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[Gaogaogao]

make a better xeodrifter, metroidvania never dies
one with more variety next time.

 

[pinkurocket]

Xeodrifter was a more hyped game because people wanted a game like that.
Chicken Wiggle looks fun, but it doesn't stand out unfortunately. Really bad timing.

It's a shame because the developer is really good, but I can't deny that the game looks kinda unappealing on a platform where it's already really hard to stand out (the 3DS eShop).

 

[Labombadog]

Xeodrifter is a really good game, please don't sleep on it guys.

It really is. I enjoyed my time with it.

 

[pvpness]

Ouch. I'm part of the problem. I wouldn't touch my 3DS ever again if I wasn't a Metroid fanboy. Loved Xeodrifter/MM but hadn't even heard of Chicken Wiggle.

 

[K.Jack]

I'm not even going roll over in bed to look up info on a game called Chicken Wiggle. The title is objectively bad.

 

[Hoo-doo]

Terrible name, zero marketing and then be bummed out it cratered.
I mean, I can sympathize, but I think most would have seen this coming from a mile away.

 

[SinCityAssassin]

Maybe call it like. Hatch Rancher, or something. Something catchy.

 

[SporeCrawler]

its a shame since character design seems pretty good (and up until now i really didnt like watshams character designs) the naming is atrocious though.

 

[AcademicSaucer]

Put your games on Switch and dont call them "Chicken Wiggle"

 

[TheYanger]

I know it's been said, but it can't be said enough. A generic LOOKING angry-birds esque designed character in a bright kiddie looking platformer, named Chicken Wiggle, isn't going to get most people to even look twice at it. That is the most generic trashcan sounding/looking thing I can imagine, and that doens't mean it is, but it means I'll never find out unless it gets insane word of mouth. I suspect most people are like me in that regard. There are too many games to take a second glance at something that on the surface looks like some mobile trash cash in.

 

[DontBlink]

The main three reasons have already been mentioned multiple times:
- terrible, generic name
- too pricey
- bad timing/wrong platform

I would say the first is probably the biggest. It sounds exactly like a mobile shovelware that's all over the app stores. Similar thing happened to their Bomb Monkey, which I'm pretty sure also under underperformed.

 

[SporeCrawler]

I know it's been said, but it can't be said enough. A generic LOOKING angry-birds esque designed character in a bright kiddie looking platformer, named Chicken Wiggle, isn't going to get most people to even look twice at it. That is the most generic trashcan sounding/looking thing I can imagine, and that doens't mean it is, but it means I'll never find out unless it gets insane word of mouth. I suspect most people are like me in that regard. There are too many games to take a second glance at something that on the surface looks like some mobile trash cash in.

doesnt look like angry birds at all. if anything it looks like toki tori

 

[ozfunghi]

The name isn't eggcellent.

 

[Kirlia]

Jools, dude, if you're reading this: I'm sorry about your game underperforming, but seriously, you whiffed it hard with the name "Chicken Wiggle".

 

[McGruber21]

First time hearing about it, also haven't touched my 3DS in ages.
3DS seems to have died super quick though, or this is other problems about why this isn't selling.

It does seem that way, but then you gotta remember Switch is a portable also, and Switch is huge. The 3DS is getting a very good goodbye though, especially by Nintendo's standards. Samus Returns looks fantastic, and closing the system out with a game the "hardcore" (us) can drool over is super sweet of them. Now Miiverse on the other hand, could have at least waited for it's platforms to properly sunset. Damn 'Tendo!

 

[Sammy Samusu]

Welp. He better wiggle his chicken. Hohohohoh.

 

[baphomet]

If your game isn't garbage shovelware, why would you name it like it is?

 

[nickgia]

Mistake 1:
calling it "Chicken Wiggle"

This.

 

[EvB]

Jools, dude, if you're reading this: I'm sorry about your game underperforming, but seriously, you whiffed it hard with the name "Chicken Wiggle".

