Toki Tori 2 is a little more than a month away from arriving on the Wii U eShop. Developer Two Tribes announced a December 20 launch date for the downloadable title today.
Initially, there had been hopes of making the game available for the Wii U launch. Two Tribes said it is “simply not there yet, so we’re taking our time to make sure the game lives up to our standards.”
The studio also commented on why the Wii U version took priority over the Steam release in terms of releasing first:
Much can change in the course of a year. The game’s coming out on Wii U first, but when we started developing Toki Tori 2, we initially announced it for Steam. This switch was never officially addressed, and we want to give you a bit of insight into how this came to be.
Since we’re a relatively small indie studio, a lot is riding on the success of Toki Tori 2 for us. We have spent well over a year with everyone at Two Tribes on this single project, which means Toki Tori 2 will be the only source of income for a while to come. When Nintendo announced their plans for the Wii U, we decided early on that the game needed to be on that platform, but it wasn’t until we noticed that our completion date and the Wii U launch date aligned that we made the call.
Making something for a console launch has several benefits from a development and business standpoint. You don’t have to support a wide range of configurations as you would need to on Steam, meaning we can release earlier after we finish the game. And business-wise, it makes a lot of sense to be available at or around launch, since players are very eager for new things to play on their new devices.
This week’s ESRB updates are as follows:
Paper Mario: Sticker Star (3DS) – E
We Sing UK Hits (Wii) – T
LEGO The Lord of the Rings (Wii) – E10+
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (Wii U/3DS) – T
Kids Learn and Play – Pets and Vets Bundle (DS) – E
Tank! Tank! Tank! (Wii U) – E10+
Wild Adventures: Ultimate Deer Hunt 3D (3DS) – T
Beyond Good & Evil 2 is still in the works. Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot assured that the game, which was announced over four years ago, hasn’t been cancelled but creator Michel Ancel hasn’t been able to put much work into the project due to the development of Rayman Origins/Legends.
Guillemot explained:
“What’s very important is that Michel Ancel is kind of doing too many things at the same time. He was working on Rayman Origins last year, and he’s working a lot on Rayman Legends this year. So, you know, when he does that, he kind of puts too much of his time on the other projects that he has. So the fact is, that working on Legends is slowing the process on Beyond Good and Evil 2.”
It sounds like BG&E2 is still on Ubisoft’s to-do list. While it’s a “game that we want to do”, there may not be much progress until Rayman Legends is out the door.
“It’s really a game that we’ve been working, we have worked on, and is a game that we want to do. But there are so many things that have to be done that, you know, this one is going to come in line at one point, but at the moment Michele is really on Rayman Legends.”
Little Inferno will be one of the many downloadable games available on the Wii U eShop at launch. Developer Tomorrow Corporation confirmed that the title is due out on November 18. The PC version is also expected on the same day.
