Wii Dev Kits Also In Short Supply

February 20th, 2007 by Matt Stone in Articles, Business, Gear, Hardware, Software, Technology, Wii

It’s not only consumers who have to wait for a Wii, indie developers are also left waiting. In a report by Gamasutra, Nintendo doesn’t appear as indie developer friendly as previously assumed, at least when it comes to securing dev kits. Nintendo told Ian Bogost of Persuasive Games that developers without publisher backing will have to wait even longer for Wii dev kits.

“According to our contact, the Wii Independent Developer Program is ‘on hold’ until the end of the month, because ‘the Wii publishers are taking all of the available inventory, and more.’ In other words, Nintendo doesn’t have enough kits to cover the demand for all those crappy licensed games, let alone more original work. I’ve confirmed that others heard the same story at D.I.C.E. last week.”

Nintendo hasn’t even explained how the “Indie Developer Program” will work. The Wii dev kits are expected to cost less than $2000, compared to $30,000 for PS3 dev kits. Bogost continues by predicting that there won’t be any indie Wii games this year, which is rather disappointing, to say the least.

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Tags: Articles, Business, Gear, Hardware, Software, Technology, Wii