Vblank on keeping Retro City Rampage for Wii rather than Wii U
Posted on March 2, 2013 by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Podcast Stories, Wii Shop Channel, Wii U
We hate to say it, but Retro City Rampage is pretty much being sent to die on WiiWare. Perhaps that’s why Vblank Entertainment’s Brian Provinciano – creator of the project – called it a “$20,000 gift to the fans”.
At this point, the interest in WiiWare has deteriorated significantly. It probably would have made more sense to bring the game to the Wii U eShop – but things aren’t that easy.
In order to make a Wii U eShop port possible, Vblank “would need to be completely ported from scratch”, according to Provinciano. It would also require “a new round of paperwork, platform requirements, e-manuals, game ratings, store metadata and assets, submission and certification.” Another port would require a great deal of work, and at present, the amount of versions Provinciano has worked on “left me very drained and physically sore after the long hours at the computer”.
“The problem is that the Wii U is a completely different system. You can’t just plop Wii code onto it, add some Wii U features and call it a day. It would need to be completely ported from scratch. On top of that, it means a new round of paperwork, platform requirements, e-manuals, game ratings, store metadata and assets, submission and certification. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t simply be a week’s work or such. Much of this was already done for the WiiWare version when the Wii U came along, so switching platforms still would’ve meant almost double the work. I’ve already ported the game to more systems than any one man developer has in history, and it’s left me very drained and physically sore after the long hours at the computer – over three years without a vacation or a day off. My mousing shoulder and neck is seized up right now from all of the time at the computer. So, no plans for more ports, I need to let my body rest without putting in the long hours for a while. Fortunately, WiiWare games can still be purchased and played on the Wii U.”
