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[gngf123]

It was a good port of a good game on a download platform that lacked heavy hitters at the time. It was a solid investment that probably cost very little to make.

You mentioning download platform makes me think you are talking about Cave Story +, not Cave Story 3D, which was a physical release.

 

[Chopper]

It was a good port of a good game on a download platform that lacked heavy hitters at the time. It was a solid investment that probably cost very little to make.

I think they're referring to this:

 

[atbigelow]

Against my better judgement, I just bought Grinsia on the 3DS. No idea who ported it, but boy does it run poorly. I was well-aware of the crashing bug and haven't ran into the part of it yet.

Either way, feel pretty ripped off in general with the purchase due to its lackluster performance for what amounts to a pretty SNES game.

 

[ScOULaris]

Yes, they're absolutely horrible. I remember one of my favorite indie devs, Nifflas, announcing that he would be publishing one of his games through them before I knew how terrible they were. Then came the La-Mulana debacle and then Cave Story. After that, I had seen enough to know that Nicalis was not a quality operation.

 

[Colonel Mustard]

I think they're referring to this:

Ah. I didn't know Nicalis had anything to do with this.

 

[Tizoc]

- They ported Cave Story+ to the 3DS eShop in 2012, and it seems to have taken 2 years for them to finally release it in Europe. Wut?

Sorry to highlight just this point but that wouldn't be the only game to get a late release in the EU after releasing earlier in the US.

 

[RM8]

The completely unnecessary 3d remake of Cave Story was such a huge waste of their time and resources. Why did they do that?

I know I'm a minority, but Cave Story 3D (AKA the phyisical release with polygonal graphics) is my favorite version of the game, so I'm glad it exists. Plus owning a physical copy of Cave Story is awesome

 

[Mael]

Sorry to highlight just this point but that wouldn't be the only game to get a late release in the EU after releasing earlier in the US.

No but that's probably one of the longest delay for no reason at all though....

 

[Chopper]

Ah. I didn't know Nicalis had anything to do with this.

Apparently they developed it.

 

[Femmeworth]

I wonder if they have any actual employees.

 

[Purple Cheeto]

I think they have a lack of communication going on that exists outside of PR.

Shame, because Legend of Raven would be great for the PS4/X1's budding fighting game library.

I interviewed with them for a job years ago, I think I interviewed and was supposed to have a second interview or something and I'm pretty sure I never heard anything ever again. Of course this is a common problem in the industry so I just chalked it up to that.

 

[Infernal Monkey]

Still waiting for Cave Story DSiWare in Europe. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

But yes, Nicalis has a terrible habit of either announcing too much stuff at once or teasing projects long before they even have a slim chance of actually existing. I wish they'd just focus on something for once instead of bouncing all over the place constantly.

It's depressing that they were the ones who picked up 90's Arcade Racer, knowing that it'll probably be a year or two delay for the PAL release.

 

[ShockingAlberto]

My guess is they are a cut-rate publisher that only exists to eke out a living on the games they publish. The service matches the cost.

 

[panama chief]

RIP Sweet Prince....

 

[Mumford]

All I want is Cave Story+ on XBLA & PSN, preferably PS4 & PSV.

 

[OuterLimits]

Don't forget, they just released Grinsia on the 3DS... and it doesn't even work. One of the towns causes it to crash immediately upon entering. Like, how the fuck did they not catch that before they released the game?

I wasn't aware of this. I bought the game the day it released. Haven't played it much, but have been enjoying it. Looks like I wasted $10 if the game is going to crash on me eventually.

 

[AcademicSaucer]

I wasn't aware of this. I bought the game the day it released. Haven't played it much, but have been enjoying it. Looks like I wasted $10 if the game is going to crash on me eventually.

save constantly and you will be fine . also check the miiverse community of the game, they have figured out how to enter the town.

 

[von Stroheim]

Nicalis sound like a drug.

"Ask your doctor about Nicalis. Also, if your hard on lasts more than 8 hours, call a Sororitiy immediately...."

 

[jackal27]

Man...Grinsia 3DS. Let's ignore the fact that the game costs $10 when I bought the exact same game for $1 on my iPhone several years ago.

Here's how the battle screen looks... What.

