Ubisoft Affirms its Wii U Support

[StewShearerOld]

Ubisoft Affirms its Wii U Support

With other publishers and developers expressing doubts about the console's viability, Ubisoft is continuing its efforts on the Wii U.

There have been some rough moments for Nintendo and the Wii U over the past few weeks. With sales continuing to inch slower than <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/123514-Iwata-Admits-Nintendo-Didnt-Try-Hard-Enough-To-Make-Wii-U-Success>Nintendo had expected, some <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/123851-Just-Cause-2-Developer-Says-Wii-U-Dev-Kits-Are-Collecting-Dust>developers and publishers have expressed their lack of willingness to work on the console until its user base expands. Perhaps most troublesome has been the news that Electronic Arts, an <a href=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-06-07-ea-pledges-allegiance-to-wii-u>early supporter of the Wii U, has, for the moment at least, <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/124097-EA-Has-No-Games-in-Development-For-Wii-U>shied away from continued development on the console.

It's not all bad news for Nintendo's ailing console, however. Ubisoft, another early supporter of the Wii U, has affirmed its faith in the system along with its intention to continue supporting it. "As with any new console, it takes some time to grow an established base," said an Ubisoft spokesperson. "Ubisoft has a varied and high-quality line-up for Wii U, with more big titles on the way including Rayman Legends, Watch Dogs, Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag and Splinter Cell Blacklist. We're confident that this will help in continuing to attract gamers to the Wii U system and that Nintendo will take steps to ensure that the Wii U is successful in the market."

While Ubisoft might be stalwart in its support of the Wii U, it also hasn't been shy about offering constructive criticism in the past. In March of 2013, Ubisoft executive director Alain Corre expressed his desire for the <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/122559-Ubisoft-Wants-a-Wii-U-Price-Cut>Wii U's price to drop. Regardless of whether the Wii U's price tag changes however, the publisher already has future plans for the console. In addition to its multiplatform titles, rumors have indicated Ubisoft might already be <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/123986-Ubisoft-Hints-ZombiU-May-Rise-Again>working on a sequel to the Wii U exclusive ZombiU. Even if these rumors never come to fruition, Nintendo can find some solace in the fact that Ubisoft seems committed to its Wii U efforts, even as others are jumping ship.

Source: <a href=http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-05-18-ubisoft-reaffirms-its-faith-in-nintendo>GamesIndustry

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[Clovus]

Ubisoft seems like the only company with this kind of support for the Wii U. They released ZombieU, which helped with the system's launch lineup, and now they're continuing to support it when others aren't.

Makes you kinda' wonder what all was involved in Nintendo deciding to name the system the Wii U ...

 

[Guffe]

Makes you kinda' wonder what all was involved in Nintendo deciding to name the system the Wii U ...

YAY, conspiracy theories!!! xD
gotta love 'em

Only from one company and those 4 games to be released this year? which already make me interested in... well all 4 basically. I guess after a small price drop and more games the console will start doing OK. Don't think it will explode like the Wii but I doubt it will be a massive failure either.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

As long as supporting the console doesn't drag down those games I don't mind.

Wait, wasn't Rayman Legends announced as a WiiU exclusive then delayed to be multi-platform?

 

[EHKOS]

Good on Ubi, with all the good it's doing, it's gained a lot of respect from me. Plus I still play Far Cry 3...that helped alot.

 

[Aitamen]

Meanwhile, if it was fully backward compatible, it'd already have a moderate library and just be a bonus and upgrade...

But we can't have that.

(and no, I don't consider it to be functionally backwards compatible, because it doesn't support actual fucking controllers)

 

[Irridium]

As long as supporting the console doesn't drag down those games I don't mind.

Wait, wasn't Rayman Legends announced as a WiiU exclusive then delayed to be multi-platform?

Yes they did. Apparently for the betterment of the game. Which is why it's now releasing around the same time as Grand Theft Auto V.

They pulled the same shit with Origins, minus the delay, by releasing it around the same time as Modern Warfare 3. Ubisoft! For fuck's sake, give the game a release window that isn't right next to a huge blockbuster release! These games are good, there is an audience for them, Origins still managed to make money despite you putting it near MW2. Legends is already done for the Wii U, release it dammit!

 

[VinLAURiA]

Well, at least someone's smart enough to stick around. Too many people want to just "let it die" right now; same thing happened with the 3DS at launch and look at that now.

Can't wait to see EA shoving their foot in their mouth in a year's time.

 

[MetalDooley]

Meanwhile, if it was fully backward compatible, it'd already have a moderate library and just be a bonus and upgrade...

But we can't have that.

