Nintendo’s Message To Indie Developers About The Nintendo eShop

Recommended Videos

“You know, it’s crazy that there are so many developers who don’t realize this, but yes, it is not only possible for an indie to get a game onto the eShop service, we’ve tried to make it as frictionless as possible,” says Nintendo’s business development manager Dan Adelman in an interview with Gamasutra.

 

Indies looking to get their work onto the Nintendo eShop on the 3DS or Wii U do need to be licensed Nintendo developers, but becoming one is a fairly straightforward process, Adelman says. Nintendo have revised a few policies that made the process a lot simpler than it used to be in the WiiWare days.

 

“We really have only a few requirements to sign up as a licensed developer with Nintendo,” Adelman shares. “The most notable ones are that you have to have some experience making games, you have to be able to keep any confidential materials like dev kits secure and you have to form a company. None of these should be prohibitive to any indie developer.”

 

The most prominent restriction that has been removed is the requirement for a developer to have their own office space, separate from their home. Additionally, anyone from any country can make their games available on the Nintendo eShop in any territories outside of Japan without the need for an address in that territory.

 

“As you point out, more and more people are working from home, and we recognize that developers are forming virtual teams around the world,” Adelman admits. “I know we’ve shied away from talking about these things publicly in the past, so I’m glad that I can officially confirm that the office requirement is a thing of the past.”

 

A Nintendo development kit costs about the same as a high-end PC, Adelman reveals. Additionally, Nintendo are providing the Unity Pro 4 engine to licensed Wii U developers at no added cost. At GDC, the company will discuss its plans to enable easier development using technologies like HTML5 and Javascript for Wii U.

 

Additionally, Adelman says, Nintendo are soliciting feedback from developers on how to make their development tools better, how to make their processes easier, and so on. They also try to get every developer’s questions addressed as soon as possible. “We have an internal goal of getting every question a response within 24 hours,” shares Adelman. “And if we can’t get an answer in 24 hours, we at least will let them know when we expect to be able to get them what they need.”

 


Siliconera is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more
related content
Read Article Nintendo 2DS and New 3DS Repairs Will Cease Soon in Japan
Nintendo 2DS and New 3DS repairs to cease in Japan
Read Article Reminder: Online Services For 3DS and Wii U Will End in April 2024
nintendo 3ds wii u online
Read Article Nintendo Offers Free Repairs to Users Affected by the Noto Earthquake
Nintendo offers free repairs to Switch 3DS and Wii U affected by Noto Peninsula earthquake
Read Article All the Shin Megami Tensei Games Available in English
Read Article Nintendo Will Discontinue 3DS and Wii U Online Functions in 2024
nintendo 3ds wii u online
Related Content
Read Article Nintendo 2DS and New 3DS Repairs Will Cease Soon in Japan
Nintendo 2DS and New 3DS repairs to cease in Japan
Read Article Reminder: Online Services For 3DS and Wii U Will End in April 2024
nintendo 3ds wii u online
Read Article Nintendo Offers Free Repairs to Users Affected by the Noto Earthquake
Nintendo offers free repairs to Switch 3DS and Wii U affected by Noto Peninsula earthquake
Read Article All the Shin Megami Tensei Games Available in English
Read Article Nintendo Will Discontinue 3DS and Wii U Online Functions in 2024
nintendo 3ds wii u online
Author
Ishaan Sahdev
Ishaan specializes in game design/sales analysis. He's the former managing editor of Siliconera and wrote the book "The Legend of Zelda - A Complete Development History". He also used to moonlight as a professional manga editor. These days, his day job has nothing to do with games, but the two inform each other nonetheless.