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Where Did All the eShop Games Go?

Teslagrad, QUBE, and Assault Android Cactus

by Neal Ronaghan - April 28, 2014, 10:45 am EDT

What's the status on this trio of upcoming Wii U and 3DS eShop games?

Teslagrad


Developer: Rain Games
Platform: Wii U
Previous Release Window: March/April
Current Release Window: Hopefully Soon

What is it?: Teslagrad is a Metroid-esque platformer where you control a boy with gravity-based powers and no real weapons. Check out our preview for more details.

What is the developer saying?: “At this moment we're still polishing the performance on the Wii U, with the game being virtually finished. So release it's a matter of two factors: improving performance and passing through Nintendo checks. We think it won't take much time to do so, but unfortunately it is cloudy enough as for being impossible to write a date in stone.” Eduardo Garabito, Rain Games


QUBE: Director’s Cut


Developer: Toxic Games
Platform: Wii U
Previous Release Window: April
Current Release Window: Summer (Hopefully)

What is it?: QUBE stands for “Quick Understanding of Block Extrusion” and is a first-person puzzle game where you move blocks around to solve physics-based puzzles.

What is the developer saying?: “Unfortunately it’s taken a while for us to launch the game due to unforeseen technical circumstances popping up at the last minute. I can’t comment on the other titles being delayed but I don’t think there’s a unified reason all the games have been delayed (at least not to my knowledge). The game is now in submission and we’re hoping to hear back from Nintendo soon. We’re actually going to be releasing the PC version next month and then roll out the PS3 and Wii U versions as soon as we can after that. If at all possible, we would love to release the game on Wii U next month but it’s out of our hands now.” Daniel Da Rocha, Toxic Games


Assault Android Cactus


Developer: Witch Beam Games
Platform: Wii U
Previous Release Window: Q2
Current Release Window: Not Q2

What is it?: Assault Android Cactus is a frantic twin-stick shoot-’em-up that can be played locally with up to four players.

What is the developer saying?: “We're a little behind where we wanted to be and it is unlikely we will hit a Q2 release for Cactus on Wii U, in our case we provided Nintendo with an estimated release date and simply under estimated how much work was left to do on the game - We haven't shipped the full PC release yet either (Which will be our first release).” Sanatana Mishra, Witch Beam Games

Assault Android Cactus - Q2 (Witch Beam Games)

“We're a little behind where we wanted to be and it is unlikely we will hit a Q2 release for Cactus on Wii U, in our case we provided Nintendo with an estimated release date and simply under estimated how much work was left to do on the game - We haven't shipped the full PC release yet either (Which will be our first release).” Sanatana Mishra, Witch Beam Games

Talkback

xcwarriorApril 28, 2014

We've always had delays with games, but now with the internet and social media and the need for constant info, delays feel like they are so much more painful than ever before.

But Indy devs, as stated, have no clue how long it takes to make a game.

ShyGuyApril 28, 2014

A number of these were on display at GDC, right? So I don't think there is any vaporware.


No, certainly not vaporware. I think the Teslagrad response covers the essence of the problems -- there were unexpected problems with the middleware and/or the devs don't have experience tuning it to work best with Wii U, the last bit of polish always takes longer than you think, and the lot check process takes way longer than indie devs are used to on other platforms. Hopefully, the first and last of those things can be smoothed out by more effort on Nintendo's side. I guess it's just more telling that Nintendo was willing to use these estimates in their press release (because there was nothing else to talk about), despite the long history of launch misses, especially on the Nintendo digital distribution side. On the other hand, the alternative is the case of Block Drop U, the only Nintendo Web Framework game to release within the first year, but in a state that was barely out of prototype stage.

MagicCow64April 28, 2014

Funny, I just booted up the Indie channel on the eShop last week looking for something to power through while I was sick, and was surprised at the dearth of releases, as I recalled a pretty loaded Spring slate. Luckily Knytt Underground was ready to go, and awesome. (And kind of crazy long.)

Leo13April 28, 2014

When I read the title for this article I thought it was going to say it's been Nintendo's fault. I'm happy to hear that's not the case.

Vampire-JekyllApril 29, 2014

It is ok. I am a Nintendo fan. I am used to waiting a little extra longer to get great games.

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