Jason Hughes and Andrew Gilmour announce their new studio, WiiWare development accreditation.
Two ex-Naughty Dogs have officially named their new studio Steel Penny, and announced that the development house has been certified for WiiWare and Xbox Live Arcade development.
Jason Hughes is the founder and president of the Austin, Texas-based studio, and Andrew Gilmour is the art director. The company was founded in early 2007, and will initially focus on digital distribution. Its mission statement states that the dev studio will make mass-market casual games which are fresh and kid-friendly.
Steel Penny is currently working on Bruiser and Scratch in the Case of the Puzzling Paw, a new IP which features a dog and cat duo who discover a strange doorway in the woods. Steel Penny describes it as, "a combination of the accessibility of classic arcade games and the depth and quality of play that modern audiences crave."
According to a statement released to the press, the company's next title is due mid-2008, although it's not clear whether this is Bruiser and Scratch or some other, secret title.
Many people in the industry believe that in addition to the AAA game with the five-million dollar budget that takes two years to develop, there's room for smaller fare that can be banged out in months. The idea of episodic content hasn't done too well (R.I.P. Sin Episodes), but digital distribution seems almost perfect for small stand-alone games and traditional sequels. Whether this cat and dog thing takes off is anybody's guess though...
Curious to see how WiiWare in particular will work out. I love the idea but as far as what type of things Nintendo will allow to flow into it is where I am slightly concerned.
Sounds like they could just be sick of having to produce overly colourful kiddy platformers... time to release the grown up software ideas.
Yea, that looks like a game for typical little kids on Wii......C'mon, make a game for the "big" boys!!!!
More new IP's for XBox Live Arcade is always welcomed. Many of these games are great fun and pretty cheap too at only $10 or less. You can't beat that if you have little kids who like to play games.
The jak and daxter games own, I have 1, 2, 3, and wanting X and Daxter!!! I love those games and play them today
I remember the good old Crash Bandicoot days. The original, 2, 3, even that cart game was awesome. Then Vivendi bought the franchise... I hope they make this game in the lines of the original Crash Bandicoots, it will surely be a success.
Any idea when WiiWare will come? Send me a PM if you do, or if you can direct me to a place where I can look.
They better make this as good as Crash Bandicoot 2, that was platformer heaven, and still is. Problem is, a cat and a dog? Thats exactly like Whiplash, 2 different animals as main characters.
Everyone has to start somewhere. Grats to these guys for starting up their own thing, and good luck.
Not to be a real downer, but the majority of these small studios, formed by one or two employees of a studio that actually matters, never turn out to be anything. Luckily, they're making a low budget Wii-Ware title, rather then a full priced game or something. Less risk involved. I hope they do alright, but I highly doubt they will. Especially when it's some casual crap. No matter how much quote "innovation" they put in it.
Hopefully the small projects will lead them back to larger projects, but cool news for now.
"jdt532: Why did these fools leave Sony... Instead of making awesome games for the most powerful console on the planet (PS3) now they'll be making lame kiddie games nobody gives a damn about for the Wii... LOL " Maybe having to work with the most arkward console to develop for has finally broken them, and they've chosen to develop for platforms where their product will de appreciated.
At first I was excited to hear that ex-Naughty Dog devs were going to develop games for XBLA, but after reading that they're going to be making "mass-market casual games" I'm not too sure.
This makes perfect sense. Jump on Wiiware when it's new and get content out there that you don't have to package and deal with shipping and stores. I don't see anything that surprising about supporting the best console this generation in the Wii and the one that's been around the longest in the 360.
to jdt532... they left due to the horrifying thought that you might be playing some of their games
I would of thought that the ex Naughty Dogs would have wanted to move away from the platforming genre. But since its their field and what not, best to go with what you know, right?
DonutTrooper: "Here's a drink for the new studios. I like seeing more new studios in the midst of the massive mergers." It's nice to hear of new studios especially created by ppl previously associated with solid studios. Hopefully they make some great titles the Wii could use some more solid titles
well idk about you guys, but i still miss the old crash bandicoot games. you know the ones that were GOOD?
Here's a drink for the new studios. I like seeing more new studios in the midst of the massive mergers.
Jak & Daxter. Ratchet & Clank. Zack & Wikki. And now Bruiser & Scratch... Does every platformer hero need a sidekick now?
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