Wii Developement Kit To Cost Less Than $2000

[eatmorchikin6464]

http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/wii/wii-devkit-under-2k-182488.php

http://digitalbattle.com/2006/06/07/first-image-of-wii-development-kit

Your thoughts and opinions?

Mine are mixed. This means there will be plenty of opportunity for loads of indy games, but then again, will alot of these games be crap and flood the market?

[ripht|CoC]

Development might be cheap, but production won't be. Only the higher-quality indie games will see mass-production in the market.

Sounds damn good to me. :)

[DarkReality]

That's... woah. Imagine the possibilities. Question is: how difficult is it to make games? Will it be possible to import character models and behaviour out of other games (i.e. Link, Mario, Samus...)? Because if everyone has to start from scratch, then we're going to experience the same thing as with flash games. Thousands of sub-par games that may or may not be fun to play because ideas will be absolutely dragged out ("yes! Here we have ANOTHER one of those games where you have to match three gems of the same color! YAAAAY!") concealing the few, really good ones.

[The Brown Cow]

Well, they still have to get picked up by a publisher, so we won't see too many crappy games unless some publisher feels like blowing a lot of money picking them up.

It's also been suggested that it will be possible to develop games for the virtual console, for those looking to make a more simple, cheaper game.

[Freddy]

Now lets compare this $2000 dev kit with the PS3's $20,000 dev kit.
=]


Ok, back to indies. Even if the publishers pick someting crazy, Nintendo still has to approve it worthy to the console.
Similar to how publishers send game videos to the ESRB to be rated, they do that with the consoles they're going to be on. All 3 consoles do this.

[eatmorchikin6464]

And, although this would be rare, you could always make your own games as a hobby, ya know? Get a dev kit for 2,000 then make a bunch of little games. Also, technically, couldn't you also distribute your games on a small scale by manufacturing them at home?

*Invisions SA On The Wii*

[denacioust]

Thatd be so cool making your own...maybe you could freely distribute them over the internet?

[Mr. Anderson]

use paypal.:)
SA on wii would be awesome, but it wont happen.
...or will it:)
meh, there going to make good games. dont worry.

[denacioust]

I just hope it doesnt diminish the reputation of the console i.e. alot of really crappy games being put forward overshadowing the real good ones...

[ripht|CoC]

PC development kits cost... Nothing. ;) Doesn't mean that suddenly all the good PC games are overtaken, does it?

Just because people CAN make games doesn't mean that all the professional developers are going to be out of a job, people. It's just common sense. Anyone in the world can write a book, but that doesn't mean that every single horrible book is recognized and read throughout the world.

"SOMEONE WROTE A CRAPPY BOOK! HOW WILL I EVER BE ABLE TO FIND COPIES OF GOOD BOOKS WHEN THERE ARE SO MANY CRAPPY BOOKS OUT THERE?! OH NOES!"

Just doesn't make sense.

[denacioust]

Oh right...good point

[snoman99991]

I see this as a potential for a new kind of game market. Maybe games might not always get Nintendo's approval for Mass Distribution, but if people wanted to take good games they've created and use the virtual console, maybe we could see a lot more interest in the Wii.

Only 2000......wooooow. Can you imagine how much custom made content for existing games there will be?

Get this, I bet a small group of people could say "Hey, we like Samus as she looks, but how about we make a different colored suit, and a whole different story mode and storyline. We could call this a custom version, but use the existing game as the platform!"

You could even call this the first real way of creating your very own Super Mario Brothers level and distributing it. It's like modding but legal.

Anyone else like the sound of that?

[eatmorchikin6464]

Just because you have a developement kit doesn't mean you have access to other games to edit them as you please. If someone was to mod Samus that way, they'd get sued.

[snoman99991]

True, but maybe Nintendo could find a way to allow custom content.....I think that's what everyone wants to see for the replay value of games.

[eatmorchikin6464]

But no one will pay $2000 to edit a game...

And no, that will never happen anyways. That's like Coke giving out their recipe so people can mod it.

[DarkReality]

Just because you have a developement kit doesn't mean you have access to other games to edit them as you please. If someone was to mod Samus that way, they'd get sued.

Not if Nintendo makes it an option. No one get sued for Battlefield 2 mods either. At least not that I've heard.

The RIAA might sue you for using the Metroid theme, though. Just because they love suing.

[snoman99991]

I think I'm just getting modding confused with developing, my bad.

[eatmorchikin6464]

Not if Nintendo makes it an option. No one get sued for Battlefield 2 mods either. At least not that I've heard.

The RIAA might sue you for using the Metroid theme, though. Just because they love suing.

Yes, but they aren't using any original stuff from Battlefield 2. They make all of their own models like planes and tanks, or add their own stuff, they don't go and make the MEC look pink or anything.

[Woolfenstien]

I think I see where nintendo's coming from with the low price dev kit...

Dev kit at low price --> More money for developers to develop with --> Happier employees due to more pay --> Better games --> More sales

Go to step two and repeat.

I think that;s quite clever.

[eatmorchikin6464]

Everything Nintendo is doing is SOOO well thought out though. If Sony worked this hard at getting their stuff to work out, they would be popular too.

[ripht|CoC]

Yes, but they aren't using any original stuff from Battlefield 2. They make all of their own models like planes and tanks, or add their own stuff, they don't go and make the MEC look pink or anything.

A great deal of PC modders use original content in their mods. It's not a question of whether you use the original content. It's a question of whether you make money for it or not. If a mod team made a mod based off an existing game and distributed it for free through the established Nintendo online distribution model (which is how they're already going to be distributing SNES games, for instance) and then made money on the side through ad revenue on their website... I could certainly see an active modding community come into being for the Wii.

And since it does take a $2000 investment to get the dev kit, we're a lot less likely to see hundreds of great-looking mods that end up dying from lack of motivation. $2000 worth of motivation can be a very good thing.