EA Has "No Games in Development" For Wii U

StewShearerOld

Geekdad News Writer
Jan 5, 2013
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EA Has "No Games in Development" For Wii U



Two years after promising an "unprecedented partnership" with Nintendo, EA has nothing in the works for the Wii U.

At E3 2011, EA CEO John Riccitiello stood on stage and proclaimed, in the wake of the Wii U's unveiling, that EA and Nintendo would be enjoying an <a href=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-06-07-ea-pledges-allegiance-to-wii-u>"unprecedented partnership" in the years to come. It left many gamers wondering what the publisher could be bringing to Nintendo's new console to merit a public proclamation. The answer, it would seem, is "not much."

Speaking to Kotaku, EA spokesperson Jeff Brown confirmed that the publisher currently has "no games in development for the Wii U." This comes following a spate of similar bad news for Nintendo on the third party front. Just Cause 2 developer Avalanche Studios recently said that its Wii U development kits <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/123851-Just-Cause-2-Developer-Says-Wii-U-Dev-Kits-Are-Collecting-Dust>were "collecting dust." Likewise, Battlefied-makers and EA subsidiary DICE recently reported that its Frostbite 3 engine <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/123835-DICE-Says-Tests-on-Wii-U-Not-Too-Promising>wasn't running well on the Wii U. The issues with Frosbite 3 may have been a foreshadowing of things to come, as EA will likely be using the engine as the foundation of many of its future titles.

While perhaps not completely unexpected, EA's dwindling support could pose a significant problem for the success of the Wii U. EA owns and holds the rights to a number of prominent franchises which, as of recently, includes <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/123783-Electronic-Arts-Signs-Exclusive-Star-Wars-Game-Deal-With-Disney>Star Wars. If EA continues ignoring the Wii U in the future, it could keep that franchise off the console for years to come.

As for the "unprecedented partnership" EA promised in 2011? According to Brown the publisher's early run of games for the console, which included Mass Effect 3, Need for Speed Most Wanted, Madden and FIFA, was the company keeping that promise.

Source: <a href=http://kotaku.com/ea-has-no-games-in-development-for-nintendos-wii-u-507588994>Kotaku

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Nurb

Cynical bastard
Dec 9, 2008
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Two years after promising an "unprecedented partnership" with Nintendo, EA has nothing in the works for the Wii U.
Sounds like what happened when MS bought Rare!

I'm not that surprised the rushed money-grab that is the WeeOOooWWEEEoooWEOOOCHOSENONE isn't working out so well
 

The Apple BOOM

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Nov 16, 2012
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Thank you for existing, EA. If not for you, Nintendo would bear the full brunt of the Escapist's hate. But other than that, stop being evil and stupid.
 

Omnicrom

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Jun 26, 2012
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Nintendo really does need all the help it can get right now after the recent rash of boneheaded decisions. Thanks EA.
 

CardinalPiggles

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Jun 24, 2010
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Like it was mentioned, I'd be willing to bet they dropped support when they learned their flagship game engine wouldn't be of any use for the system. It's all they seem to want to use for their games that suit it these days.

On the bright side, it's more reason to avoid splurging out on even more hardware for now. Shit's expensive!

The Apple BOOM said:
Thank you for existing, EA. If not for you, Nintendo would bear the full brunt of the Escapist's hate. But other than that, stop being evil and stupid.
I don't quite understand, how does this make them (or arguably contribute to them being) "evil and stupid"?.

Omnicrom said:
Nintendo really does need all the help it can get right now after the recent rash of boneheaded decisions. Thanks EA.
Assuming you're being sarcastic, why the hate for EA here? Are they obligated to publish for the WiiU?
 

greyfox115

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Mar 27, 2013
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Im ashamed to say I owned a Wii U in hopes that a new Zelda game and Metroid would be in the works but all I got was a repaved HD zelda game that may or may not be out this year.

Traded the thing in got £300 steam credit its what I should have spent the money on the first place.

Its scary to see the first step in the next gen console crash and burn so fast with most developers wanting to push for PC releases.

Shoot me for saying this but I really thing the consoles are dying out sooner then I though.
 

MrHide-Patten

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Jun 10, 2009
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I believe the correct response to this news could be summarized with a Nelson Muntz laugh; "Ha Ha!"

I'm not a big fan of EA, but then I'm not very fond of Nintendo either. At least EA publishes games I'm interested in, even if they're slightly less homogeneous than Nintendo.
 

