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Nintendo's Engineers Have Embraced Unreal Engine (engadget.com)

Posted by msmash on from the about-time dept.

Tom Regan, writing for Engadget: If there's one thing that Nintendo has struggled with, it's enticing third-party developers to create games for its consoles. But according to VentureBeat, the company is looking to change that with the advent of the new Switch. At an investor Q&A session, Shigeru Miyamoto revealed that Nintendo engineers have been learning how to use third-party development tools like the Unreal Engine. It's not much of a surprise, given that the Switch, like the Wii U before it, supports the Unreal Engine. But the fact that Miyamoto has opened up on the subject shows that Nintendo may be softening its sometimes frosty stance on third-party developers. That relationship has never been too friendly, with former president Hiroshi Yamauchi saying in 2000 that third-parties are "not helping the industry at all."

4 of 40 comments (clear)

  1. Wii U support? by Zaurus · · Score: 1, Informative

    Er, what? I've been using Unreal Engine for 2 years now. The entire time I have been told, by the engine itself and the folks around it, that there is no Wii U support. I have certainly not observed any.

    Sooo...when did this mystical Wii U support come into being and how can I find it?

    1. Re:Wii U support? by Guspaz · · Score: 3, Informative

      The Wii U is supported by UE3. There's a bunch of UE3 games on the platform.

      Armature was planning to port UE4 to the Wii U to release Bloodstained, but it seems like they're going to drop that and replace it with the Switch since the Wii u will have been long discontinued by the time it comes out.

  2. Surprised? by darkain · · Score: 3, Informative

    Surprised? Not in the least. Wasn't Super Mario Run made in Unity? Yup, Nintendo is doing what other major companies are doing, using existing quality software tools.

  3. Re:A 14 year old can 'Master the Unreal Engine by Vairon · · Score: 3, Informative

    The 5% gross fee is only after the first $3000 made per quarter. Also this royalty fee is only for the free version of unreal engine that has no monthly/upfront cost. Epic offers alternative licensing schemes if a developer would prefer to pay upfront for UE4 instead of paying a 5% royalty. https://www.unrealengine.com/c...