It looks so awful that I actually laughed out loud when I saw this screenshot. They just took the iPhone scaled visuals, left them as they were and tried to cover up the extra space with GUI, failing spectacularly. I love Tyrone, but man does Nicalis need some work.

 

[tyronerodriguez]

There are things i have limits to discuss.

- La-Mulana was developed by Nigoro, not Nicalis. Our job was to market and localize the game. If there were delays related to the development you'd be better off asking Nigoro

- I have a version of Guxt on my 3DS, but Guxt as a game isn't to the level it needs to be as a for-purchase game on 3DS. We spent time with Ikachan to polish it more, improve the game, get more detail on the story and give it actual menus. Guxt needs a lot more work than that. You may be frustrated that you can't play it, but I'd rather you be frustrated that you can't play it then just release as-is so you can bitch that it's not good enough.

- There are a ton of factors in regional releases. In the past NOE and the various rating bodies didn't make it easy to release in a timely manner in Europe. We've had discussions extensively with NOE to improve this and they seem to be trying.

- Dissemination of information is my prerogative, not yours. As much as fans feel entitled to information, there is no obligation on the part of the company to release that information. However, with that said, we do try to communicate directly with fans on Twitter, Facebook and in-person at events. Just because we don't communicate to YOU doesn't mean we're not communicating to other players

- We did announce 1001 Spikes two years ago. We've remade the game from scratch. The original game (1000 Spikes) was built on IG Maker and not a port.

1001 Spikes also has:
- over 100 levels (1000 Spikes had 20-something)
- over 20 characters (1000 Spikes had one)
- An actual story with cutscenes and multiple endings and stories for each character (1000 Spikes didn't have this)
- 1-4P co-op and versus modes (1000 Spikes was 1P)
- Professional chiptun music by two great musicians (1000 Spikes had designer music that wasn't great)
- Coming to Wii U, 3DS, PS4, PSV, Xbox One, Windows, Linux and OSX (1000 Spikes was XBLIG only)

Regarding Grinsia, our testing vendor (who we're never using again) didn't catch this. It's not a cop-out and unfortunately that it has a glitch, but we submitted a patch to Nintendo BEFORE the game released so that should go up soon.

Hope this clears things up for you.

-ty

Does anyone disagree with that sentiment? I don't generally like shitting on people who are trying hard to do stuff with limited resources, but it just seems to me that Nicalis has a terrible track record when it comes to announcing stuff, vanishing off the radar, communicating poorly with the fanbase and with the developers they work with, and just having a reputation for being unreliable. Why is that? Are they stretched too thin by trying to get their hands on whatever they can? Do they announce projects without having an actual publishing plan? Do they just suck?

Here's some stuff off the top of my head:

- The terribly handled La-Mulana WiiWare debacle, where the developer and Nicalis couldn't even agree on what caused the cancellation after a ton of delays even though the game was released in Japan.

- They were supposed to bring Pixel's Ikachan and Guxt to the 3DS eShop. In the end only Ikachan made it, despite Guxt having a ESRB rating. No one seems to know what happened.

- They ported Cave Story+ to the 3DS eShop in 2012, and it seems to have taken 2 years for them to finally release it in Europe. Wut?

- They announced Legend of Raven for 3DS in 2012, which would be a port of an existing and pretty old PC doujin fighter at that point. After not having any news for ages, the Japanese developers even managed to crowdsource a brand new remake in 2013. Nicalis then announces that they're scrapping the 3DS version in favor of a Vita version, and then later they announce PS4 and XB1 versions as well. Without releasing a single thing!

- They announced 1001 Spikes for 3DS and WiiU over 2 years ago. Still nowhere to be seen. It was supposed to be an enhanced port/remake of an existing XBLA game. Still no date.

What gives? Does anyone have insight into why this company can't seem to put out anything on time despite being a middleman publisher localizing and/or porting/enhancing games which already exist and are often pretty old?

 

[AcademicSaucer]

Man...Grinsia 3DS. Let's ignore the fact that the game costs $10 when I bought the exact same game for $1 on my iPhone several years ago.

Here's how the battle screen looks... What.

