Spearhead was interested in releasing Wii U version of Tiny Brains, but had issues communicating with Nintendo
In recent memory, almost all feedback concerning Nintendo’s approach to indies has been positive. So it’s a bit surprising to learn that one developer had a disappointing exerpeice with the company, and ultimately wasn’t able to launch its game on the eShop.
Spearhead’s Simon Darveau and Malik Boukhira told Destructoid that the studio originally hoped to bring Tiny Brains to Wii U. Darveau explained that Spearhead “never seem to find an avenue to get on the Wii U,” in large part due to the difficulties in getting in proper contact with Nintendo.
Darveau and Boukhira said:
We definitely feel like the game would work on Nintendo platforms, especially on the Wii U. But for us, we never seem to find an avenue to get on the Wii U. Whether that’s getting in contact with Nintendo or getting the game on the platform, we’ve found that it’s easier to work with Sony in particular. Right now the 360 version will be driven by a business consideration more than anything. We’d love to have it on XBLA since it looks like it fits on the platform. I would say Microsoft has been more receptive than Nintendo — but Microsoft is still in the older way of thinking on the 360, with the heavy approval process that the Xbox One system doesn’t have anymore. – Malik
Nintendo’s classic games really influenced our game and we are fans, but yeah, it’s tough to spread ports around as well. We only have 12 people on-hand, and it’s tough to spend how to find our time. Much of our work is inspired by Nintendo however. – Simon
Malik later noted the following:
Malik — We actually contacted Nintendo at GDC, to see how we could get our game on the Wii U. But the follow-up wasn’t as sufficient as we needed to be, and since our turnaround time was short, we needed to move forward with more receptive platforms. It would have been great, but it didn’t work out.
