Publisher Nicalis Cancels La-Mulana, Blames "Almost Non-Existent" WiiWare Market
Nicalis has cancelled its plans to publish Indiana Jones style platformer La-Mulana, according to founder Tyrone Rodriguez speaking to GoNintendo on April 30. A series of delays by Japanese indie developer NIGORO, combined with what Rodriguez called “almost non-existent” WiiWare sales, resulted in an unprofitable situation for the publisher.
Rodriguez claimed that the plan for La-Mulana to release on WiiWare took a dive as profitability in selling indie titles for the Wii decreased.
“Waiting two years for NIGORO to finish development has made it near impossible to sell sufficient units on Wii,” Rodriguez said. “The WiiWare market has a fraction of the players from 2008. The window for release and success of software on the platform ended in 2009 and took a very steep decline. Players have moved onto other digital download platforms.”
La-Mulana began development two years ago, and NIGORO even claimed in December that the game was already completed. On April 26, NIGORO said that it had already given the master data for the game to Nicalis.
Four days before Nicalis’ announcement, the NIGORO staff asserted that “no matter what, La-Mulana will be released on WiiWare.”
“Sometimes making games and the elements surrounding them can be a massive pain in the ass because it’s not all just game development,” explained the staff on their blog.
NIGORO did plan on releasing a PC version of their title as a backup plan. As they are self-publishing the PC version, La-Mulana will likely still see the light of day, just without Nicalis’ help.
“We are not only a developer but also a publisher in WiiWare Japanese version. That is why we could make statements freely and quickly… We are sorry for keeping fans waiting such a long time, and thanks for your encouragement forever. We promise to do our best to deliver LA-MULANA ASAP,” NIGORO said.