It looks so awful that I actually laughed out loud when I saw this screenshot. They just took the iPhone scaled visuals, left them as they were and tried to cover up the extra space with GUI, failing spectacularly. I love Tyrone, but man does Nicalis need some work.

But really, if they wanted to port anything from kemco to the 3ds, Top gear would have been a better choice

Spoiler

i know, i know

EDIT: i will wait for the patch to resume my playthrough then, the solution at miiverse was kind of weird after all

 

[boutrosinit]

Multiplayer 1001 Spikes gives me a Bomberman boner. Favorite MP same screen game I've played at tradeshows.

I like it much much more than Sportsfriends.

 

[tyronerodriguez]

I would LOVE to do something with Top Gear. I haven't asked them about it recently, but it may be more difficult to do something with that now given Top Gear is now a tv show/brand.

But really, if they wanted to port anything from kemco to the 3ds, Top gear would have been a better choice

Spoiler

i know, i know

 

[AcademicSaucer]

I would LOVE to do something with Top Gear. I haven't asked them about it recently, but it may be more difficult to do something with that now given Top Gear is now a tv show/brand.

brb, hearing this music a thousand times

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpUZYWX2BoY

 

[Colonel Mustard]

- I have a version of Guxt on my 3DS, but Guxt as a game isn't to the level it needs to be as a for-purchase game on 3DS. We spent time with Ikachan to polish it more, improve the game, get more detail on the story and give it actual menus. Guxt needs a lot more work than that. You may be frustrated that you can't play it, but I'd rather you be frustrated that you can't play it then just release as-is so you can bitch that it's not good enough.


-ty

99¢

No bitching from anyone.


No one feels entitled to information, but when I ask the guys at Enjoy Up they're really open with information like development costs and solid release Windows.

 

[Azure Dream]

Edit: Actually, I'll back off. I haven't double-checked the details of the situation lately, I don't want to state something too far off.

 

[Hyperactivity]

There are things i have limits to discuss.

- La-Mulana was developed by Nigoro, not Nicalis. Our job was to market and localize the game. If there were delays related to the development you'd be better off asking Nigoro

- I have a version of Guxt on my 3DS, but Guxt as a game isn't to the level it needs to be as a for-purchase game on 3DS. We spent time with Ikachan to polish it more, improve the game, get more detail on the story and give it actual menus. Guxt needs a lot more work than that. You may be frustrated that you can't play it, but I'd rather you be frustrated that you can't play it then just release as-is so you can bitch that it's not good enough.

- There are a ton of factors in regional releases. In the past NOE and the various rating bodies didn't make it easy to release in a timely manner in Europe. We've had discussions extensively with NOE to improve this and they seem to be trying.

- Dissemination of information is my prerogative, not yours. As much as fans feel entitled to information, there is no obligation on the part of the company to release that information. However, with that said, we do try to communicate directly with fans on Twitter, Facebook and in-person at events. Just because we don't communicate to YOU doesn't mean we're not communicating to other players

- We did announce 1001 Spikes two years ago. We've remade the game from scratch. The original game (1000 Spikes) was built on IG Maker and not a port.

1001 Spikes also has:
- over 100 levels (1000 Spikes had 20-something)
- over 20 characters (1000 Spikes had one)
- An actual story with cutscenes and multiple endings and stories for each character (1000 Spikes didn't have this)
- 1-4P co-op and versus modes (1000 Spikes was 1P)
- Professional chiptun music by two great musicians (1000 Spikes had designer music that wasn't great)
- Coming to Wii U, 3DS, PS4, PSV, Xbox One, Windows, Linux and OSX (1000 Spikes was XBLIG only)

Regarding Grinsia, our testing vendor (who we're never using again) didn't catch this. It's not a cop-out and unfortunately that it has a glitch, but we submitted a patch to Nintendo BEFORE the game released so that should go up soon.

Hope this clears things up for you.

-ty

What happened here? Legitimately want to hear your side of the story

Let's say one publisher takes a game and proceeds to sell it without giving the dev a penny.

They continue to do so for years despite many requests from the dev asking what the heck's goin' on.

Then they say wait a second, the ceiling for royalty payouts is $5,000, despite nothing in the contract saying that. Then they say $1,000. Then they say payments are quarterly. Then you don't hear from them again.

