Small developers are making games for the Nintendo that they would have never done. Some examples include HVS, Retro studios, Deep Silver, Blue Tongue, Rare, Headstrong games, DMA design, and even Frontier developments. I mean, who would have thought that HVS would make a FPS,Retro could remake Metroid, or Deep Silver would make a surrival horror game?

I really think that the wii is the innovative console, making people do things they never thought they would.

I find it very sad that alot of people with talent cannot make the games they want, but are forced to make licenced ones. If they could get 10% of the revenue that EA gets from rehashed sport titles, you could imagine there'd be alot of innovative titles.

I also think that alot of companies that make licensed games can actually make good games, and that companies that could expand to other genres and make good games hesitate to do so because of the risk. Thus, the birth of the FPS/Racing game rehash craze.

Examples:

High Voltage Software(no original titles)

From This:

To This:(first original IP)

Retro:

From this:(nothing but ideas)

To This:(successful game thats one of the best ever made)

Blue tongue

From this:(licenced crap just like HVS)

To This:(Their first "original" IP)technically it's not original, but its not licensed either.

Rainbow Studios:

From Racing Games only,

To an action game:

Deadly Creatures

I'd say its this gen in general. Initiatives like xbla are also extremely helpful to the small time developers. Games like Braid attest to this.

The same way the PS2 did. Though some don't end up well.

Actually, i haven't seen this happen on the other consoles this generation. Except maybe insomniac making a FPS.

I believe system marketshare gives them the courage.

Yes, this is true, but denying the PS2 is not.

Raven Blade.. That title looked too good to be a "Before" =(

And low costs.

And a vacuum left by the large third party publishers.

These are the things which get the mid-sized developers. Farmland makes the excellent point that XBLA, WiiWare and PSN are what really grab the small developers. When I look at the libraries of the 360 and PS3, it's the downloadable indie games which make me most jealous.

lol the last comparison threw me off.

perhaps they feel that there is finally a large enough opening for them to actually make a name for themselves. the big franchises seem glued to the HD consoles (for now), so someone has to step up.

I understand the purpose of this topic, but the examples were poorly compiled. Raven Blade? It's a cancelled game. How do we judge quality in comparison to Metroid? Using licensed product to judge against original offerings? I guarantee if High Voltage and Blue Tongue's next projects are another children's tie-in project, the same exact dirt poor quality would be present in them. If anything, it's those exact projects that helped fund these games they wanted to make. It doesn't help the cause that this shift is somehow tied to Nintendo when the majority of their crap work is present on the Gamecube and DS also.