NGDEV

NGDEV, formerly NG:Dev.Team, is a German video game developer and publisher. Founded in 2001 by brothers Timm and René Hellwig, it is known for developing homebrew for the Neo Geo and Dreamcast.

NGDEV
IndustryVideo games
Founded2001 (2001)
FoundersTimm and René Hellwig
HeadquartersGermany
ProductsVideo games
Websitengdevteam.com

History

German brothers Timm and René Hellwig began developing doujin video games in 2000.[1][2] Being fans of the Neo Geo, they started reverse engineering the hardware and were able to start developing prototypes.[2] They founded NG:Dev.Team in 2001.[3] In 2006, NG:Dev.Team released their first game, Last Hope.[2] Only 60 copies were produced for the Neo Geo.[2] Realizing an opportunity for greater commercial success, they signed with homebrew publisher RedSpotGames in 2007 to release copies for the Dreamcast.[4] Surprised by the success of the Dreamcast version, the Hellwigs turned their game development hobby into full-time work,[1] and began development on their next game Fast Striker.[2] NG:Dev.Team use KallistiOS to develop Dreamcast games, an open source development environment for making Dreamcast homebrew.[1] While the cost of producing Neo Geo carts is expensive and the community is small, the team considers this when planning their business.[2]

In 2011, Timm Hellwig claimed roadblocks with publishing on modern consoles, saying it requires publisher and hardware manufacturer approval, while that is not necessary for publishing on old consoles.[1] He also claimed the market for homebrew on retro consoles was declining, noting that sales of Fast Striker only totaled to 60% of Last Hope before it. In an effort to compromise, they expanded to more active platforms like the Wii and iPhone.[1] Max Scharl of RedSpotGames disagreed with Timm's assessment, saying NG:Dev.Team does not promote their games well, and cited the commercial success of his Dreamcast game Sturmwind as further evidence.[1] In 2012, Timm stated that Fast Striker was not successful on the iOS marketplace and blamed its niche appeal. He also claimed that retro-style games on Xbox and PlayStation marketplaces were only popular if they had a "hipster feel" which their team was not interested in exploring.[2] In 2019, the company rebranded themselves from NG:Dev.Team to NGDEV.[3]

Games
Year Title Original platform(s) Publisher Ref.
2006 Last Hope Dreamcast, Neo Geo, Neo Geo CD NG:Dev.Team, RedSpotGames [4]
2009 Last Hope: Pink Bullets Dreamcast, Neo Geo NG:Dev.Team [4]
2010 Fast Striker Dreamcast, iOS, Neo Geo, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita NG:Dev.Team, Eastasiasoft [5]
2012 Gunlord Dreamcast, Neo Geo NG:Dev.Team [6][7]
2013 Neo XYX Dreamcast, Neo Geo NG:Dev.Team [8][9]
2014 Razion Neo Geo NG:Dev.Team [10]
2019 Kraut Buster Neo Geo NGDEV [11]
Gunlord X Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 Eastasiasoft [12][13]
2021 Razion EX Nintendo Switch NGDEV [14]
2022 Gunvein Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One NGDEV [15]

Reference
  1. Barnholt, Ray (12 May 2011). "Keeping the Dream Alive: The Men Behind Dreamcast Homebrew". Gamasutra. UBM Technology Group. pp. 1–3. Archived from the original on 11 January 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  2. McFerran, Damien (4 June 2012). "Never Neglect the Niche: NG Dev Team on developing for dead systems - Germany's indie darlings speak exclusively about their new Neo Geo game, Gunlord". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 7 January 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  3. "About us". NGDEV. Retrieved 5 February 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. Brown, Peter (3 December 2012). "German Studio NG:DEV.TEAM Keeps the Spirit of the Neo Geo Alive - The Neo Geo scene continues to thrive thanks to the dedicated Hellwig brothers, who in 2000 began developing original games for SNK's 16-bit powerhouse". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  5. Benefield, Nick (7 December 2018). "REVIEW: Fast Striker". Oprainfall. Archived from the original on 3 January 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  6. Brown, Fraser (10 October 2011). "GunLord coming to Dreamcast and Neo Geo". Destructoid. Enthusiast Gaming. Archived from the original on 24 January 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  7. Verdin, Guillaume (16 April 2013). "GunLord enfin disponible sur Neo·Geo AES". MO5.com (in French). Association MO5.COM. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  8. Zamora, Alonso (29 October 2013). "Inicia la distribución de Neo XYX para arcades Neo Geo - Todavía se lanzan shooters para el sistema MVS". LevelUp (in Spanish). BuscaCorp. Archived from the original on 12 January 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  9. Cowan, David (13 February 2014). "Neo XYX joins the Dreamcast's library next week". Joystiq. AOL. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  10. Hannley, Steve (4 June 2014). "NG:DEV.TEAM Announces New Neo Geo MVS Game, Razion". Hardcore Gamer. Hardcore Gamer LLC. Archived from the original on 25 June 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  11. "El espectacular arcade para Neo-Geo Kraut Buster está terminado, pero no parece que llegará a otras plataformas - Sus diseñadores trabajan en nuevas producciones para consolas actuales" (in Spanish). RetroManiac. 6 February 2019. Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  12. Romano, Sal (8 May 2019). "'Eurostyle platformer' Gunlord X coming to Switch on May 22". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  13. Guglielmo, Samuel (9 December 2019). "Indie Action Shooter Gunlord X Makes its Way to PS4 Tomorrow With Extra Content". PlayStation LifeStyle. Mandatory. Archived from the original on 3 January 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  14. McFerran, Damien (28 April 2021). "This Insanely Expensive Neo Geo Shmup Is Coming To Switch In Physical Form - Raze hell for Razion EX". Nintendo Life. Nlife Media. Archived from the original on 30 April 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  15. Moyse, Chris (31 December 2021). "Gunvein is a new shmup headed to PC and consoles in 2022". Destructoid. Enthusiast Gaming. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
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