Archive for May 17th, 2013

Nintendo’s Wii U may not be getting any EA games in the near future, but they will be getting exclusive dibs on Sonic! Nintendo and SEGA announced a partnership for three exclusive Sonic games for the Wii U and 3DS systems.

“The onetime rivalry between Mario and Sonic has grown into a friendship that has never been closer,” said Nintendo of America President and COO Reggie Fils-Aime. “These announcements in conjunction with SEGA demonstrate the commitment we have to bringing great games to the Wii U platform, and set the stage for our upcoming announcements at E3.”

Two of the exclusive SEGA games announced for the Wii U are Sonic Lost World (pictured) and Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. More SEGA Game Gear games will be coming to the Virtual Console service for Nintendo 3DS.

Additionally, Nintendo announced during their Nintendo Direct video stream that in lieu of holding an E3 press event this year, they will be showcasing some upcoming Wii U titles at participating Best Buy stores for the public to try out. Details about which games will be shown and which store locations will have hands-on demos are forthcoming.

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Dracogen. You’ve probably never heard of it, but you should remember that name if you’re interested in indie games. Dracogen is the company started by Steven Dengler “committed to helping fun and awesome things happen.” Dengler’s funding helped Hidden Path Entertainment meet their Defense Grid 2 goal when it fell short on Kickstarter. Dracogen has invested money in The Banner Saga, Double Fine Adventure, Torment: Tides of Numenara, the Child’s Play charity, various fan films, and many other independent projects.

GamesBeat profiled Steven Dengler and Dracogen, revealing the mystery donor for the first time. Dengler spoke about why he took an interest in Defense Grid 2 and other indie efforts.

“I don’t have rights, and I am not a publisher,” Dengler told GamesBeat. “I did smaller financings for fun. But I see that the thing that is broken in the industry is that publishers want your soul. Self-publishing has to become a better option. Jeff didn’t have to twist my arm.”

“I’m not in this to make my fortune,” he said. “This gets a game out there that people want to play. I don’t want to own part of the company. I want to help make a game.”

Defense Grid 2 is scheduled to launch in 2014.

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