo promised at launch but most of the games were inferior.

Nintendo has to move fast to repair all the damage that was caused from bad third party games like Batman and Madden and then other devs running away from the Wii U's weak hardware to more processor friendly companies.

I expect that Nintendo will try to show as many third party devs as possible and stress that there's going to be the same experience as elsewhere, something Nintendo promised at launch but most of the games were inferior.

Jaysonguy

[QUOTE="Jaysonguy"]

Nintendo has to move fast to repair all the damage that was caused from bad third party games like Batman and Madden and then other devs running away from the Wii U's weak hardware to more processor friendly companies.

I expect that Nintendo will try to show as many third party devs as possible and stress that there's going to be the same experience as elsewhere, something Nintendo promised at launch but most of the games were inferior.

Heil68

Nintendo has to move fast to repair all the damage that was caused from bad third party games like Batman and Madden and then other devs running away from the Wii U's weak hardware to more processor friendly companies.

I expect that Nintendo will try to show as many third party devs as possible and stress that there's going to be the same experience as elsewhere, something Nintendo promised at launch but most of the games were inferior.

Jaysonguy

Move fast, for what? Some bad ports? Every console I ever bought at launch had some bad ports. That has nothing to do with lack of third party support. Third party devs rushed to get out at launch.Alx1231

The problem is that third party support for the system hasn't really made much progress since those ports. Not a single third party publisher has stepped to the plate on the system as we speak. This is especially troubling when you think about just how unenthusiastic Japanese third parties have been to make games for the system. The only way Nintendo has been able to get notable third party-developed games is by publishing them, and that's not exactly a strong long-term model.

The reason why Third party devs don't make games for the WIi U is because they sell so low. I mean COD, one of the best ports, sold horribly. This is probably due to the fact that all of these games were already out on other systems that most people already have. The Wii U is slightly more powerful than the PS3 and 360. With an off the shelf processor, devs should have no problem developing for it. Alx1231

As I've said a million times already, third parties aren't exactly going to be running to develop games for the Wii U because they know that their games aren't going to move very many units, even to justify porting those games a lot of times. People thought that the system's power was bound to change things, but this has always been and will always be a bottom line situation for third parties. What that means is that unless much better numbers start to show in terms of sales, things aren't going to change, and I don't see it happening so easily. It certainly doesn't help that the Wii U's sales are below expectations, but even if they were, we'd be talking about the same thing anyways, as we have since at least the N64 days.

Closer on-topic, I'm not even sure if 'expanding' the developer pool is related to conventional video game software. Sounds to me like Nintendo's trying to increase the usage of the Wii U for things outside of gaming. Not that there's anything really wrong with that, but it's not exactly where Nintendo's priorities should be, if you ask me. It'd be one thing if the Wii U currently had Wii-like mass market appeal, but none of these things matter if the system can't find its way into more living rooms.

[QUOTE="Jaysonguy"]

Nintendo has to move fast to repair all the damage that was caused from bad third party games like Batman and Madden and then other devs running away from the Wii U's weak hardware to more processor friendly companies.

I expect that Nintendo will try to show as many third party devs as possible and stress that there's going to be the same experience as elsewhere, something Nintendo promised at launch but most of the games were inferior.

Heil68

It runs pretty badly at times becoming a stop motion game when action occurs with lots of enemies and effects on the screen.

Those kinds of things can't happen if Nintendo wants to compete for multiplat sales on their console.

[QUOTE="Heil68"][QUOTE="Jaysonguy"]

Nintendo has to move fast to repair all the damage that was caused from bad third party games like Batman and Madden and then other devs running away from the Wii U's weak hardware to more processor friendly companies.

I expect that Nintendo will try to show as many third party devs as possible and stress that there's going to be the same experience as elsewhere, something Nintendo promised at launch but most of the games were inferior.

Jaysonguy

It runs pretty badly at times becoming a stop motion game when action occurs with lots of enemies and effects on the screen.

Those kinds of things can't happen if Nintendo wants to compete for multiplat sales on their console.

[QUOTE="Jaysonguy"]

[QUOTE="Heil68"] I read/heard Batman was a good port to the WiiU, it's not? I thought about renting, maybe even buying it because I really love that game. Heil68

It runs pretty badly at times becoming a stop motion game when action occurs with lots of enemies and effects on the screen.

Those kinds of things can't happen if Nintendo wants to compete for multiplat sales on their console.

I heard Darksiders 2 is supposed to be good on the Wii U. Thrine 2 Director's Cut is supposed to be one of the best 3rd party games on the Wii U.

[QUOTE="Jaysonguy"]

[QUOTE="Heil68"] I read/heard Batman was a good port to the WiiU, it's not? I thought about renting, maybe even buying it because I really love that game. Heil68

It runs pretty badly at times becoming a stop motion game when action occurs with lots of enemies and effects on the screen.