Then let's say they continue screwing indie devs until one website finally writes an article about it and gets a few statements from devs who have been screwed over by this company.

And then let's say that publisher, despite being 100% in the wrong, denies any wrongdoing and is in fact angry at the article and devs for making them "look like the bad guy." Then they pay out what is supposedly owed to one of the devs in the article, without issuing a royalty report or having any proof that was indeed what was owed, and was in fact a lower payment than any of their supposed "ceilings" you had to hit before getting any money.

Then let's say after the money is finally in your bank account, they actually ask if they could publish your game on Steam, despite email after email declaring your contract with this publisher is terminated due to them not following through multiple points that can be considered grounds for cancellation of said contract.

And then, to top it off, your game is Greenlit on Steam...and you find out the publisher is trying to beat you to market by releasing your game on Steam before you can, despite telling them they have absolutely no right to do so. They know you'll try to pull it off Steam, but at least they can make a few hundred sales right?

So then you're constantly anxious that your game will be released on Steam, without your consent, making money that you'll never ever see a dime of, in a state that could be nearly broken with zero Steam features, without any way of patching it since you'd have to go through the publisher who has zero contact with you already, with the potential of a ton of customers angry at the developer for making a shoddy product despite the fact that it's not their fault at all.

...so yeah, there are worse.

 

[OneEyeTwoHead]

Good response from Tyrone..but fuck does the whole "disseminating information" portion of his post come off horribly.

 

[Chopper]

- Dissemination of information is my prerogative, not yours. As much as fans feel entitled to information, there is no obligation on the part of the company to release that information. However, with that said, we do try to communicate directly with fans on Twitter, Facebook and in-person at events. Just because we don't communicate to YOU doesn't mean we're not communicating to other players.

I'm pleased you've stopped by, and I appreciate that there are certain issues that we'll always find hard to fully understand, but this here really is your issue. This tiny thread has already illustrated a number of instances where your lack of communication has resulted in lost sales.

 

[Colonel Mustard]

What happened here? Legitimately want to hear your side of the story

That's not Nicalis.

 

[Mr-Joker]

Apparently they developed it.

So that would explain why the button layout feels god awful.

 

[gngf123]

What happened here? Legitimately want to hear your side of the story

That guy was talking about Strategy First.

 

[thetrin]

I wonder if Pixel even gets money from sales of ports of his games?

He doesn't, afaik.

 

[sörine]

I'd buy Guxt 3DS as is without complaint.

 

[RM8]

Okay after reading what happened, I chuckled at the "Strategy First" name.

Also, really hyped for 1001 Spikes.

Also, Nicalis, are you still interested in porting Kero Blaster to 3DS? Because after buying it on iOS and PC, I'd definitely be interested in buying it on 3DS.

 

[Hyperactivity]

That's not Nicalis.

Oh

Spoiler

I feel really really stupid now

Sorry

 

[JDSN]

There were some signs of incompetence here and there but they became full blown shitty to my eyes when they picked up that fantastic-looking racer on Kickstarter, allowed it to remain open collecting pledges from backers and then being unable to deliver it when it was supposed to be done 3 months ago. It also doesnt help that one of the appeals was that it was done by a guy that had experience and a great eye for detail when it came to car handling, that changed when some Nicalis guy got involved because he drove some cars in the past and worked in that shitty Tokyo Drift game.

Its executive meddling, and it retroactively makes me reconsider the degree of blame they get for what happened with Cave Story.

 

[duckroll]

There are things i have limits to discuss.

-snip-

Hope this clears things up for you.

-ty

I appreciate that you took the time to address various points. The intention of the thread was to get a general sense of whether many people feel the same way about the company, and more importantly - why. Having additional perspective from your side is very helpful to the discussion at hand. The more people understand about why things went wrong, the more likely they will not take it the wrong way.

With regards to dissemination of information though, I hope you realize that it's not so much about entitlement, so much as engagement. Indie games tend to be much more personal than larger commercial products in terms of how they connect with individuals, and word of mouth is usually of great important to their success or failure. I don't think people in general demand information and updates because they feel they are owed, but because they're genuinely curious, and sometimes even concerned about how things might be going behind the scenes.

