n-Space not happy with Heroes of Ruin sales, sequel not likely, concerned about Wii U
A portion of a SuperPhillip interview with n-Space's Dan O'Leary...
SP: Can you say anything about the sales of Heroes of Ruin (released over the summer)? Are you satisfied with how the game sold? Is there room for a possible sequel down the road somewhere?
D: No, we’re not satisfied with the sales. The 3DS attach rate is… challenging at best and it seems that, for all its promise, Heroes of Ruin did not appeal to enough of the installed base. I am super pleased with what we made and would love to return to the genre one day, but I fear that Heroes did not have enough commercial impact to justify a sequel.
SP: Shifting gears, the current buzz in the industry is all about next gen, and the Wii U kicks that off next month. I'd be amiss if I didn't ask you about the platform a little. What can you say (if anything) about the indie scene on the upcoming Wii U? Does it excite you as a developer?
D: Of course the hardware is exciting but the console market faces so many challenges right now. I’m concerned that Wii U tries to appeal to both the mainstream and the hardcore markets simultaneously. On one hand, Nintendo is trying to build on the massive success of the Wii, which uncovered a latent mainstream audience due to brilliantly simple, self-evident and un-intimidating motion controls. On the other, they are introducing the most complex controller in history. It has massive potential and I would NEVER bet against Nintendo, but I do think it will be a challenging launch.
SP: Can you say anything about the sales of Heroes of Ruin (released over the summer)? Are you satisfied with how the game sold? Is there room for a possible sequel down the road somewhere?
D: No, we’re not satisfied with the sales. The 3DS attach rate is… challenging at best and it seems that, for all its promise, Heroes of Ruin did not appeal to enough of the installed base. I am super pleased with what we made and would love to return to the genre one day, but I fear that Heroes did not have enough commercial impact to justify a sequel.
SP: Shifting gears, the current buzz in the industry is all about next gen, and the Wii U kicks that off next month. I'd be amiss if I didn't ask you about the platform a little. What can you say (if anything) about the indie scene on the upcoming Wii U? Does it excite you as a developer?
D: Of course the hardware is exciting but the console market faces so many challenges right now. I’m concerned that Wii U tries to appeal to both the mainstream and the hardcore markets simultaneously. On one hand, Nintendo is trying to build on the massive success of the Wii, which uncovered a latent mainstream audience due to brilliantly simple, self-evident and un-intimidating motion controls. On the other, they are introducing the most complex controller in history. It has massive potential and I would NEVER bet against Nintendo, but I do think it will be a challenging launch.