Those kinds of things can't happen if Nintendo wants to compete for multiplat sales on their console.

I heard about framerate dips in Batman, but I don't know how much of a deal it really is. Plus Jayson usually exaggerates the negative things.

I haven't tried other versions of ME3 but it is perfectly functional on the WiiU.

I've got Batman, and while I've not played much of it, I've so far had no problem with any framerate issues. I'll update if I run into any, but so far I've been OK.spike6958

batman playd absolutely fine here on my PAL TV. yes the frameraye dipped when iwas FIGHTING 50 ENEMIES!!!!!!!!!!! oh noes....

batman playd absolutely fine here on my PAL TV. yes the frameraye dipped when iwas FIGHTING 50 ENEMIES!!!!!!!!!!! oh noes....

kungfool69

1. There's not one part of the game that has 50 enemies

2. There's frame rate problems throughout the game

[QUOTE="Jaysonguy"]

Nintendo has to move fast to repair all the damage that was caused from bad third party games like Batman and Madden and then other devs running away from the Wii U's weak hardware to more processor friendly companies.

I expect that Nintendo will try to show as many third party devs as possible and stress that there's going to be the same experience as elsewhere, something Nintendo promised at launch but most of the games were inferior.

Heil68

[QUOTE="kungfool69"]

batman playd absolutely fine here on my PAL TV. yes the frameraye dipped when iwas FIGHTING 50 ENEMIES!!!!!!!!!!! oh noes....

Jaysonguy

1. There's not one part of the game that has 50 enemies

2. There's frame rate problems throughout the game

[QUOTE="Heil68"][QUOTE="Jaysonguy"]

Nintendo has to move fast to repair all the damage that was caused from bad third party games like Batman and Madden and then other devs running away from the Wii U's weak hardware to more processor friendly companies.

I expect that Nintendo will try to show as many third party devs as possible and stress that there's going to be the same experience as elsewhere, something Nintendo promised at launch but most of the games were inferior.

dobzilian

Closer on-topic, I'm not even sure if 'expanding' the developer pool is related to conventional video game software. Sounds to me like Nintendo's trying to increase the usage of the Wii U for things outside of gaming. Not that there's anything really wrong with that, but it's not exactly where Nintendo's priorities should be, if you ask me. It'd be one thing if the Wii U currently had Wii-like mass market appeal, but none of these things matter if the system can't find its way into more living rooms.

Madmangamer364

Agree, getting more games should be the utmost priority atm not fake google holiday. I just hope its to secure more games rather than apps. :)

[QUOTE="kungfool69"]

batman playd absolutely fine here on my PAL TV. yes the frameraye dipped when iwas FIGHTING 50 ENEMIES!!!!!!!!!!! oh noes....

Jaysonguy

1. There's not one part of the game that has 50 enemies

2. There's frame rate problems throughout the game

The reason the game ran bad was because Epic hadn't optimized the Unreal Engine for Wii U yet and the WB studio that ported it to Wii U had to try and optimize it themselves.

[QUOTE="Jaysonguy"]

[QUOTE="kungfool69"]

batman playd absolutely fine here on my PAL TV. yes the frameraye dipped when iwas FIGHTING 50 ENEMIES!!!!!!!!!!! oh noes....

Vickman178

1. There's not one part of the game that has 50 enemies

2. There's frame rate problems throughout the game

The reason the game ran bad was because Epic hadn't optimized the Unreal Engine for Wii U yet and the WB studio that ported it to Wii U had to try and optimize it themselves.

I have Arkham City on both the 360 and Wii U and I like the Wii U version better. The framerate issues are minimal and having a real time map more than makes up for them. I also prefer the gadget selection on the gamepad to the awkward selection wheel from the 360 version where it often takes me several tries to get the gadget I want. Also, the contrast and colors seem to be better in the Wii U version as I can see better without having to turn up the brightness and washing everything out like I have to do on the 360 version. I don't think you can call it a bad port.

Darksiders does have framerate issues and the game crashes, but apparently these problems exist in the 360 version as well. While the Wii U version is not an improvement, I don't think you can call it a bad port either. 

Madden might be a bad port, but it is my understanding that it is a different version. It has a different physics engine, different player animations, and was developed seperately. In any event, I think we will have to wait for Madden 25 to see how much effort EA wants to show for a true port.

If developers find the Wii U easy to port from other versions, I see no reason for publishers to ignore the Wii U. If new consoles offer features the Wii U cannot easily replicate, then 3rd parties won't bother porting from other systems. As developers are showing more and more interest in cross platform developing for PCs, and tablets, it makes sense for Nintendo to emphasize any ability to run cross platform code and game engines. 

