Ever since the Gamecube started seeing developers desert like rats from a sinking ship, the biggest concern on many peoples minds is whether the same could happen on the Wii.
Well could it?....
UbiSoft
- UbiSoft recieved the first Alpha and Beta kits from nintendo. Even then, they had already started developing games on older Gamecube kits and used the new Wii kits to port across the controls. This was meant to give them a head start over the other publishers at developing games for the new Wii console. However, what has happened is that, without fail, all games developed so far by Ubisoft have been pretty lacklustre. It's at the point where I am starting to deliberately avoid games if I notice they're made by Ubisoft
. However, this also means that Ubisoft have firmly stated their intentions to develop for the Wii. I would hope that as they put more time and effort into creating genuine Wii games (rather than ports from the 360), the games will get better and better.
Namco
- Historically, they have already secured major franchises within Nintendo. One famous one is Donkey Kong. The subsequent Donkey Kong titles were also very popular amongst gamers.
- Namco secures the StarFox license and develops StarFox Assualt, which goes on to ship in excess of a million copies.
- Namco works with Nintendo to create a new arcade MarioKart (the first arcade game Nintendo had made in about a decade). The game also featured Pac-Man, probably the most famous and iconic video game character of all time.
This close co-operation bodes well for the future of Namco with Nintendo, as it was during the SNES era that Namco was tempted away from Nintendo to start developing for the TurboGrafx16 home console instead.
With this developing giant now firmly back into the Nintendo camp, the future looks VERY good for us Wii'ers (i'm patiently waiting for "Namco Arcade Classics" to arrive
)
Capcom
- Super Ghouls'n'Ghosts for the SNES....'nuff said
- How could we forget one of the BEST games to come out on the Gamecube?...Resident Evil 4. The important thing to remember is that this wasn't just a great game...Capcom signed an exclusivity deal with Nintendo that brought a great franchise into Nintendo's camp (although the 'exclusivity' part has now expired). In fact, it was such a good game that they have now announced a specific Wii-only version.
Sega
Who'd have thought that these once bitterest of enemies would now be working together?
- Initially, after the demise of the Dreamcast, Sega announced that it would concentrate on development only in the future (a tear-jerking moment for many of you I'm sure). As a result, F-Zero GX for the Gamecube was developed by in large, by Sega. This was an important license for them to obtain from Nintendo as it ensured the opportunity to develop new games for further consoles with Ninty.
- Yet again, even more surprise. Nintendo have now granted a license to allow Sega to develop the first ever game with both Mario and Sonic starring. Who could've forseen this in the early 90's?
The new game will launch in anticipation of the next olympic games and is titled "Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games"...to be released on both DS and Wii.
Konami
- Yet another gaming giant supporting the Wii. Konami's biggest creation (almost their mascot) is Solid Snake. Previously only appearing on the PS2 (now cross platform), Konami has given permission to allow him to appear in the upcoming Super Smash Bros Brawl game for the Wii. This indicates the willingness of both gaming concerns to work together.
- Rumours abound that the next Silent Hill game will appear on the Wii as well. As the majority of these games take place in dark, damp corridors/rooms with little light and an intentional graininess to add a claustrophobic feel to proceedings, it will not be a game that necessarily requires HD support, and is therefore more likely to be Wii-bound as well.
- Konami is due to make an exclusive Dance Dance Revolution title for the Wii entitled Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party.
- Konami is responsible for the excellent Elebits/Eledees game for the Wii...proving that they are happy to spend time and effort making games that have innovative use of the Wiimote rather than just port tired old Xbox games across to the Wii (Ubisoft take note
).
Square-Enix
- One of the best selling franchises of all time in Japan (and a biggie worldwide too) is coming to the DS. Yes folks, Final Fantasy...a series once known for it's PS2 exclusivity...is about to land on the DS in the form of Revenant Wings. We already have FFIII, and this shows just how commited Square Enix is to Nintendo platforms.
- There is also rumour of a Final Fantasy game appearing on the Wii.
- Square-Enix establishes a studio devoted entirely to producing Nintendo games. "The Game Designers Studio" was set up with the help of Nintendo.
- The flip side of this coin is that Nintendo has not been averse to giving Square Enix use of it's own internal studios.....namely, Genious Sonority being used to help Square-Enix bring Dragon Quest (yet another major franchise) to the Wii.
Independants
Last but not least, we have the many many 3rd party independant developers that are currently interested in the Wii:
- n-Space is a development company that created the fantastic Gamecube game Geist.
There is always room for a sequel on the Wii. - Kuju Entertainment has the Advance Wars license which they have used to create Battalion Wars. This is a franchise that Nintendo publishes...it's so succesful that a sequel for the Wii is due.
- Retro Studios is developing the hotly anticipated Metroid Prime 3 corruption for the Wii:
By all accounts, the playable demos so far indicate that this will be a BIG success on the Wii console. - Monolith Soft comes under the Nintendo umbrella to bring us Disaster Day Of Crisis:
- Both Pipeworks Software and Santa Cruz Games team up to bring us Godzilla unleashed, due out probably around Xmas '07 on both the Wii and the DS:
Well I could go on and on. It seems that the developers aren't merely developing for the Wii, they're positively flocking to the console in droves. For every shortsighted developer that decides to only work on the 360 or PS3, there are many more who can't wait to get their hands on Wii devkits it seems.
Up to this point, there have already been a few very dissapointing titles appearing (Rampage anyone
) as well as excellent ones (Zelda/Heatseeker). However, as Wii devkits get utilised more and more (and the Gamecube devkits are thrown away
), we'll hopefully see bigger and better games making it to this most innovative of consoles....
The future looks bright.....the future looks Ninty