It’s a chicken with a worm in a back pack. I like it

 

[Magnus]

It's all of those things; the 3DS is dead, the game is expensive, the game is not immediately appealing (it mostly looks like Mutant Mudds with a Chicken instead of a kid), no real pre-release promotion, most people looking for a platformer aren't planning on making levels so the key unique selling point probably doesn't drive that much attention.

Have to agree with all of this. Sounds like a lot of issues with this. I'm a little shocked that any 3DS eShop title is going for that much (with all the other challenges it has to deal with).

 

[kunonabi]

The vast majority of my gaming dollars go to the 3ds but wootsam's stuff has never really appealed to me. Not even knowing this game existe doesnt help.

 

[feelingkettle]

The vast majority of my gaming dollars go to the 3ds but wootsam's stuff has never really appealed to me. Not even knowing this game existe doesnt help.

I thought Mutand Mudds was good, but really bought it because it was one of the first indie games on the 3ds, and one that competently used 3d.

I bought the Mutand Mudds Deluxe or whatever when it came out, and realized it just wasn't worth the time and the level design was lacking. I think Jools is not the best at developing fun gameplay, or giving players what they want. Seems like a good guy, but he may have gotten lucky with the success of the original Mutand Mudds. Might have been a right time right place kind of thing. Not so sure he will find success on the switch given his competition and his track record.

 

[FiveSide]

I feel like a lot of the indies on 3DS (and every Nintendo system, really) benefited from people who owned the console and, during game droughts, browsed through the eshop looking for stuff to bide the time. And I feel like a lot of these people were also more "enthusiast" gamers, as opposed to people who only busted the 3DS out every once in a while to play Pokemon or Mario.

This particular audience, at this point, has probably moved on almost completely to the Switch. I feel for this developer, and the game does look pretty solid, but I think these kinds of sales numbers were on the cards. Even disregarding the name, which does give off a bit of a shovelware impression.

 

[OrbitalBeard]

I really like Jools and the stuff he makes, but I feel he's always overpriced his games. Even if Chicken Wiggle is a great game, pricing a 3DS eShop title at $15 at this point in the system's life just doesn't make any sense to me. The 3DS is almost seven years old. Most consumers who buy indie games on the eShop picked up a Switch within the past six months.

 

[diaspora]

I know people like to act as though they wouldn't eat shit if it was marketed to them right, but branding, marketing, and PR do matter.

 

[CharlesSurge]

Personally, I'm not buying anything off the 3DS eshop at this point because it's basically a dead end. So if your indie game is only on 3DS at this point I'm not gonna see it. On top of that, "Chicken Wiggle" sounds like a shovelware game name, so it wouldn't get me to stop while scrolling by stuff.

I don't get this talk. All consoles and handhelds are dead ends.

The 3DS is awesome.

 

[Glix]

With all honesty and sympathy, I don't know why Jools expected otherwise. Chicken Wiggle, no matter how much love was poured into it, looks like a barebones mobile platformer with an especially kiddie aesthetic on the 3ds eshop that is pretty much dead at this r. There was no hype for this game online so it clearly was not building momentum leading to launch.

This cannot be overstated. I liked Mutant Mudds a LOT, way back when on the eshop. If your game has a weird name and looks kinda generic and mobile... you gotta let me know that all is not what it seems. Let me know the pedigree! And all the other gaffers in this threadthat had never heard of it either. The pedigree would make me seek out a little footage, I just have to know it exists. The way it went down, even if for some reason I was already in the 3ds eshop, I'd scroll right past this.

 

[zigg]

I dunno guys, I watched that video and I am not feeling this

Title and branding aside, this game just doesn't look like much fun

 

[emperor_ing]

I literally did not know this existed until a friend recommended it to me saying that it was a good game. Having looked at it I don't think it's my sort of thing but I think I can echo a lot of reponses in this thread.

a) The name, while conveying what the game is about, makes it sound like mobile shovelware
b) I have not seen any marketing for this whatsoever
c) For what it looks like, the full price is very hard to bite at. £13.49 for a little indie platformer? Something like this would probably go for a few quid on mobile.
d) A demo to try before you buy might have been helpful
e) The eShop is bloated with a lot of content of variable quality and it can be difficult to find things like this

I hope Jools isn't disheartened by this. I know the indie world can be savage. Hoping Switch Mutant Mudds and Treasurenauts do well.

