![]() ![]() "The GamePad is the single most interesting feature of the Wii U, so every game designer will try to make it a key feature of his game. certain motion-control gestures with the GamePad require clearance from Nintendo." Most restrictions that stood out to us were quite obvious. When asked if Nintendo enforced GamePad support Pichlmair said, "I have to admit that I do not know if that is a requirement, but I guess it is. You don't need to force an online mode, for example, and a game like Chasing Aurora that centers around local-only multiplayer was released without even online leaderboards - though these will be added later in an update. "Nintendo's QA department had a lightning fast turnaround time."Īccording to Pichlmair, Nintendo has a rather laissez faire towards requirements. The system sounds like a massive improvement then, but what's it actually like to work with Nintendo? "It was a pleasant surprise," noted Pichlmair. "There is a very well defined pipeline into the eShop and it will make it a much more lively place than good old WiiWare." Martin Pichlmair, programmer, Broken Rules Pichlmair added, "There is a very well defined pipeline into the eShop and it will make it a much more lively place than good old WiiWare." Little Inferno is by half of the team that made World of Goo, a highlight of Wiiware. "The eShop interface appears to make games much more discoverable as compared to the original Wii, which is very important to smaller studios with zero marketing budget like us," said Littler Inferno developer The Tomorrow Corporation's Kyle Gabler. The notoriously cumbersome friend codes are a thing of the past and people can add friends simply by sending requests like on any other digital gaming platform, and there's better visibility all around with games being promoted more frequently on the eShop's front page, complete with its own indie games section. You can now buy games with local currency instead of confusing Nintendo Points. Pichlmair noted several other improvements to the way the eShop operates. "There are full retail titles being offered, so it's at least 25GB." "I don't think there is a size limit you should worry about," said Toki Tori 2 developer Two Tribes' Collin Van Ginkel. On the Wii U eShop the size limit is much larger, if indeed there is one at all. On Wiiware games had to be under a minuscule 40MB. There's also fewer size restrictions on eShop games. ![]() not the two to three weeks wait that the other platforms have." ![]() changes 'code') but it seems like that's not a very long process usually - i.e. Updates still need certification if they're meaningful (i.e. Trine 2 developer Frozenbyte's Joel Kinnunen - who previously published Trine on PSN and Steam and its sequel on the same plus XBLA - said, "the Wii U eShop is much better than XBLA and PSN from this point of view. "The eShop interface appears to make games much more discoverable as compared to the original Wii, which is very important to smaller studios with zero marketing budget." Kyle Gabler, co-founder, The Tomorrow Corporation Chasing Aurora is by the team that made the excellent Wiiware platformer And Yet it Moves. "There is a process associated with this that makes sure that our game maintains or surpasses the level of quality it had before the update," explained Pichlmair. There's even options to add microtransactions. Devs can add updates with new features, instead of simply patches that fix broken games or bugs. There's also more DLC support this time around. They can even add demos whenever they'd like. Furthermore, they can implement sales, promotions and price-drops. Martin Pichlmair of Broken Rules, whose 2D multiplayer flying game Chasing Aurora was a launch title in the US and is coming soon to Europe, noted that developers on the Wii U eShop can set their own price and release date. That could all change with the Wii U eShop which, according to several indie developers I spoke to, has addressed almost every issue WiiWare had. Nintendo certainly hasn't been doing it any favours by releasing a new model of the Wii that can't even go online to access its own shop. It didn't have the visibility or diversity of XBLA, PSN or Steam and customers tended to forget it existed. Yet, by and large the service was forgotten. The Wii's digital storefront Wiiware had some great games like World of Goo, the Lost Winds series, and just this summer we saw the fiendishly difficult exploratory platformer La-Mulana make an appearance. Historically Nintendo's online presence has been lackluster to say the least. ![]()
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