As a publisher, it's certainly your right to tell people that it's none of their business and they don't have to care about anything, but that's also in another way telling people not to care about your company and products, which seems rather silly and counter productive. Just a thought.

 

[jetsetmario]

There are things i have limits to discuss.

- La-Mulana was developed by Nigoro, not Nicalis. Our job was to market and localize the game. If there were delays related to the development you'd be better off asking Nigoro

- I have a version of Guxt on my 3DS, but Guxt as a game isn't to the level it needs to be as a for-purchase game on 3DS. We spent time with Ikachan to polish it more, improve the game, get more detail on the story and give it actual menus. Guxt needs a lot more work than that. You may be frustrated that you can't play it, but I'd rather you be frustrated that you can't play it then just release as-is so you can bitch that it's not good enough.

- There are a ton of factors in regional releases. In the past NOE and the various rating bodies didn't make it easy to release in a timely manner in Europe. We've had discussions extensively with NOE to improve this and they seem to be trying.

- Dissemination of information is my prerogative, not yours. As much as fans feel entitled to information, there is no obligation on the part of the company to release that information. However, with that said, we do try to communicate directly with fans on Twitter, Facebook and in-person at events. Just because we don't communicate to YOU doesn't mean we're not communicating to other players

- We did announce 1001 Spikes two years ago. We've remade the game from scratch. The original game (1000 Spikes) was built on IG Maker and not a port.

1001 Spikes also has:
- over 100 levels (1000 Spikes had 20-something)
- over 20 characters (1000 Spikes had one)
- An actual story with cutscenes and multiple endings and stories for each character (1000 Spikes didn't have this)
- 1-4P co-op and versus modes (1000 Spikes was 1P)
- Professional chiptun music by two great musicians (1000 Spikes had designer music that wasn't great)
- Coming to Wii U, 3DS, PS4, PSV, Xbox One, Windows, Linux and OSX (1000 Spikes was XBLIG only)

Regarding Grinsia, our testing vendor (who we're never using again) didn't catch this. It's not a cop-out and unfortunately that it has a glitch, but we submitted a patch to Nintendo BEFORE the game released so that should go up soon.

Hope this clears things up for you.

-ty

This post validates every point made within the OP. Defensive attitudes, an unwillingness to accept any responsibility for the weaknesses or faults in released products, and a genuinely terrible ability to communicate with the community that would love to support you. Check, check, and check.

 

[tyronerodriguez]

Where is this coming from? Do you have verifiable data that suggests this?

I'm not going to speak how much Daisukebe makes. But him and I are friends and business partners and continue to work together.

He doesn't, afaik.

 

[tyronerodriguez]

But based on what I read from your OP, this isn't necessarily what you're after. At least, it doesn't seem like it to me.

You lead and led off with negative and biased statements, some of which aren't true. There is only so much I can do to communicate with someone. After that its up to them to accept the information.

I appreciate that you took the time to address various points. The intention of the thread was to get a general sense of whether many people feel the same way about the company, and more importantly - why. Having additional perspective from your side is very helpful to the discussion at hand. The more people understand about why things went wrong, the more likely they will not take it the wrong way.

With regards to dissemination of information though, I hope you realize that it's not so much about entitlement, so much as engagement. Indie games tend to be much more personal than larger commercial products in terms of how they connect with individuals, and word of mouth is usually of great important to their success or failure. I don't think people in general demand information and updates because they feel they are owed, but because they're genuinely curious, and sometimes even concerned about how things might be going behind the scenes.

As a publisher, it's certainly your right to tell people that it's none of their business and they don't have to care about anything, but that's also in another way telling people not to care about your company and products, which seems rather silly and counter productive. Just a thought.

 

[tyronerodriguez]

I have no attitude. Questions were asked and points were made. I am answering them as I can. Using emoticons will not be taken seriously, or at least that's my impressions.

I personally accept responsibility for faults in any games and try to remedy them and go above and beyond when possible.

Please tell me what defensive attitude I'm displaying and where I'm not taking responsibility. I'm asking, this isn't rhetorical.

This post validates every point made within the OP. Defensive attitudes, an unwillingness to accept any responsibility for the weaknesses or faults in released products, and a genuinely terrible ability to communicate with the community that would love to support you. Check, check, and check.