 

[TheMoon]

What? He has a dev kit and had one before the release of Chicken Wiggle.

Treasurenauts is going to Switch and they promo'd a mutant mudds port months ago, dude's had a devkit for a WHILE.

...in time. he was already knee deep in CW3DS. his words. not literally ofc.

edit: here the literal version:
https://twitter.com/JoolsWatsham/status/906163130774016000

Getting a hold of a devkit within practical timeframe didn't happen tho.

 

[Mr. Badger]

Not all games are successful, and to expect people to buy your game just because, is ridiculous.

Chicken Wiggle - silly naming convention too.
The price - failure number 2.

 

[PaulloDEC]

Is the game 3DS exclusive? I realise Nintendo have sold a lot of units, but with the Switch now out in the wild it seems like a risky prospect to target a single, now-outdated platform.

Also, everything else people are saying in this thread, i.e. risky name, marketing? etc.

 

[oon]

Half of the reason must be the name - marketing and branding is so important. Think Sonic would've taken off if it was called "Speedy Hedgie"? ... don't steal that, I'm gonna use it for a mobile knockoff.

 

[Trace]

Shit name, shit platform.

Not really that surprising. Wouldn't buy an indie title on 3DS for any reason at this point.

 

[VLiberty]

I liked Mutant Mudds and Xeodrifter and I didn't know this was out. But then I really haven't turned on my 3DS in a looooong while

edit: although I don't know if I would've bought it anyway, with others RK games being on Vita I would have waited for this one to come there too. I can't stand 3DS controls for 2d platformers

 

[Samaritan]

Really shouldn't be surprising with a name like that and a release on a platform like the 3DS.

 

[badnewsbeers]

Why the fuck would I play a game called Chicken Wiggle?

Came to say this. Stupid name. Wouldn't have even looked at it.

 

[SinCityAssassin]

Is the game 3DS exclusive? I realise Nintendo have sold a lot of units, but with the Switch now out in the wild it seems like a risky prospect to target a single, now-outdated platform.

Also, everything else people are saying in this thread, i.e. risky name, marketing? etc.

Exclusive.

 

[?oe?oe]

https://youtu.be/YQRcpX9etsk

Is this the game? It... doesn't look great.

Yikes...

It would be fine for a child, I guess, but there's so many better options out there.

 

[watershed]

Jools Watsham hasn't turned out any good games since Mutant Mudd and I think that game benefitted greatly from being released early in the 3ds' life on the eshop when there was little competition. It had a clear art style and nice use of 3d but platforming wise it was a bit dull. Renegade Kid was previously known for impressive 3d fps games on the ds when few people were trying to do that. Those games seemed like a very specific niche that understandably went away with the 3ds. It's tough but none of their games have shined and they had several projects that haven't been released, iirc. With rising dev costs a small 1 to 3 person team is gonna struggle unless they have something really unique. Chicken Wiggle is the opposite of that and being a 3ds eshop exclusive was never going to factor in its favor. I thought that treasure game he was working on had some potential but the platforming seemed pretty stiff.

 

[Nosgotham]

sounds like and looks like a shovel ware crap game if youre just browsing. most people arent informed consumers who look at the pedigree of the developer. also i loved mutant mudds, bought it twice. love xeodrifter and i never heard of chicken wiggle before seeing him complain via a website.

it wasnt just that the audience wasnt there or it wasnt displayed on front page of eShop. its more about how the game is presented. it screams budget shovelware from a digital store front.
its name is chicken wiggle, cmon...

 

[Slygmous]

 

[Infernal Monkey]

Who knew an expensive puzzle-platformer with tired, oversimplified pixel art exclusive to a dying system wouldn't stand out from the pack in 2017.