It's backwards compatible with all Wii games,controllers and accessories.That's about as fully backwards compatible as you can get

(and no, I don't consider it to be functionally backwards compatible, because it doesn't support actual fucking controllers)

Heard of this thing?

Not to mention that the Gamepad has all the buttons a regular controller has anyway.It just happens to also have a touchscreen

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

"As with any new console, it takes some time to grow an established base," said an Ubisoft spokesperson.

What's this? Common sense from a mainstream publisher? Who'da thunk it? You mean Ubisoft aren't expecting new consoles to sell tens of millions of units at launch?

it just saddens me that common sense like that is not in ample supply.

 

[ToastiestZombie]

Meanwhile, if it was fully backward compatible, it'd already have a moderate library and just be a bonus and upgrade...

But we can't have that.

(and no, I don't consider it to be functionally backwards compatible, because it doesn't support actual fucking controllers)

What? The Wii U is fully backwards compatible with literally everything released for Wii, and it also has the regular controller posted up-top. Unless you, for some reason, wanted Gamecube compatability (even though no other console ever has been actually BC for two generations behind it) you're fine.

 

[Flaery]

Hope for another day at least. The thing the WiiU needs the most (aside from a less-silly name) is more God-damned games.

I liked ZombiU, but I'm still bitter from my disappointment in it, so I'm skeptical of any rumors surrounding a sequel.

 

[RicoADF]

Good on Ubi, with all the good it's doing, it's gained a lot of respect from me. Plus I still play Far Cry 3...that helped alot.

I must give credit to Ubisoft, regardless of views on the Wii U, they atleast are fulfilling their promise in supporting the console and not bailing like another major publisher.....

 

[Racecarlock]

People are really surprised? This is the company that was whining all through 2011 and 2012 for a new console and a new generation. Of course they're going to support one when it comes out.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.394703-Ubisoft-CEO-Says-Long-Console-Cycle-Stifles-New-IPs
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.276628-Ubisoft-Blames-Industry-Downturn-on-Lack-of-New-Consoles

Of course they support it. It's the only new console that's in stores right now.

 

[AdamG3691]

Meanwhile, if it was fully backward compatible, it'd already have a moderate library and just be a bonus and upgrade...

But we can't have that.

(and no, I don't consider it to be functionally backwards compatible, because it doesn't support actual fucking controllers)

What? The Wii U is fully backwards compatible with literally everything released for Wii, and it also has the regular controller posted up-top. Unless you, for some reason, wanted Gamecube compatability (even though no other console ever has been actually BC for two generations behind it) you're fine.

aren't nintendo also going to be including the gamecube in it's virtual console lineup at some point? (and nobody say anything about "waaah it's only two generations ago", so was the N64 during the wii's time)

 

[Lightknight]

As long as supporting the console doesn't drag down those games I don't mind.

Wait, wasn't Rayman Legends announced as a WiiU exclusive then delayed to be multi-platform?

How would supporting the Wii U bring the games down? The WiiU, while not nearly as powerful as the ps4 (and likely the 720, we'll know in a bit) is still more powerful than the other consoles and all those games are still going to be released on the current gen. The WiiU will likely just get a port from a 360 version since Ubisoft is already going to make two different versions of the game anyways (ps4/next gen quality and current gen). If the port doesn't take a ton of work then there may be no reason not to port it, especially on a console that is starved for good titles.

It's just a numbers game. Ok, the WiiU has this many consoles and we anticipate "x" number of WiiU owners to buy the game (forecasting is the easiest place to mess up). X times the expected profit per sale - cost of porting the game will evaluate whether or not it is worth their time.

I'd be concerned if the WiiU was entirely proprietary but I haven't heard anything as to the ease or difficulty of programming for the WiiU.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

As long as supporting the console doesn't drag down those games I don't mind.

Wait, wasn't Rayman Legends announced as a WiiU exclusive then delayed to be multi-platform?

How would supporting the Wii U bring the games down? The WiiU, while not nearly as powerful as the ps4 (and likely the 360, we'll know in a bit) is still more powerful than the other consoles and all those games are still going to be released on the current gen. The WiiU will likely just get a port from a 360 version since Ubisoft is already going to make two different versions of the game anyways (ps4/next gen quality and current gen). If the port doesn't take a ton of work then there may be no reason not to port it, especially on a console that is starved for good titles.

Exactly.

This console generation has dragged on to the point of obsolescence. The last thing I want is another reason for publishers to hold down the base processing level.

Because I would like to fight in actual large scale battles against AI smarter than your average CoD player rather than mere illusions and corridors that are the current fare.