Reggie on Bob's Game: Refused license doesn't reflect on Nintendo's support for the little guy

Mr. Gilbert, did you work for this blog when it used to be called DS Fanboy? Because if you peruse the site archives, you'll note that DS Fanboy extensively covered hombrew and flashcarts (they even included a homebrew guide to help you get set up). Additionally, flashcarts are by no means illegal--if I wanted to, I could buy a flashcart throught perfectly legal channels right now. And finally, kudos to you for sharing my personal info in your response--it almost seemed like a vague threat, which we all know is very professional.

Also, @Saria the Cat, I was a bit rude in my comment, but I was just irked that they linked to the littering incident without at least in passing explaining that it didn't occur, for example. Or, as another example, they didn't include any links to Bob's website. Anyway, the game is playable on no$GBA, so even if you don't have a flashcart, you can try it out.

Shouldn't we all be rooting for this guy to get a devkit? If he gets a devkit, the following could happen:

1. Bob invests serious money into publishing and distributing the game. It fails epically and he finally shuts up about his game not getting published. He fades into obscurity. Detractors lol hard.

2. Bob invests serious money into publishing and distributing the game. It does all right or awesomely. He makes another game and has to figure out a different and probably obnoxious way to market it.

Are we afraid of scenario 2, even if we've mostly agreed it's not good, or are we just assuming he's doing this to viral market his ROM download?

Anyone who thinks that he should've been given a dev kit, download the demo, seriously. It's the most boring game I've ever played, filled with a ton of stupid things that the developer seems to think are hilarious... like finding tissues and lotion in your brother's bedroom, naming the main character "Yuu", telling you to press A, then B, then C to start, etc, but it's really all just annoying. Whether it was a viral campaign or not, the game makes him seem every bit as immature as the locking himself in his room thing. Not to mention he doesn't seem to grasp basic grammar because the "Yuu" pun aside, there's a ton of times when someone is talking to someone and uses the third-person form of verbs.

Picture Retro Game Challenge, remove all the fun, add stupid humor, and add an annoying fetch quest before you can even start to play the games, and that's what this game is.

And as for people saying that games that are even crappier sold on the system are sold all the time, well of course. But for example, the Petz games are developed by Ubisoft. While Ubisoft does release horrible games like that, they pump them out much faster, and have a history that includes quality games as well. (In other words, they're not given devkits based on the quality of a single game alone).

I think anyone who complains about Nintendo refusing to support small developers needs to read this article: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3903/postmortem_riverman_medias_.php

Yeah, it took a lot of work to get Nintendo to support them, but y'know what, they worked for it. And they proved they're professional, and they know what they're doing. And not some guy coding in his bedroom.

Why doesn't he just release it as homebrew? People weren't going to buy it anyway.

Well I give a shit about this guy, so don't be so god damn arrogant Hace. I think Nintendo are being real pricks here. Give Bob a chance. He's got a halfway decent game which if I actually owned one of these devices I might consider purchasing. And so what if the game isn't "up to their standards"? People have a right NOT to buy it. I mean give me a break here, Nintendo is acting like the big corporate bully.

That's one fanboy Nintendo lost.

Well, the whole game involves being able to bear the "Yuu" pun. I can't. Can Yuu?

I think some of yuu guys are missing the point!

"My little Pony: Rainbow addition" is garrunteed to sell, unlike bob's game.

While some small studio's may be lucky enough to be graced with the honor of becoming licensed developers, they still have to live up to the lofty requirements set in place. It still means that no individuals can break into the scene, as was the example with Bob (regardless of what people think of him and his antics). So far, the only company to really allow for that has been Microsoft. I can only hope that someone finds a way to run homebrew on the DSi, otherwise we'll probably never see programs from solo individuals on the system.

Anyone else tired of hearing about this guy?

PROTIP: Just because something is hard to make doesn't mean every one who manages to make one did a good job. If I make a giant, beautiful wedding cake that tastes like shit, should I get applause for making it?

The reason is that Bob doesn't meet the requirements to be an authorized Nintendo developer, and Destination Software does. The requirements include having previous experience developing high-quality software (from what I can tell, Bob's Game is the only project he's ever worked), the business must operate from secure offices that aren't a personal residence (in other words, not a home office like the one Bob works from), have stable financial backing (if Bob's spending most of his free time working on his game, how is he supporting himself financially?) and can be trusted not to give away important development information and contacts that Nintendo entrusts them with (Bob sure as hell didn't meet this one with the way's he's been acting). The full details of the qualifications can be found here: http://weiminai.wikidot.com/rough-notes

You can yammer on "but.. but...but Destination Software's games suck!", but they meet the requirements to be an authorized Nintendo developer - and those requirements have nothing to do with the quality of the software and everything to do with how the business is run. Unless you can prove Destination Software is some guy working from a home office and operating the company on a McDonald's cashier's salary, they meet the requirements to get a DS dev kit.

Maybe if he didn't have such a shitty title he would have gotten more recognition from N

Last I heard, didn't you need like a decent office or something to be a developer for Nintendo?

Or some proof of financial backing or something like that?