Not sure if this information has been shared so I'm going to do it anyways. So, I subbed to a Nintendo only magazine for the first time in my life because I wanted to support people who actually took the time to continue a legacy while they are still young since I can. Anyways, I haven't had the time to open the large ass March/Apirl issue until today and as I was strolling down NF lane, I came across an article titled "How to Become an eShop Developer" and I was like WTF I had this information right here to show people and I didn't? I know they've been giving away free dev kits but I figured this is good info anyways. So a summary!
-A secure office is required, meaning even a locked room in your house is good enough.
-Need previous professional video game dev experience(iPhone, consoles, blehbleh don't matter), so sorry nubies, they just don't want their kits ending up on eBay!
-Requires company to be Inc. or at least LLC. level.
-Dev kit is less than 4000 USD and covers Unity License costs(as compared to the rumored 20k or 5k, don't know where those numbers came from)
-Don't need to buy Dev Kit right after approval. Can do a coupon deal with Nintendo on Dev Kit with Pre-order(Kickstarter etc). For example, selling a game for 50 bucks and give Nintendo 10 bucks a copy then it pays for itself if devs don't have the initial cash.
-Then a whole bunch of inteviews with studios, mostly positive but it seems like 3DS approval is harder than Wii U and also doesn't support as many engines that the Wii U can use out the box(to no surprise really), pretty good read in general. O_Ob
Hopefully this will solve some of the puzzles for the people wondering about it like I was! Enjoy!
Updated with interviews:
MAESTRO INTERACTIVE GAMES
Monty Goulet, founder of Maestro Interactive Games, shared his positive experiences on becoming a Wii U eShop developer. His company is currently working on Super Ubi Land in collaboration with Notion Games LLC, and is also developing other Wii U projects such as Cosmic Highway and Fade Into Darkness. Monty previously worked as a sound designer at Retro Studios on Donkey Kong Country Returns.
"As developers, we got through the approval process very easily, unlike how it was for the Wii. Developers go through the same application process, however it's pretty apparent that Nintendo is making more of an effort this time around to support independent developers on the eShop," said Goulet.
"After we applied, we contacted the head of the Wii Shop and now head of the Nintendo eShop, Dan Adelman. One day, I sent him an email pitching Cosmic Highway, and the next day he called me and basically told us what to expect should we get approved as developers. He asked about our development experience and when he heard I had worked for Nintendo in the past, he assured me that things should go fine during the application process, and of course it did, and we could not be happier for it."
Monty says Nintendo has taken big steps forward in becoming more indie friendly.
"The eShop team is really committed to making sure that their console is a success both on the 'AAA' side of things and on the indie eShop side. In my personal opinion, the eShop is a huge step forward for Nintendo. Developers set their own prices, handle their own sales, and patches are easy to submit."
FUZZY WUZZY GAMES
Fuzzy Wuzzy Games, another licensed eShop developer, originally pitched their game Armillo to Microsoft, but it didn't work out in the end as Microsoft felt that it was aimed a bit too young. Microsoft told them that similar games on Xbox Live Arcade didn't succeed. James Saito talked to us about their experiences in pitching their game.
"When we were at PAX 11, we were approached by someone from Microsoft who asked us to contact them to go through the approval process for our game. We basically filled out this content approval form in which you have to fill out a lot of detail about the game that you're producing. I believe it took us a few hours to work that out, as it's a pretty long submission form. It then took about two months for them to finally approve us on the concept, which then brought us to the full production review. From what I understand, the length of time is due to their long queue of games that they have to review. After that, another month and a half went by, then they got back to us that they had decided to pass on us. I asked them for a second chance, as we had added/changed a lot of stuff in the game, and they gave us that chance. However, they passed on us that time as well. Despite the long wait times, I do have to say that they were still great to work with. But a long wait nevertheless."
Things went a little different with their pitch to Nintendo, Saito said.
