A Wii U release for cult indie platformer Fez is not an impossibility… although comments from creator Phil Fish certainly render it an improbability.
“The only way a Fez Wii U port could happen is if Nintendo paid for and handled the port themselves,” he wrote on Twitter. “Which I highly doubt will ever happen.”
There’s context for this, though. Fish’s issue with Nintendo stems from what he perceives to be their ill treatment of indie developers I the past.
“The reason Fez isn’t on Nintendo platforms isn’t because I don't like Nintendo. It’s because of the insulting way they treated indies,” he added.
The good news, however, is that some of the gripes Fish have are now being addressed.
“Woah! Nintendo finally drops that ridiculous ‘you can’t work from home’ clause!” he said. “Prior to this, I couldn't have ported Fez to Nintendo platforms EVEN IF I WANTED TO because I work from my apartment. Brian Provinciano had to get an office JUST SO HE COULD PUBLISH ON NINTENDO PLATFORMS.
“It was that ridiculous. But hey! Progress! It’s nice to see them reach out to the little guys, although it feels quite reactionary.
“They also got rid of the sales threshold! In the past, a game had to sell X number of units before it got paid... if a game never reached the threshold, the developer never got paid. Even if you sold 4999 and the threshold was 5000, you would get nothing.
“It was FULLY ABSURD anti-developer stance that I’m glad to see they are finally getting rid of. I know people who developed a game for Nintendo, certified it, released it, sold some copies and never saw the first dollar. Ever. Nintendo would just keep all the money. I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP.”
Fez is due out on PC in May.
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