RIVE Delayed For Wii U

During E3 2015 a bunch of Indie demos were released on the Wii U for people to try out. One of the games people could play was called RIVE. Two Tribes, the developer of Toki Tori, are the ones creating Rive. I played the demo and thought that the game was neat. Now, Two Tribes has announced they are delaying the Wii U version of the game and might not bring the game to the system at all. I have the details, plus my thoughts on this announcement.

RIVE for the Wii U has been delayed. The developer, Two Tribes, says that the reasons are both “technical” and “business” related. They said that the game “didn’t manage 60FPS consistently”. They also said that they have “added a lot of stuff since” the 2015 demo “and we haven’t been able to reach the performance level required yet.” The developers “won’t release RIVE unless it’s a solid 60FPS, and if that means delaying it to a future platform, we will make that call and make sure Nintendo fans get the perfect experience.”

When they say a future platform, they are of course talking about the NX. This also brings in the business portion of their excuse for the Wii U “delay”. They say that “Nintendo is exiting the Wii U market early in favor of the NX which means a long tail in sales is not looking likely.” Their business decision goes like this “do you release a game on a platform in its last days or on a new one that’s better suited and can reach gamers for years to come?” Two Tribes did say that they would “try one last time to perfect the Wii U version, but if that fails we’ll need to focus on the future.” Honestly, I think they have already made up their mind and don’t want to admit it. It sounds like RIVE will be an NX title instead of a Wii U game. I don’t think any of us should be surprised by this given Two Tribes previously history with the Wii U…

Back when Toki Tori 2 was announced, Two Tribes promised that the Wii U version would have the map creator that the PC version had. I remember buying Toki Tori because of that promise. Then, the creators of the game went back on their promise and announced that the map maker would not come to the Wii U. And now we have them backing out of another promise, RIVE for the Wii U. I played the RIVE demo and thought it was pretty good. The developer should be able to make 60FPS. The Wii U isn’t an underpowered system. I think that the developer basically is just making an excuse not to bring the title to Wii U as promised. They want to make a lot of money and the money seems to be going toward the NX. Yes, even though we know nothing about the system, which the developer admits. I’m getting pretty tired of these indies that are backing out of the Wii U and making assumptions about the NX and Wii U.

First of all, Two Tribes is saying that we are at the “end of days” for the Wii U. I admit that it does look like that, but Nintendo has said previously that they are not abandoning the Wii U. I think there is still hope for the system. NX is not being made to replace the Wii U. It is not the next Wii system. At least, Nintendo has said both of these things. We also don’t know what the NX will be and whether or not a lot of people will buy it. I think abandoning the Wii U for a system we know nothing about is beyond stupid.

Personally, I would not buy RIVE even if I do end up getting an NX. I think its wrong for the developer (or any developer really) to announce a game for Wii U, put out a demo, and then say they are “delaying it” and very likely canceling it for Wii U. Of course, canceling Wii U games in favor of the NX is a trend we’ve been seeing a lot of lately. I don’t like it one bit!

What do you think about Two Tribes? Do you think this business decision is the right way to go? Bonus question: Did you play the RIVE demo? What did you think of it?

Source: Nintendo Life