"Now with Nintendo, things were a bit different. We first pitched the game (Armillo), got a response the next day, then got a nice phone chat the day after (with Dan Adelman). When it came to getting approved, instead of vetting the game, they vet the company's professional experience. So their submission form was very simple where you detail the company's information. It took me about half an hour to fill out their submission form. Afterwards, it was only about two weeks before we got approved."
TWO TRIBES
Microsoft's indie policies are more based around each individual game's marketability or quality. Nintendo, on the other hand, is more concerned with a studio's overall experience and talent. For example, in October 2012, I spoke to Collin van Ginkel, a founder of Two Tribes, about the differences between Xbox Live Arcade in comparison to Nintendo's digital platforms.
"In the past we have attempted to get our games on XBLA, for instance, but failed every time. One year it's because they want to focus on multiplayer games, the next it's because there are too many puzzle games already. Even if you do get through the first round, there are no certainties, so you spend quite a lot of time being afraid it will be cancelled instead of spending time on making the game better. Since Nintendo doesn't curate the eShop's contents as much as other systems, it is an easy process to get our games on Nintendo hardware."
BERTIL HÖRBERG
Bertil Horberg, creator of Gunman Clive for the 3DS eShop, gave us some insight on programming for the 3DS.
"It's C or C++ for 3DS, and I think that's really what people should be using for smartphones as well. Unless they're using a middleware engine like Unity, but that's not available for 3DS as far as I know. You can use OpenGL on the 3DS, but it's probably better to rewrite the rendering code to Nintendo's custom graphic libs for better optimization."
Gunman Clive was Bertil's very first time submitting to Nintendo's superstrict lot check – and the game failed during the first submission. On its second trip, though, it fortunately went through without any issues. I asked Bertil if he had any advice for indie developers who are going through Nintendo's lot check for the very first time.
"I don't really have much advice to give other than to read the specifications carefully; I made a few rather stupid mistakes regarding the eManual, and also forgot to test one scenario that was clearly explained in the documentation."
FLAT BLACK FILMS
Not every indie developer has had a smooth experience in becoming an eShop developer for Nintendo, though. When I chatted with Bob Sabiston in late September, he told me about how frustrating it was to submit Inchworm Animation (DSiWare) through lot check.
"I did have to submit Inchworm 14 times before it was finally approved – the only thing I can think is that I drove them crazy with my endless submissions. However, it was not like Inchworm was super buggy. I was just unaware of many restrictions and development guidelines. Like, if the device is asleep and you open it and take a picture within half a second, the outer light would not have turned off yet. Stuff like that."
Bob's company, Flat Black Films – previously accepted as a DSiWare developer – was rejected in April 2012 after he applied to become a 3DS eShop developer. This came as a shock, since Inchworm Animation had received both critical and commercial success on DSiWare. Fortunately, there is a happy ending to this story. I emailed Bob to get an update for this article, and he had some good news to report. "I did eventually get myself approved as a 3DS developer, so the 3DS is something I'm still thinking about. I haven't decided to take the plunge with the 3DS because its SDK is so markedly different from the old DSi one. It would mean a pretty big rewrite just to port the existing version to the 3DS. It's more than I want to take on myself, but perhaps as a team effort it's doable. I just signed a contract with a Japanese publisher to bring the original Inchworm Animation to DSiWare in Japan – there's a lot of localizing to be done, so I'm not sure how long the process will take. Hopefully we'll get it out there before they stop releasing DSiWare altogether!"
IN CONCLUSION
The road to becoming a licensed eShop developer isn't going to be smooth one for everyone. In some cases, like Flat Black Films', you might get rejected a few times before finally being approved. With that said, though, Nintendo has been making an honest effort to improve its image within the indie scene – and we're pleased that so many new studios are getting to fulfill their dreams of making Nintendo games.
To become an eShop developer for the Wii U or 3DS, you can contact eShop@noa.nintendo.com to get in touch with a representative. You can also follow Nintendo of America's Dan Adelman on Twitter at @Dan_Adelman. It usually takes anywhere from one to four weeks for Nintendo to evaluate your application. In most cases, developers tend to be approved or rejected within two weeks. Good luck!
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