Nintendo Talks More Flexible Indie Development on Wii U and 3DS eShop

Nintendo's Dan Adelman, recently discussed the company's efforts to improve indie releases on Wii U and 3DS.

The business development manager, who helped World of Goo and Bit.Trip get a WiiWare release many moons ago, described the steps Nintendo has taken to embrace indie releases and minimise the requirements needed - it's "as frictionless as possible".

The only major requirements are having to form a company, have experience making games and keep confidential material secure. Previously developers needed to register local addresses, for example a Japanse or US location, but now studios are free to even work from home. The move has allowed for a more collaborative effort, perhaps from a few developers and artists around the globe who might not be able to afford office space.

Nintendo have also made updating and setting the prices of games far more flexible. Little Inferno launched at $14.99, and though highly rated, the price may have been a little bit too much. So after a short-term sale at $9.99, the reduction is permanent. "It's completely in their control", Adelman says.

Requirements aside, how about development kits? Adelman notes how they're "about the price of a high-end PC" and that Nintendo are starting to provide Unity Pro 4 for Wii U at no added cost. "If a developer is currently working on a game in Unity and has a Wii U dev kit, it should be super easy to bring that game over to the Wii U console."

Nintendo are also hard at work at improving the eShop functionality as a whole with a "dedicated team working through a roadmap of new features".

Finally, the money. Whilst these policies are confidential, Adelman outlined the removal of the payment threshold that plagued WiiWare and DSiWare - now "developers receive revenue from unit 1" instead of having to wait for 6000 units to be sold.

For more on the eShop, Wii U and 3DS indie development, read the extensive interview with Gamasutra.

What do you think of Nintendo's more flexible and open approach with indie development on Wii U and 3DS?