Since Nintendo has loosened the restrictions on becoming an indie
developer, we’ve seen a flood of people interesting in bringing their
games to the console. This has worked wonders for Sony in reviving the
PS Vita and the PS3/PS4 continue that trend. It’s not surprising to see
Nintendo embracing indie games so heavily, but this just might be the
first time Nintendo’s success has depended on indie support.
GamesBeat
spoke with Nintendo’s senior manager of licensing marketing to discuss
why Nintendo has focused so much on indie games and what that means for
those developing them and for those purchasing them. Perhaps the most
interesting reveal in the interview is that Baker is working hard to try
and convince Nintendo that showcasing indie titles at major events like
E3 is not only a benefit, but means more long-term exposure for the
console with a steady stream of games being available instead of a few
releases every few months.
I have to convince the powers that be about all of the
great content and why we need to amplify those messages and put them in
the same light with Mario. I think it is safe to say that E3 this year
for Nintendo there is going to be every emphasis on Super Smash Bros.
and Mario Kart 8.
With the focus on allowing anyone and everyone to develop for the
platform, many consumers have expressed concern that quality for the
Nintendo eShop could drop. Baker addressed this as well, stating that
Nintendo makes sure games are released without any game-breaking bugs,
or weird left-over advertising monetization schemes from mobile
products.
Yeah, it’s still kind of a gray area and that’s why it is
better if there are things these developers might think is questionable
… it’s better to just talk to us about it up front and see if there is
going to be an issue or not, but for the most part we’re accepting
absolutely anything and everything. The quality assurance all comes down
to whether there are game-breaking bugs or if there are things busting
our system, for the most part.
Beyond that, Baker says the biggest push for the indie gaming scene
to arrive on Nintendo consoles has come from inside the licensing
department itself, rather than Nintendo as a whole.
There is so much attention toward Nintendo’s first-party
products and what they’re doing with Mario or Zelda or Donkey Kong … but
we [the licensing department] have always been fighting since the very
beginning to try to push third-party content and look for integration
opportunities. …And on the developer’s side, you know, we’ve been
supporting indie content for a really long time. It’s just … we haven’t
shouted it from the mountaintop.
If you’re interested in reading the entire interview, you can find it here.
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An interesting point is that Nintendo's licensing dept. is pushing the indie scene strongly. Also, I find it interesting that Nintendo doesn't allow advertizing/monetizing schemes on eShop games. We can infer that Nintendo still has quality control measures in place, but they're only for the functionality of games.