Nintendo explains why developers aren’t forced to support WiiSpeak

With the release of Excitebots: Trick Racing, questions arose as to why the game does not make use of WiiSpeak. NOA’s vice president of corporate affairs Denise Kaigler, however, has explained why the company does not force developers to support the peripheral.

“What do all these items [Wii Wheel, Wii Balance Board, Wii Speak] have to do with Excitebots: Trick Racing? I mention them to help make my point that Nintendo does lead by example. But, with that said, it’s up to the members of the development community, then, to pick and choose which peripherals they want to use for the games they develop. Nintendo can offer developers a full toolbox, but it’s up to those individuals to decide which ones they want to make use of when they make their games. That goes for internal teams at Nintendo, second-party development teams and outside, independent developers.

You suggest that Nintendo “enforce” the use of its peripherals. But we think it’s best to let the creative teams make up their own minds. Every game is different. Can you imagine the alternative – if we mandated that every Wii game use the Wii Balance Board or that every Nintendo DS game use the touch screen or voice recognition? Developers – and gamers – would revolt. Letting developers decide what’s best for their games lets creativity flourish. Every hour spent programming for mandatory peripherals takes time and resources away from other creative areas – you might lose the wild features like bowling balls, clown faces and sandwiches that have helped Excitebots: Trick Racing grab everyone’s attention.”