Pier Solar: Official Thread

[username]

This game will not make it to PSN/XBLA/XBLIG/WiiWare/DSiWare, not in a million years. They could probably port it to iOS, but really, why bother?

No it isn't. Y'all quit picking on christ. What is this, a crucification?

Even a plain shopper at the grocery store expects money off when buying multiple items/larger items. It's the way stores entice you into buying more than you need for just one moment.

Finally, WM had no terms at all on buying multiple copies, so he wasn't even MORALLY wrong to buy extra. Buying low and selling high is the fundamental basis of ALL business. He's not charging more than what you'd normally expect for a game like this, so he's not profiteering, either.

I think it's just sour grapes - a few people didn't see the chance to "make a quick buck at others' expense" as THEY would put it, and now are jealous of the opportunity christ made for himself.

Let it go! You're just looking like little kids when you insult christ. It's gone on long enough... just stop.

I don't care if he wants to scalp games - WM could pull the plug on his pre-orders if they wanted but they're obviously indifferent (or maybe they've used the pre-order money as seed money for the project, which would be far, far worse than some random dude scalping games) and I wasn't even willing to buy the game at half the price he's flipping them for so it doesn't affect me personally. I just think he should stop being so disingenuous about what he's doing and why he's doing it.

[Xonticus]

This game will not make it to PSN/XBLA/XBLIG/WiiWare/DSiWare, not in a million years. They could probably port it to iOS, but really, why bother?

I don't agree. If it has to do with retro-type games not making it on a downloadable platform, look at Scott Pilgrim, Super Meat Boy, and others prove it could survive. I guess I just don't understand your pessimism.

[synapse]

I don't get why so many people want it ported to the DC, when they usually already have the game pre-ordered for Mega Drive anyway.

Some of us (myself included) didn't preorder it on time. I joined the betatesters in order to give a hand and... that's all. I'd love to get a DC port with all languages and audio tracks in one single disc version. I know a few friends who would rather buy a DC version too. There's also the people who have a DC and not a Mega Drive...

Anyway, if I do get Pier Solar in cartridge form, I'd still buy a DC port if it came out

This game will not make it to PSN/XBLA/XBLIG/WiiWare/DSiWare, not in a million years.

Another future-teller! Why not?

They could probably port it to iOS, but really, why bother?

Because it would be great. Because they can. Because they deserve the chance to make some money.

[username]

Another future-teller! Why not?

Just becoming a licensed developer for WiiWare/PSN/XBLA is an expensive process that requires you to meet a lot of criteria; becoming a WiiWare developer, for instance, requires you to have a substantial five-figure sum in your bank account, a legitimate office not based at a residential address, a core team that lives and works in the same building, etc and that's only enough to get permission to become an official developer - actually releasing a game requires an initial round of approvals/certifications, a successful lotcheck submission, a classifications rating for every region you plan to release the game to, plus a ton of other (somewhat arbitrary) checks and balances mandated by Nintendo protocol, many of which are not free and can take multiple attempts to pass.

Releasing something for a dead platform with a niche (and somewhat indiscriminate) consumer base allows you the luxury of not having to adhere to deadlines or quality standards or third-party protocol. There's a big difference between being "indie" and just being amateurs, and it's pretty clear which side of the fence the Pier Solar team are on.

[highlandcattle]

If this game gets a port it should be to the Amiga . Also 68k and a bit of a fanatic fanbase.

[Joe Redifer]

becoming a WiiWare developer, for instance, requires you to have a substantial five-figure sum in your bank account, a legitimate office not based at a residential address, a core team that lives and works in the same building, etc and that's only enough to get permission to become an official developer

Ummm.... source? Why would the team need to LIVE in the building where they work? My girlfriend knows a guy who, along with two or three other dudes of limited means managed to release Eduardo the Samurai Toaster on the Wii. They have no office in which they LIVE and worked on the game at home (residential).

[highlandcattle]

Or Llamasoft ,just two guys and an old farm in wales with sme sheep on it making xbox live games

[username]

Ummm.... source? Why would the team need to LIVE in the building where they work? My girlfriend knows a guy who, along with two or three other dudes of limited means managed to release Eduardo the Samurai Toaster on the Wii. They have no office in which they LIVE and worked on the game at home (residential).

I accidentally removed the word "locally" during an edit, my bad. No, they aren't expected to live in the office but they do have to actually commute to and work from that office - in other words, your team can't just be a bunch of random dudes working via e-mail.

[nathanallan]

Hmm, thinking that it can be played on a DC... makes me think of the Retron and Linux, but I have not the resources to make it happen.

[Joe Redifer]

I accidentally removed the word "locally" during an edit, my bad. No, they aren't expected to live in the office but they do have to actually commute to and work from that office - in other words, your team can't just be a bunch of random dudes working via e-mail.

Source please?

[username]

Most of what I said isn't exactly private knowledge and is the typical stuff you'll find out during the process of applying to become a licensed Nintendo developer.

[A Black Falcon]

I accidentally removed the word "locally" during an edit, my bad. No, they aren't expected to live in the office but they do have to actually commute to and work from that office - in other words, your team can't just be a bunch of random dudes working via e-mail.

But the only difference between the Samurai Toaster guys and what you describe is location, Joe Redifer's right that they definitely didn't have an office and just made the game in their spare time. They just all did live in the same area so they weren't just making it over the internet... but I think it says it's possible for a game by a small group to get on WiiWare. Just don't expect to make much money from it.

[username]

All he said was that some of the team worked on the game at home, which doesn't contradict what I said - I never said there was a Nintendo mandate to clock in a certain number of hours at the office every day, or that every person contracted to work on the game would be required to work on-site.

The application criteria is designed so as to indicate whether or not the applicant is reasonably equipped/able to deliver a competently-made and fully-budgeted game to a reasonable timetable - in other words, they're meant to filter out all the talentless no-hopers with LLCs who think they're destined to become the next Shiggy. The more experience/pedigree you have, the more lenient they're willing to be in terms of protocol, but for the most part they're pretty rigid, especially when it comes to WiiWare. The requirement for a legitimate office isn't due to some arcane corporate philosophy of "no office = crappy product", it's just a hoop they make you jump through to prove you're serious, or at least one that indicates you're less likely to be a complete flake.

[Joe Redifer]

Most of what I said isn't exactly private knowledge and is the typical stuff you'll find out during the process of applying to become a licensed Nintendo developer.

So you can't supply a source? OK then.

[username]

Again, much of what I said is publicly available knowledge that can be easily verified independently if you feel so inclined. Some of it comes from personal experience, and other knowledge (almost none of which I've mentioned in this thread) has come from discussions with guys who got far further into WiiWare development than I did who I'm not going to name.

EDIT: hell, a lot of it is alluded to on Nintendo's third-party support site, which I've gone to excruciating lengths to find for you (click) - now you don't need to type "nintendo developer support" into Google for yourself! How considerate of me!