Omnicrom

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Jun 26, 2012
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CardinalPiggles said:
Assuming you're being sarcastic, why the hate for EA here? Are they obligated to publish for the WiiU?
I don't understand what you're asking? EA makes bad games, Nintendo is mismanaging their properties. The joke I was making was that EA is doing Nintendo a favor by not making any bad games for their system.
 

UberNoodle

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Apr 6, 2010
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Basically, the console wars are won not by the passion of fans, but by the marketing and economic decisions of corporations. Sony and Microsoft have the console space so tightly sewn up, EA and other publishers have no NEED for anything else. So many fresh and interesting consoles and game systems have been prematurely culled like this, heck even the Jaguar which had the first version of Rayman (and visually the best compared the the PSX) could have rocked the 2D gaming space to 3D gaming heaven. Alas, it was the advent of boxy and ugly 3D, and no publisher would have a bar of 'the 2D', thus pushing the Jag into territory it just wasn't designed for, by developers who just couldn't cut it.

This is what will happen to the WiiU. Rather than create the high profile titles which demonstrate the system's forte, developers will instead squeeze square pegs into round holes -- XBox and Playstation style experiences on a console clearly designed for altogether different experiences. The result will be yet another self-fulfilling prophesy of failure, rather than the successful exploration of other horizons. I don't think most WiiU owners WANT to play Just Cause 2 and Battlefield 4 on their system. They want to experience that VISION which NIntendo and developers sold them. Sure, Nintendo will deliver, but without Third Parties to pick up the slack, the console will grow up stunted and sad. Again.
 

Vivi22

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Aug 22, 2010
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UberNoodle said:
So many fresh and interesting consoles and game systems have been prematurely culled like this
Shame the Wii U is neither fresh nor interesting though.
 

CriticalMiss

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Jan 18, 2013
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Porting old games is unprecedented for EA. And you know things are bad when EA want to jump ship.
 

DrunkOnEstus

In the name of Harman...
May 11, 2012
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This makes the Wii U look more attractive, eh? Anyone? Imagine, a system with no EA presence at all...
 

WanderingFool

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Apr 9, 2009
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Vivi22 said:
UberNoodle said:
So many fresh and interesting consoles and game systems have been prematurely culled like this
Shame the Wii U is neither fresh nor interesting though.
I recall saying on this vary site that the WiiU wasnt going to be the next big thing for Nintendo. It was basically a HD re-release of the Wii.
 

Ed130 The Vanguard

(Insert witty quote here)
Sep 10, 2008
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StewShearer said:
As for the "unprecedented partnership" EA promised in 2011? According to Brown the publisher's early run of games for the console, which included Mass Effect 3, Need for Speed Most Wanted, Madden and FIFA, was the company keeping that promise.
Yes that sounds about right.

Everyone knows EA always keeps it promises.
 

OManoghue

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Dec 12, 2008
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I'm not often on the side of EA, but, I can see why they'd do this. But, the fact everyone's seemingly pretty stoked for whatever next gen means, why would you waste time and resources downgrading the visuals of the next wave of brown shooter?
 

PoolCleaningRobot

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Mar 18, 2012
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WanderingFool said:
Vivi22 said:
UberNoodle said:
So many fresh and interesting consoles and game systems have been prematurely culled like this
Shame the Wii U is neither fresh nor interesting though.
I recall saying on this vary site that the WiiU wasnt going to be the next big thing for Nintendo. It was basically a HD re-release of the Wii.
In the same vein, the Wii was just a re-release of the game cube with motion controls

On topic, no Star Wars games for the Wii U could be a problem for Nintendo. That's one less franchise to milk for gimmicky shovel-ware *ba dum tis
 

Not G. Ivingname

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Nov 18, 2009
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The problem with the WiiU is it was released at a very bad time.

New and stronger console hardware is just on the horizon. Most hardcores aren't interested in getting another console that won't play next year's games unless they want their nintendo game fix (and for that they may just go with the 3DS), and the casual crowd aren't going to adopt the touch screen as they did the waggle without a Wiisports in the packaging.

The Wii had a third party problem in spite of their massive sales numbers do to the systems lack of power, is really surprising that no one wants to make games for the new underpowered systems that doesn't have as giant of sales.
 

Mr. Omega

ANTI-LIFE JUSTIFIES MY HATE!
Jul 1, 2010
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Serious: Without stuff like FIFA or Madden, the WiiU will hurt. The other stuff is stuff most people wouldn't get a Nintendo console for. A couple generations ago this would have been a death blow. Now it still hurts a lot, but it's survivable.

Joke: Wait. No EA? Nintendo should use that as a selling point.

Semi-Serious: I decided to boycott EA a while ago. Between this and no games on Steam, EA is doing it for me.