Beamdog president says Nintendo kept him in the dark, doe...

[robometal cowboy]

Beamdog president says Nintendo kept him in the dark, doesn't understand Wii U
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When we shipped MDK2 there was a large confusion about demos on the platform and we never got a straight answer if demos were allowed. We were not allowed to set the price, Nintendo set the pricing, telling us after a week it would be 1000 points. As well, there was never any discussion of doing a sale or promoting the title. This all contributed to a title we worked very hard on not getting any differentiation from other titles in the WiiWare store. The result was large disappointment with the platform. - Beamdog's Trent Oster

Mr. Oster also admitting to not understanding the Wii when it came out, and now he's feeling the same way about Wii U.

"For the Wii U, I once again don't get it. I'm having a hard time seeing how a tablet controller & console system is going to be revolutionary. I could be wrong, but I think the gaming world has changed irrevocably and there are now two fronts: Triple A console titles which resemble blockbuster movies and freemium/app store titles which are closer to television. The triple "A" titles cost a ton to develop and there is a market for the best of the breed, with the major brands doing huge numbers but many titles not even breaking even.

The freemium/app space has everything from "assware" (my pet name for poor quality freemium titles), up to what I would compare to HBO television titles, which are high production quality and well executed games which sell in the $10-$30 price point. The PC platform bridges both models, which makes it an interesting target to develop for. To me, the Wii U doesn't fit into either model and I see a lot of difficulty for it on either front. The app store/freemium model has redefined consumer pricing expectations, making consumers much less likely to invest $60 in a title without playing it first. The triple "A" model focuses on delivering the experience you expect at the agreed upon price, which is going to be hard to sell conceptually with a new platform like the Wii U. I wish Nintendo the best and I hope they can hit big with a major success."

I am puzzled as to why Oster decided to create a port for WiiWare at all. Seems like he doesn't really understand the platform's aim or restrictions. At least he wishes Nintendo well!

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[LegendofSantiago]

Okay, this is just getting annoying

[BigLord]

I knew this guy had his heart on the right place. The way NoA treated them is despicable. I'm very glad the eShop is a MUCH BETTER service than WiiWare.

... Imma gonna start using "assware" too

[CyTheLegend]

...Who is he?

[Shaanyboi]

I do like the term "assware"...

[gtt]

he has some very valid points. I hope nintendo fixed them.

[kernal]

the moral of this story is "ALWAYS do your homework"..

but, though ive already said it, i hope nintendo has fixed how they operate in the digital landscape... which DOES seem to be the case.

mr watsham, if you could chime in to confirm or deny this, it would be greatly appreciated..

[bptboy]

Why do we continue to make him and his company popular?

[Iridium077]

Why do we continue to make him and his company popular?

...because he's actually mostly correct?

[Pichu2010]

Yes he has valid points, now stfu. Seriously. The eShop is proof Nintendo is getting their s*** together, go port some more games ffs.

[FrenchFryGuy]

Maybe he should call up Jools Watsham and get some education on how to actually enjoy success with Nintendo. Apparently it can be done if you know what you're doing and, you know, research the systems you're working on.

[Mike_Intellivision]

Two points.

1. Don't go making statements on Twitter. You can't explain yourself in 140 characters. And he knew that (and tweeted it).

2. If you don't understand the platform, don't develop for it. This sounds like bad business dealings -- and not just on Nintendo's end. And given how Nintendo has worked with some people lately -- Colors 3D for example goes from Homebrew to eShop -- at least one of the parties involved appears to be understanding things better.

Mike from Morgantown

[cbbomb]

Well, Nintendo treated the wiiware and all the online service like all their other peripherals. In other words, they basically forgot about it and did nothing to promote it. So they basically left the devs in the lurch.

And people saying Nintendo is getting their shovel together. Bullshit. weren't they supposed to have gotten their shovel together ages ago? Like before the Wii? And how do we know what Nintendo is doing with the Wii U? Do people here know what the certification is? The size limit? Will the lack of harddrive negatively impact these devs?

I guess people should shut up about EA since everyone knows how they work so it's people's and not EA's fault right?

[Mike_Intellivision]

Okay, this is just getting annoying

Agreed. It is starting to feel as if this was manufactured to create free advertising for BG.

