Cardiff team developing game for Wii U

Cardiff-based Dakko Dakko is working on a new game for Nintendo’s recently launched console and aiming for international sales with support from the Welsh Government’s Digital Development Fund.

Dakko Dakko specialises in creating videogame software for electronic distribution via game consoles and this latest project follows fast on the heels of two critically acclaimed games the company released for Sony PlayStation game systems.

Rhodri Broadbent, who founded Dakko Dakko in 2010, has a decade of experience creating computer games in the UK and Japan and worked on numerous high-profile computer games for Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony.

Dakko Dakko has recently been awarded official games developer status for Nintendo and Rhodri and his team were keen to create a challenging game exclusively for Nintendo when it launched its new platform – Wii U™.

Gap funding of £50,000 from the Welsh Government’s Digital Development Fund will ensure the project is developed in Wales, bringing new talent to Wales and helping to boost the console game development sector in the region.

The Fund provides non-repayable seed funding to support the development of new creative products and services that can be exploited across multiple digital platforms and in international markets.

Business Minister Edwina Hart said: “I am pleased the Fund is supporting companies like Dakko Dakko, which are making their mark in the extremely competitive games development sector, and looking to reach an international audience.

“The Fund is playing an important role in helping creative businesses around Wales develop a number of interesting, innovative and commercially viable projects with the potential to help fuel the growth of this creative industries sector.”
Rhodri said support from the Digital Development Fund would ensure all the development work take places in their studio in Cardiff Business Technology Centre.

“It means we have been able to create two jobs and bring new talent to Wales to assist with the production – without this support we may have had to move to one of the established game development hubs to access the skills we needed.

"This is our third title, which builds on the foundations of our first releases with a more ambitious design and significantly wider consumer reach. We will be targeting multiple regions including more than ten European countries, Australia and North America."

He added that Dakko Dakko has retained all rights to its products and the intellectual property enabling them to maximise its value and explore potentially lucrative marketing opportunities.