Nintendo doesn’t have a parity clause for the eShop
Although it was pretty much assumed, Nintendo has now spoken about how it has not implemented any sort of parity clause for the eShop. In other words, indies can freely release their games on other platforms before the Big N’s digital marketplace.
Nintendo’s Ed Valiente said at the Italian Game Developers Summit today:
“There is no exclusivity or parity clause. We understand that small teams can’t work on multiple platforms at once. If you want to release on other platforms first, we’re happy for you to bring it to the platform when you’re ready. Of course, we’d like it on ours at the same time but it’s not a dealbreaker.”
Valiente also mentioned that developers can hold sales and promotions whenever they please, and release dates/prices can be determined without Nintendo’s influence.
“That’s different from some other platforms in the past, where you had to wait for a slot and you’re told when it’s coming out. We leave that up to you. There’s no concept approval, either. People often think ‘Nintendo’s not going to like this so they won’t let us release it’. But if you want to release your game on our platform and it gets a rating by PEGI or USK, you can do that.”
Additionally, Valiente spoke about how Nintendo now does not require developers to have a registered office:
“If you have a lockable space where you can keep your dev kit locked, you can actually work from home. That also means you can work remotely, so if you’ve got a coder in one city, an artist in another city, a sound designer in another country, you can get approved as a team. By signing up with us you can release in Europe and America. If you want to release in Japan, you have to have an office in Japan, because you have to provide customer service in Japanese. Or you can go through local publishers there – there are three or four that will take Western games over to the Japanese eShop.”
Finally, Valiente confirmed that there are no fees for certification or patching. Developers only need to pay for dev kits.