[gtt]

Will the lack of harddrive negatively impact these devs?

nope just us. As long as they include a few gigs storage in the system, they can make the size limit for certification under that.

[V3N0M]

Wow, in the other thread I gave the guy the benefit of the doubt going in that he and his company KNEW exactly what it was that they were walking into. But upon seeing this....sorry but as heartless as it sounds I've got about 0 sympathy for this guy. Talk about unprofessional. Who the hell do they have over there at the company who is supposed to check up on all the legal mumbo jumbo, terms of service etc? Apperantly no one. GG Beamdog. Next time get a clue.

[LegendofSantiago]

@Mike_Intellivision Yeah, i'm sure he has gotten quite a few sales from this scandle. I would be tempted to buy the game if i actually used wii ware or any other non e-shop service. I haven't heard anything about this company or their port of a 10+year old dreamcast game till now, which should show the lack of advertisement they gave for it. This isn't the way the president should be acting, it's very childish of him.

[Meelow100]

Tons of devs: "The Wii U is going to be revolutionary!"

Dev that's mad at Nintendo: "I don't see how it's revolutionary"

Nintendo just pay this guy he's getting really annoying.

[TheLastBlade]

Ok, I'll be honest with you guys. Despite "assware" having some games and the ability to have virtual console games, IT IS NOT A GOOD SERVICE. E-Shop at least shows potential in the near future (it has more ability and power compared to wiiware).

[mbh911]

While I don't agree with everything he wrote but RMC you gotta admit that the Wii Ware does have it's flaws and it could of been a whole lot better but instead nintendo just didn't do much except having a 50 Mb limit. I guess the Wii Ware really was just a test to see how Nintendo could handle the download gaming world. Now that the E-shop is flooding with great downloadable games to play, I really hope the Wii U shop channel or whatever its going to be called addresses the feedback/reception/flaws/suggestions/etc from the Wii Shop channel and makes it a better experience for gamers/developers world wide

So far I have downloaded 15+ Wii ware games and 20+ virtual console games and I want to triple those numbers when the Wii U releases because I honestly think the Wii U shop channel could have potential if Nintendo can pull it off. I dont want to have to download the next gen versions downloadable games like Burger World Tour. I wanted to buy it on the Wii Ware (wii mote controls interested me) but after hearing all the stuff that was cut out of the game in order to meet the 50 Mb requirements I decided to download the psn version

[kernal]

Two points.

1. Don't go making statements on Twitter. You can't explain yourself in 140 characters. And he knew that (and tweeted it).

2. If you don't understand the platform, don't develop for it. This sounds like bad business dealings -- and not just on Nintendo's end. And given how Nintendo has worked with some people lately -- Colors 3D for example goes from Homebrew to eShop -- at least one of the parties involved appears to be understanding things better.

Mike from Morgantown

yeah, i think companies like shin'en, nnooo, renegade kid, 2d boy, gaijin games, nicalis, wayforward and even TELLTALE (to name a few) are proof that if you know what youre doing, you can have success on the system.. in doing some research i even found this snippet from an interview with 2d boy's ron caramel:

"WW: As indie developers what has it been like to work with Nintendo on getting this game ready for release?

Ron: So far so good. They're have dealt with us very honestly and fairly and are perfectly fine with us doing our thing and being totally hands off. They've helped us a lot with publicity, and the terms of their distribution agreement for WiiWare are very fair."

so, while i still think nintendo couldve handled things better, it wasnt sour grapes for everyone

* i never said traveller's tale, i have no idea what youre talking about

[Battlestriker123]

He's just a bit bitter... even if he has a valid reason to be upset.

[internet]

he's all over the place , i understand the money problem , it should have been a sure thing , but like many downloadable release it wasn't . Going by his definition of the new landscape , mdk is not a AAA and not a freemium , so yeah that's unfortunate .
wii u won't be as successful as the wii or it will , but it's really not related to those games

[Koopzilla]

He has a point, and that is assware.

[metalpants]

Why does this guy keep popping up everywhere? We all know he hates Nintendo, great. Let's move on to bigger, better things now, K? It's starting to seem like he just wants publicity...