Wii U Is Indie Friendly, Say Bit.Trip Runner Creators

Indie developer Gaijin Games believes that Nintendo has a better and clearer online strategy for the Wii U and that indie studios can take advantage of it in order to launch their titles on the new home console.

Alex Neuse and Mike Roush, the co-founders of Gaijin Games and creators of Bit.Trip Runner, tell GamesIndustry International that, “What’s more friendly right out of the starting gate is the Wii U is developed for people to have an eShop to spend their money in and buy games easily. I don’t make games so people cannot find them and have a hard time purchasing them.”

The pair also describes the less than favorable environment on the normal Wii, adding, “We don’t know for sure, but it felt like it wasn’t taken seriously by Nintendo, the desire for gamers to buy stuff digitally.”

The Gaijin Games leaders believe that Nintendo needs to push forward support for the eShop and indie developers in order to give players more reasons to pick up the Wii U.

At the moment, the team is working on Bit.Trip Presents Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien, which is set to arrive on the eShop during the first quarter of this year.

Even before the Wii U was launched, Nintendo insisted that it was creating a much more inclusive device, designed to allow AAA first-person shooters, traditional Super Mario Games and indie titles to co-exist on the same platform.

The hardware maker believes that as long as more connectivity options are being offered, developers and gamers can take advantage of them in order to create experiences that have a longer life span.

The Wii U has been available since November 2012 and Nintendo has declared itself satisfied with its sales, which are projected to reach 5.5 million units before March of this year.