Today; September 30th, 2013. Pier Solar and the Great Architects has finally been digitally released for PS3, PS4, Steam and Ouya. The digital versions for Wii U and X-Box One are still pending certification where as the physical Dreamcast version is still TBA. As one can not download a patch for a physical disc therefore it requires further testing to ensure that there are no bugs.
The journey towards Pier Solar HD has been a long and tortuous. In November 2012, WaterMelon revealed via Kickstarter their plans to remake the critically acclaimed 16-bit MegaDrive RPG for contemporary audiences with a projected release date for December 2013. Unfortunately for the developers and the consumers the road has been a bumpy one, the game missed it’s targeted release date as well as numerous other ones that were subsequently announced and eventually the release date was essentially changed to “When it’s Done”.
Here is a list of notable hurdles that Water Melon had to over come in order to release the game:
- Internal Disagreements: Specifically on the graphic design of the game. Fonzie and Tulio could not come to an agreement on art design. Leading Fonzie to leave PSHD as well as the country. Tulio took full responsibility for the project however Fonzie’s departure did cause set backs with engine development.
- Dealings with Microsoft was tenuous: periodical 360 applications were ignored altogether leading to WM eventually cancelling the 360 version.
- Microsoft Certification: The certification process was considerably longer than what WM forecast-ed and was responsible for most of the delays.
- Simultaneous Release on all platforms: WM stuck with this plan for the longest of time, but have now clearly abandoned as only 4 of the 7 platforms were released today.
- Harsh Criticism: While not a hurdle that they had to overcome. A large demographic grew increasingly frustrated with the delays and started attacking the studio on Kickstarter and the Magical Game Factory.
Water Melon did offer constant updates to backers who had supported the project and also started their own YouTube series titled Juicy Diary in an effort to share more insights with the community.
Let us know in the comments your feelings on the delays, are you finally relieved that the game is out or did you pre-order the Dreamcast version and are still waiting?
For more information check out Pier Solar’s game page on DCS.