But yeah, that name certainly didn't help either.

 

[Mega Man's Electric Sheep]

It's $20 in Canada. I laughed when I saw that price, it's outrageous for a simple short indie platformer when there's so many alternatives. I only bought it because I already had eshop credit. It's good but not great, nothing particularly special about it. Maybe he feels the level making/playing mode is a reason to jack up the price? Not much interest in that aspect for me, this game isn't exactly mario maker.

 

[Deleted member 465307]

This feels more like a marketing/pr failure than anything else. Also a naming failure

Yeah. I'm sure the 3DS market isn't as healthy as it once was, but I sense some marketing missteps here. Xeodrifter was handled much better, to the point that I've heard of Xeodrifter and remember the game getting media coverage, while I knew nothing about Chicken Wiggle.

 

[Giga Man]

I heard about this game and forgot all about it, and I'm usually paying attention to Watsham's games. (I've been waiting for Treasurenauts forever.) I guess people are right about the name being bad. "Chicken" and "Wiggle" are just too broad and generic to provide any sort of identity to a product. I'd love to provide suggestions, but I can't come up with anything better to be honest. D:

 

[Jon Carter]

Mutant Mudd's, Xenodrifter and now Chicken Wiggle are all Hella overpriced for unremarkable games.

The reason I don't really feel that sorry for him. Jools always seemed to overvalue his projects on 3DS.

Saying the eshop is definitely dead for indies because your game didn't do well is a little full of it even it's true to some degree.

I liked Mutant Mudds and ATV Wild Ride 3D at the time, but he definitely overvalues their games. The indie scene is full of really top-notch stuff. The game doesn't look particularly fun or original or pretty, in a market with quite a few games that are all three, and a lot of the time, those cost less or the same. For five dollars more, you can get FAST RMX. You could get Gunman Clive for $2. Why does Chicken Wiggle deserve my going back to the 3DS and spending $15 on it that I could spend on other indie games with better visuals, gameplay and ideas? Their games tend to be basic and appear cheaply made in comparison with other indie games. The market isn't lacking in quality, originality and value.

 

[BBboy20]

Hm I'm surprised at the hate for the name. I like it, it's fun and quirky and memorable.

For me it's the fact that I can't buy it for my Switch. I loved Mutant Mudds on 3DS, so I'm interested in anything Jools is behind.

Also as someone who designs logos for a living, this is borderline offensive to me

....Chick 'N' Pack.

Somebody pay me now?

 

[brinstar]

I don't get this talk. All consoles and handhelds are dead ends.

The 3DS is awesome.

The 3DS is awesome. But at this point if I'm shopping for games to play on the go, it's gonna be on my Switch. I'm going to be using that device much more going forward, whereas my time with 3DS is winding down.

 

[WiiRevolution1]

I actually saw his tweet a few days ago about poor sales. Such a shame. I just bought it today at full price to show support. The Mutant Mudds/Super Challange/Xeodrifter developer is one of maybe five companies I'd pay full price when I know its going on sale. I like Jools games that much. All three of Mutant Mudds/Super Challenge/Xeodrifter are some of my favorite games of 3DS. The only reason I hadn't bought it yet is due to Splatoon 2 consuming my life. (Played 180 hours of Splatoon 2 so far.)

I've only played upto the fifth level and already theres so much more going on than the previous games. Its still a slower platformer and Chicken has a short jump, but you basically have a sort've hookshot with Wiggle and theres powers like being able to fly forever. So lots of stuff you can do with the level editor too.

Theres 48 official levels and around 3-4 new user levels a day. So atleast an enganged community. Messed around with the editor and it seemed pretty cool aside from no instant drop in and test like Mario Maker but want to do the official levels first.

Highly recommended. Everyone please support this game instead of whining about 240p. Amazing game. Lots of new stuff previous games didn't have and 48 levels + editor I'm shocked this was built so quickly since Mutant Mudds SC is only a year and a half old and it took forever to come out. Go out there and play this game people if you like 2D platformers at all!!