13 replies to this topic

[Ed Mack]

Do you think Nintendo has the will to truly allow indie studios to develop for there consoles? Do you think they will offer a low price dev kit, or even a free one? If they do, do you see a wonderful future?

With them allowing content downloads from the internet, Wifi would be very apt for rapid console developement and testing, assuming they trust their security system (...) not to let players play pirate games straight off the net.

I'd love to be able to dev on the revolution, but I doubt Nintendo are aiming that low :D

[ravuya]

I strongly doubt they'll be indie-friendly. Of course, like the GC and DS, someone will be along shortly to pop whatever protection the Revolution has.

But yeah, it would be lovely for Nintendo to come out with a Yaroze-style kit.

[Ed Mack]

(Nintendo have said with the revolution they're going to throw open the doors to small games producers, and go down a different path than Sony and Microsoft have chosen.. just in case you didn't hear)

[-mx5-Kris]

Given i have backing, i may allow the Konsole to be deved for!... Sure it may not be the uber-powerful power of XBOX or PS3 but hey.... its something...

[Ed Mack]

I don't think you have any choice not to let it be deved on :)

[-mx5-Kris]

well i may have to create some sort of SDK... and hopefully i will have support for C n C++

[shiaolin_monk]

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[Ed Mack]

With Nintendo's DS marketting strategy, I'm hoping that they have finally 'got it' and will appreciate the adult market that doesn't want cute. I hope they embrace online too.

[Tufty]

Nintendo have shot themselves in the foot before. Many people at my university want to learn how to develop for their consoles, and the university was trying to get devkits so we could learn - but the only way Nintendo would agree to it, was if EVERY piece of code created on their kits was theirs. They wanted all the rights, and wouldn't pay any royalties to either the person who created it or to the university.

My university (the University of Teesside, in the good old North East of England if you're interested) quite rightly laughed at Nintendo and said no chance, and so the only devkits we've had access to are the PS2 Linux kits. Last I heard they were negotiating to get PS3 and Xbox 360 devkits, but no news as yet as to whether that will happen. Fingers crossed!

[Ed Mack]

It bugs me how closed the console makers are - if they were open to hobbyists, the platforms would be a lot richer and more innovative. Console makers need to see past the decadant worries of 'how will I get my licensing fees'

[shiaolin_monk]

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[Tufty]

But by preventing their devkits from being available to students, while the other companies are allowing them, simply puts them behind the curve - more students are likely to want to develop for systems they already know. Console development isn't easy, because you're dealing with a whole new bunch of hardware, you have to learn all the quirks, and what it can and can't do.... Nintendo are forcing new developers to learn all this stuff AFTER they've graduated.

[Methulah]

I dont think that most Nintendo gamers are experienced. Many of Nintendos games (because they are cartoon/cell shaded) appeal to mothers wanting a "safwe" game for their kids. And lack of theird party developers is why Nintendo is going down the drain. It is a rough issue.

[shiaolin_monk]

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