Stealth Inc 2 announced as a 'Wii U exclusive,' out this year

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

Stealth Inc 2 announced as a 'Wii U exclusive,' out this year

by Sinan Kubba @sinankubba

 

Curve Studios announced it's working on a sequel to sneaky platformer Stealth Inc, but the real surprise is that it's coming to Wii U later this year as an "exclusive." The original game, Stealth Bastard Deluxe, grew from a spare time project into a fully-fledged PC release that made the jump to PS3, Vita and PS4 as Stealth Inc: A Clone in the Dark. The game won fans with its mix of stealth and fast-paced puzzle platforming, all with a dollop of dark humor.

It's been downloaded more than a million times across all platforms, and yet that doesn't include Wii U. As such, it's a bit of Curve-ball for Stealth Inc 2 to launch on Nintendo's console alone. Speaking to Joystiq, Curve Digital CEO Jason Perkins and Stealth Inc creator Jonathan Biddle explained Curve learned a lot from working with Nintendo before; Curve developed WiiWare game Fluidity and 3DS follow-up Fluidity: Spin Cycle. The studio's also mindful of the contingent of fans who know Curve from those games.

 

http://www.joystiq.com/2014/05/01/stealth-inc-2-announced-as-a-wii-u-exclusive-out-this-year/

 

Hopefully a timed exclusive as I don't want to split my sequels across platforms and I already own it on PC (got it free with PS+ too).

 

Great news for Wii U owners though, it's a great indie (Y)

[Blackhearted]

Unsurprisingly there's a decent amount of whining about it at some places on the net. I guess it's bad for nintendo to get an exclusive that isn't 1st party.

[compl3x]

I just hope it isn't priced ridiculously.

[wakjak]

http://www.joystiq.com/2014/05/01/stealth-inc-2-announced-as-a-wii-u-exclusive-out-this-year/

 

Hopefully a timed exclusive as I don't want to split my sequels across platforms and I already own it on PC (got it free with PS+ too).

 

Great news for Wii U owners though, it's a great indie (Y)

 

according to the devs, it's the whole parity clause from microsoft that is the reason for it being wii u exclusive.. it might go to PS4

[Aergan]

according to the devs, it's the whole parity clause from microsoft that is the reason for it being wii u exclusive.. it might go to PS4

 

Had no idea Microsoft actually put that into practice, that's really low - especially for indie companies.

 

I have the original on PS3, hopefully Stealth 2 will come to Steam at some point.

[+E.Worm Jimmy Subscriber¹]

so indie developers can only release stuff on xbox that is not on other consoles first..

 

 

what about simultaneous releases?

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

according to the devs, it's the whole parity clause from microsoft that is the reason for it being wii u exclusive.. it might go to PS4

 

MS need to get rid of that ridiculous rule ASAP.

 

 

so indie developers can only release stuff on xbox that is not on other consoles first..

 

 

what about simultaneous releases?

 

Yup

 

The UK developer behind recently unveiled Wii U exclusive Stealth Inc. 2, Curve Studios, has called Microsoft's launch parity clause--which only lets indie developers release games on Xbox One if they haven't already launched for PS4, PC, or Wii U--an "annoyance" and a "shame".

 

"For us, it?s an annoyance," said Curve Studios marketing manager Rob Clarke in an interview with IGN. "It?s preventing us from bringing some of the older stuff through and doing what we want. There?s 40 of us, and we?re still saying we should be able to work around it, so you can imagine how hard it is for smaller developers in one and two man teams who are faced with having to release on PlayStation and Xbox simultaneously. "

 

Clarke adds that Curve Studios is hopeful about being on Xbox One at some stage. "We?ve been with ID@Xbox since launch," he adds. "We weren?t in the initial announcement only because it conflicted with something going on with Sony at the time. We?ve had the kits for a long time and we?ve been talking to them for a long time about Xbox One. Almost six months. Hopefully we?ll get there soon, but then that?s because we?re big enough to handle the launch parity thing."

 

Microsoft's launch parity clause has attracted its fair share of criticism from, well, pretty much everybody. "Hopefully Microsoft will drop it," says Clarke. "They?ve been told by a lot of the industry it?d be better if they did, but they haven?t yet. It?s a shame. The frustrating thing for a lot of developers is they have dropped it for a lot of people, but it?s not very clear why. Is it a case of size? Is it a case of how well you know people at the company? It?s not a great way to treat indies because they see it as being unbalanced. I went to a UKIE [trade association] talk about how to get your game on Microsoft systems, and a lot of the reaction seemed to be the demand was there among the developers, but it just isn?t clear."

 

Microsoft has said that the launch parity clause is considered on a case-by-case basis, but that it will continue in the future. "The winners in all of this are game players," said Microsoft exec Phil Harrison about both Microsoft and Sony's attempts to lure indie developers to their fancy new consoles.

 

www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-s-controversial-parity-policy-criticized-by-stealth-inc-developer/1100-6419373/

 

They've always had these ridiculous demands though. You can read more about it here

 

When MS ruled the indie scene they could get away with it, but now PSN has overtaken and PC indie scene has exploded they're hurting. I suspect we'll see more turn away from the service in future or port much later/if ever.

 

As long as it comes to PSN or Steam I'm happy.

[Polonium]

Another reason to hate MS. Is it any wonder so many people have moved from Xbox to PlayStation?