third-party development

The tale of Satoru Iwata and third party titles

Satoru Iwata is the fourth president of Nintendo, and has seen the company through it’s highest highs, and now it’s lowest lows. For Nintendo to get back on top, it is going to take something special from Iwata, and in this months semi-annual financial results briefing he discusses just how the company plans to do so. One of the key items on Iwata’s agenda is to gain support from...

THQ says to expect more de Blob following strong sales on Wii

One of the games I was most pleased to see under the tree this past Christmas was de Blob. It’s a great game all-around, it’s third party, and apparently it did very well–even better than Nintendo’s Wario Land: Touch Shake It!, which released on the same day. The game did so well, in fact, that THQ all but confirmed a sequel will be coming our way. A sign of things to come ...

Fils-Aime criticizes third-party Wii efforts

Some people just don’t get the Wii. According to Nintendo’s Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo’s third-party partners aren’t getting it either. In an interview with Forbes published yesterday, the intimidating Nintendo of America president had harsh words for third-party companies struggling to find a viable consumer market on Wii. According to Fils-Aime, their games just need to b...

“Window of Opportunity” now open for third parties on Wii, DS

More evidence today that Nintendo’s allegedly sour press conference and subsequent lack of games in the remainder of 2008 is, as the Joker says, all part of the plan. “I think Nintendo may be giving the software publishers a window of opportunity, probably a few quarters, where third-party games may be higher profile in stores. I also think part of it may be simply where we are in the develo...

The best and worst third-party Wii publishers

Third parties, I’d like to apologize. I have been pretty scathing toward you lately. In fact, Jack and I have both been throwing rotten tomatoes at you vigorously over the last year or so, and although our chuckling behind the bushes may suggest otherwise, I feel pretty bad about it. After all, some of you are releasing really good Wii games, and it would be wrong to not recognize your succe...

CoD producer: Wii version of World at War is “same game” as PS3, 360 version

Treyarch senior producer Noah Heller revealed details about the Wii version of Call of Duty: World at War in an interview with VideoGamer.com at the game’s official London unveiling. In good news for Wii aficionados frustrated by weak development efforts, Heller confirmed the Wii version will have a co-op mode, support multiplayer and utilize the Wii Zapper peripheral. Perhaps most encouragi...

Treyarch: CoD 5 Wii uses CoD 4 engine

GoNintendo is reporting today first details on the Wii version of Call of Duty 5, as revealed in the latest issue of UK-based gamesâ„¢ magazine. From CoD 5 developer Treyarch: “…The Wii version is being developed here at Treyarch. It is a separate team from the next-gen team, but it is on-site. If you’re going to compare the (PS3/360) version and the Wii version side-by-side, the...

THQ’s Wii-exclusive Deadly Creatures looks amazing, gross

Kotaku has a hands-on impression of THQ’s Deadly Creatures up right now, and it appears to be one of the more involved, darker and mature titles some Wii owners are looking for at the moment. That is, if you consider bugs fighting a bloody war with one another while humans look on more mature. I simply consider it “pretty cool” and can’t wait for more info.

High Voltage setting third-party Wii standard?

We’ve discussed it on Infendo and analyzed the situation from almost every possible angle, but aside from some sporadic gems and surprises, the state of third-party Wii software remains, well…quite regrettable. Which makes the recently unveiled Wii projects from Illinois-based High Voltage Software, the development studio behind licensed Wii detritus like Ben 10: Protector of Earth and...

Majesco: Nintendo “enthusiastically supports” online features in Wii games

In an interview Thursday with MTV Multiplayer, Majesco’s Kevin Ray had nothing short of praise for Nintendo and the company’s oft-criticized online implementation philosophies. “If you see the tools coming out from Nintendo today, they are providing a lot of support for developers to integrate the Internet into their games,” said Ray. “It’s really up to the publ...

IGN reveals ambitious new Wii-exclusive FPS

IGN yesterday revealed an exclusive first look at High Voltage Software’s The Conduit, an ambitious first-person shooter in development exclusively for the Nintendo Wii. Contrary to the unfortunate nature of most third-party Wii afterthoughts, High Voltage is putting substantial effort behind The Conduit, promising both refined Wii control mechanics and hardware-pushing visuals. In designing...

Third-party devs cut corners on Wii games

Or so says Newsweek’s N’Gai Croal. “The first third-party to truly solve what Wii gamers want will become very wealthy,” said Croal, in the March 2008 issue of EGM. “But I don’t believe that most third-parties apply anywhere near the amount of time and resources necessary to resolve it. Sure, they’ll experiment with some exclusive brands and titles, but at...