Games like Trine 2 and The Cave show the benefits of this approach. 

[QUOTE="kungfool69"]

batman playd absolutely fine here on my PAL TV. yes the frameraye dipped when iwas FIGHTING 50 ENEMIES!!!!!!!!!!! oh noes....

Jaysonguy

1. There's not one part of the game that has 50 enemies

2. There's frame rate problems throughout the game

gets pretty damn close in the warehouse towrads the end of the game. there may not have been EXACTLY 50, but there were A LOT. The framerate doesnt so muc has dip during normal play, it just doesnt stay constantly high

[QUOTE="Jaysonguy"]

[QUOTE="kungfool69"]

batman playd absolutely fine here on my PAL TV. yes the frameraye dipped when iwas FIGHTING 50 ENEMIES!!!!!!!!!!! oh noes....

Vickman178

1. There's not one part of the game that has 50 enemies

2. There's frame rate problems throughout the game

The reason the game ran bad was because Epic hadn't optimized the Unreal Engine for Wii U yet and the WB studio that ported it to Wii U had to try and optimize it themselves.

Here's some game ideas:

- Star Wars HD Collection (Rogue Squadron 1-3, Shadows of Empire, Racer - updated graphics plox)

- Turok 1 Remake (hey, it was a cool game in it's time and Ninty could use a own shooter)

- Mortal Kombat Ultimate (enhanced version of MK 2011)

- Super Street Fighter IV Turbo U Edition (same as above)

- Sonic Adventure 3 *or*  Sonic Ultimate Collection (all Sonic 3D games in HD + the classic 2D ones)

- Resident Evil 2 Remake (just make Capcom do it; they can use the same engine they used for the first remake, just with HD backgrounds)

- Contra 5 (keep it 2D, but in HD)

- Mega Man HD Collection (collection of all the NES Mega Mans in glorious 2D HD graphics and sound; MM7 & 8 can be included too)

- Bomberman U (new entry in the series that makes good use of controller and has strong MP mode)

- Tetris U (the ultimate version of Tetris as a free or cheap downloadable title; makes good use of controller too)

- Final Fantasy VII Remake (for teh lulz)

I'd love to see WiiU become the go-to platform for indie and mid-level developers. The PS4 and next Xbox will be very expensive to develop for, especially early on, and Nintendo can capitalize on this by providing a friendly and cheap environment for smaller and more experimental studios. The Wii sort of did this but the stakes are even higher this time on MS and Sony's platform and Nintendo going out and actually cultivating the dev support this time means we might see that dynamic play out much more definitively this generation than we did with the Wii. 

I'd love to see WiiU become the go-to platform for indie and mid-level developers. The PS4 and next Xbox will be very expensive to develop for, especially early on, and Nintendo can capitalize on this by providing a friendly and cheap environment for smaller and more experimental studios. The Wii sort of did this but the stakes are even higher this time on MS and Sony's platform and Nintendo going out and actually cultivating the dev support this time means we might see that dynamic play out much more definitively this generation than we did with the Wii. 

Master_Hermes

Don't count on it. The advantages the Wii had were that developing games for it was affordable enough for mid-level developers to release retail titles on the system, along with the massive and diverse userbase that was there. Games like Muramasa, Little King's Story, and A Boy and His Blob wouldn't have gotten the green light at the time if they were on any other console but the Wii, especially as exclusive games. On the other hand, the Wii U's HD model and slow-growing market simply don't offer those same avenues for mid-to-indie developers to stand out in such a way and have a chance at succeeding. There's the online market approach, obviously, between but the more-established online platforms that'll be making their way to the upcoming systems and larger developers/publishers also releasing full-sized games on all online platforms these days, the Wii U won't be doing the smaller guys any favors in that area, either.

That's not to say that the Wii U won't get mid-indie-level support, but I wouldn't expect the system to do miracles for them. You'll have some efforts from those who are willing to experiment with the Gamepad, assuming there's nothing similar to it in the works, but I can't see the scene developing any further than what it was on the Wii at the moment.

I'd love to see WiiU become the go-to platform for indie and mid-level developers. The PS4 and next Xbox will be very expensive to develop for, especially early on, and Nintendo can capitalize on this by providing a friendly and cheap environment for smaller and more experimental studios. The Wii sort of did this but the stakes are even higher this time on MS and Sony's platform and Nintendo going out and actually cultivating the dev support this time means we might see that dynamic play out much more definitively this generation than we did with the Wii. 

Master_Hermes

One of Nintendo's first party developers might of already be hinting at this since they were collaborating more with Nintendo then they ever had since 2011 they changed there name as of February 1, 2013 Brownie Brown is now known as 1-Up Studios.

Brownie Brown has recently restructured and changed their name.

Translated page of their homepage