 

[gngf123]

Where is this coming from? Do you have verifiable data that suggests this?

I'm not going to speak how much Daisukebe makes. But him and I are friends and business partners and continue to work together.

There was a post on Reddit a long time ago that I see, around the time of CS+ first getting in a bundle, that actually said he gets no money from sales of the game at all. That comment did have a source but sadly I can't remember what it was. Might try finding it but Reddit's search function is notoriously terrible. There's no real news either way so tiny rumours like that can take on more life than they deserve.

 

[tyronerodriguez]

You're perpetuating a lie based on heresay?

This post validates every point made within the OP. Defensive attitudes, an unwillingness to accept any responsibility for the weaknesses or faults in released products, and a genuinely terrible ability to communicate with the community that would love to support you. Check, check, and check.

There was a post on Reddit a long time ago that I see, around the time of CS+ first getting in a bundle, that actually said he gets no money from sales of the game at all. That comment did have a source but sadly I can't remember what it was. Might try finding it but Reddit's search function is notoriously terrible.

 

[gngf123]

You're perpetuating a lie based on heresay?

No, I'm not the poster. I did mention it earlier but expressed a lot of doubt over the source.

As I said, that comment did have a source but I don't remember and will need to go find it again. As it happens I'm just happy that it seems like it was rubbish all along, since he deserves it.

Maybe the guy you are getting me confused with has a much better source than my poor memory.

 

[Heart of Black]

I appreciate that you took the time to address various points. The intention of the thread was to get a general sense of whether many people feel the same way about the company, and more importantly - why. Having additional perspective from your side is very helpful to the discussion at hand. The more people understand about why things went wrong, the more likely they will not take it the wrong way.

With regards to dissemination of information though, I hope you realize that it's not so much about entitlement, so much as engagement. Indie games tend to be much more personal than larger commercial products in terms of how they connect with individuals, and word of mouth is usually of great important to their success or failure. I don't think people in general demand information and updates because they feel they are owed, but because they're genuinely curious, and sometimes even concerned about how things might be going behind the scenes.

As a publisher, it's certainly your right to tell people that it's none of their business and they don't have to care about anything, but that's also in another way telling people not to care about your company and products, which seems rather silly and counter productive. Just a thought.

My man Tyrone is all up on twitter, though. Posting daily. New screens, even. And demos everything at events.

And I'm playing 1001 Spikes (Beta), and it is gooooooood.

 

[Chopper]

But based on what I read from your OP, this isn't necessarily what you're after. At least, it doesn't seem like it to me.

You lead and led off with negative and biased statements, some of which aren't true. There is only so much I can do to communicate with someone. After that its up to them to accept the information.

Isn't it up to you to provide enough information to ensure that faith is not lost in your ability to release the game that people are expecting and looking forward to buying from you?

 

[jholmes]

- We did announce 1001 Spikes two years ago. We've remade the game from scratch. The original game (1000 Spikes) was built on IG Maker and not a port.

1001 Spikes also has:
- over 100 levels (1000 Spikes had 20-something)
- over 20 characters (1000 Spikes had one)
- An actual story with cutscenes and multiple endings and stories for each character (1000 Spikes didn't have this)
- 1-4P co-op and versus modes (1000 Spikes was 1P)
- Professional chiptun music by two great musicians (1000 Spikes had designer music that wasn't great)
- Coming to Wii U, 3DS, PS4, PSV, Xbox One, Windows, Linux and OSX (1000 Spikes was XBLIG only)

Someone earlier in the thread said 1001 Spikes is aiming for a summer release on Sony platforms. Is that rough window what you're looking at for all builds? Just curious because I do want to play the game.

 

[tyronerodriguez]

Just because I don't post on NG doesn't mean we're not doing that.

Also that's not allowed on NG, if I remember the TOS correctly

Isn't up to you to provide enough information to ensure that faith is not lost in your ability to release the game that people are expecting and looking forward to buying from you?

 

[Bucca]

Listen, I don't give a shit what Nicalis does.

SO LONG AS THEY DON'T SEND BINDING OF ISAAC REBIRTH INTO THE DEVELOPMENT NEBULOUS.