Infendo did a little genuine journalism today and interviewed Jennifer Fellnhofer, the head of PR at Bplus. If you’ll remember, Bplus was the first developer to formally announce a WiiWare downloadable title.
What we discovered from this brief interview was A) BPlus was very prompt in getting back to us, B) the contact with Nintendo was initially made in 2006, and C) Jennifer promised me that “[Bplus] are going to change the paradigm of how game development works.” All in all this was a neat look inside the process. And it’s an Infendo exclusive, so enjoy:
Could you tell me what BPlus’ interaction with Nintendo has been to date?
Jennifer Fellnhofer: Everything started in 2006 with a really innovative game that caught Nintendo’s eye. Nintendo instantly suggested the game to appear on the yet to be announced download service for Wii. Because we realised that we are a very small developer with an idea a little too big for us, we eventually chose to delay this concept a little and instead focus on a game that would need less man power to become reality. We decided that PLATTCHEN twist ‘n’ paint, this time specially designed for the download service, would be the ideal candidate to go on with.
How hands on have they been?
Fellnhofer: After receiving approval from Nintendo, we created a playable demo version of the game concept. Nintendo reviewed it and stated that they would love to see it appear on the upcoming download service. This was in april 2007.
How do you feel about Nintendo having the final say on retail pricing?
Fellnhofer: We think that Nintendo made exactly the right decision on this issue. They are forcing some kind of win-win-situation for both Nintendo and the developers by keeping the prices for original game titles affordable while ensuring that the profit a developer raises fits exactly the depth of the game and the investments that were made during development.
Why did you choose the Wii as your platform of choice?
Fellnhofer: We love both, Wii and Nintendo DS, but we feel that the download service is just a too intriguing opportunity for us to set our focus just on Nintendo DS right now.
Are you entirely focused on Plattchen, or are there other titles in the pipleline?
Fellnhofer: PLATTCHEN twist ‘n’ paint is just the beginning. There is a number of titles set to appear on Wii and Nintendo DS, but we are not ready to announce other projects yet. Let’s say one thing: We are going to change the paradigm of how game development works [and] in a similar way we are already doing it with the Austrian GameClub-TestTeam. Stay tuned.
What do you think, Infendo?