Stealth Inc. 2's Wii U exclusivity explained by Curve Studios
Stealth Inc. 2 developer Curve Studios has discussed the game's Wii U exclusivity and partnership with Nintendo in an exchange with VG247.
"We’re not looking at other formats right now. The game is quite heavily designed around the hardware, which is one of the perks of working on an exclusive title, so for us it’s about making the best Wii-U game we possibly can."
If you missed the initial Stealth Inc. 2 reveal on Wii U, hit up the link.
In an email exchange, Curve's Rob Clarke explains to me the studio's decision to launch on Wii U, "We’ve always loved working with Nintendo. They gave us the opportunity to work on our first original IP as Curve, and while that was published by Nintendo rather than us – self-publishing wasn’t really done on consoles back then – it was a really great experience and we’ve been looking at a game we could work with Nintendo on ever since.
"The obvious expected result from the non-Nintendo press is shock, especially as so many people see us a PlayStation publisher after releasing 4 PlayStation games last year. We’ve always been platform agnostic though, and always interested in finding new fans and new audiences. Of course those audiences all smaller on the Wii-U, but there’s also a great deal less competition."
Clarke cites the influx of indie titles on PS4 as a reason for siding with Nintendo's less-crowded eShop, "The same week we announced Stealth Inc 2, Sony announced 12 new big exciting indie titles coming to PlayStation 4, and all of those are going to be competing for that same audience.
"We’re not looking at other formats right now. The game is quite heavily designed around the hardware, which is one of the perks of working on an exclusive title, so for us it’s about making the best Wii-U game we possibly can."
I ask Clarke for some insight into what it's been like to work alongside Nintendo and for details on how the company's indie strategy is progressing.
"It’s really good," he tells me. "It’s a slower process initially, and it’s still very led by Japan. Nintendo has been much slower than other platform holders to adjust to the indie market, but they are really coming around. They have very dedicated intelligent people that go to events to talk to indie developers. It’s a quieter process than the giant ‘PlayStation Loves Indies’ banners you’ll see at big events, and its smaller in scale, but it is happening.
"One thing that’s great about working with them is they don’t really see the world in terms of ‘This is a triple-A game’ and ‘this is an indie game’. To Nintendo, a game is a game and the size or funding of the company making it is secondary to the quality of the experience.
"Making a digital-only game with Nintendo is getting easier and easier. It’s a slow process turning the company around to allow that focus on digital and indie, but it’s moving in the right direction."
We'll have more from Curve Studios on Stealth Inc. 2 soon. Stay tuned.