Developer States That Wii U Woes Were a Focus At DICE

I wish I was a fly on the wall pre the Wii era when 3rd party studios & publishers were banking on the Wii been obliterated by the much more stronger competition. I hope the decision of the big players in the games industry do not come back to haunt them.

I hope that their faith in the nextbox and PS4 will be rewarded with a lot of $$ and will usher in a new era of unprecedented wave of creativity and growth. If not, then lets prepare for more studio closures, more sequels, less creativity and risk taking, more guns and I hope not, one or more sp called big publishers going bust.

Well... crap. Kinda got a feeling this was happening. Hope Nintendo's got some serious heavy hitters up their sleeves. This does not bode well.

Nice, just let me bathe in negativity.

... grumble grumble
How were other Nintendo consoles talked about in the past at DICE?

Yup. Its like the 3DS launch all over again. Damn systems been out for 3 months and the instant gratification police are already freaking out. What are the devs going to do when their precious PS720 gets priced out of markets range and doesn't sell either? Just keep making 3/360 games forever? So tired of negative articles and news.

Well the console is new. I'm sure in 2 years it will have a lot of better games. Look at the 3DS.

Either way, my Wii U's left analogue stick messing up on me last night was kind of the last straw. Wii U is seriously Nintendo's worst console since the Virtual Boy.

I love my Wii U and I suspect it will pay off in the long run with great first party titles. However, the lack of games right now and the recent delay of Rayman Legends concerns me. If you're an early adopter of the console and were thinking there'd be a larger third party list this generation (Bioshock Infinite, for me) you're probably feeling pretty concerned right now. Nintendo is going to have to start rolling some bigger dice and either figure out a way to appeal to more devs or start buying them out and creating new, stronger IPs. It seems Mario and Zelda just aren't convincing enough people anymore.

Generally I am a huge Nintendofan but I can seriously understand all this trouble. I don't know exact specs / launch titles (only rumours) of the competition yet but it seems that Nintendo should have waited another year to release a more powerful console with 3-4 BIG first party titles at launch that shows a good use of the touchscreen. Or can the friggin screen all together.

I dont understand all that buzz. I love mz Wii U, such a great platform. Has the perfect concept for me, cant name a thing I miss. Nobody need a better resolution than 1080p, Miiverse is just awesome, the Gamepad owns everything I have ever used as an controller.
I still have AC III, Batman, the Cave and Darksiders II at home and to play, will order NSMBU this week... still putting hours after hours in Nintendoland (Metroids Gunship! <3). [I have it for just 2 weeks to put it into perspectice.^^]

But it seems inevitible for Nintendo to seriously invest some more of their precious tons of money - as Bingly stated. When third parties dont adopt the platform again, they have to get out the heavy guns themselves.

<3 Wii U

I don't think the devs get the potential of creating new, unique experiences with the Wii U's tablet controller screen... It took a while for new great uses for the DS's second touchscreen to be developed. I think the developers are missing the point of Nintendo's opportunity for creativity.

@Bingly
"an early adopter of the console and were thinking there'd be a larger third party list this generation"
Hello.

the Wii U is barely 3 months old and will have several prime AAA+ games later this year. Console sellers like Mario Kart and Wind Waker HD will shift a lot of units and all those 3rd parties will be back in droves, trying to flog their sub-standard shovelware

That isn't good at all for the platform. It's very early in the life cycle, yes, but for these developers to be talking in this manner, it seems that they feel that even if the system starts to sell, that they won't be able to move their third party games on the console. Let's hope that the talk of boycotts doesn't see more third parties shying away from releasing their games on the console in the future.

@Mk_II Yes, but these developers don't develop "Mario Kart" and "Wind Waker HD." What they are saying is that they're seeing a continuing trend where Nintendo gamers don't typically spend their money on third party games. Unless the install base of the console surges upward with those first party releases, we could potentially see third party titles dwindle down even further for the console, leading it to be a console that's primarily only for Nintendo's games and not a mainstream console.

@player310 You are absolutely right . It seems that devs are more comfortable with the status quo and are more concerned with the upcoming latest and greatest which at this juncture seem to offer nothing more than just raw power . The laziness of some of these developers is mind boggling . Why create something new and innovative when we can make call of doodie 10, 000 with better graphics ?
If the wii u fails , which I doubt , then my 25+ years of progressive gaming are over . This will be my last gaming generation and I will dip into retro gaming from now on .

I'm not concerned. I have only bought Nintendo systems (post-GameCube) for the first-party titles and the odd third-party exclusive anyway. I will buy the new Xbox sometime in 2014 when some big games drop, and play the GTA's, Red Dead's and AAA third-person action games on that. Even if Nintendo doesn't get a ton of support, there will still be enough games coming out on it that will make it a worthwhile purchase.

When it's all said and done, I still anticipate buying at least 12-15 Wii-U games over the course of his lifespan.

What Mk_II said! I'm getting these games. How about a poll where everyone puts down games they're definitely gonna get or already have, then we'll have a better idea how well Wii U and it's games are really gonna do? Sick of bullpoop opinions making the console look bad!

Battlefield 4...

This Wii U negativity is ridiculous. I'm not a zealot or anything, but I know when to stick up for Nintendo and this is that time.

Wii U is a great console with an incredibly unique concept that many devs unfortunately lack the creativity to put to good use at this early period in its life. It is a next-gen system (despite what some may say) and will compete extremely well against the 720 and PS4 thanks in part to a lower price range and will be a lot more dev friendly for those who want to innovate and those who don't want to spend zillions of dollars trying to develop for the """next-gen""" (like indie developers).

Nintendo's online policies are also much more attractive to consumers and devs alike, such as not charging extra for patches or updates to games and the use of dollars for the eShop as opposed to imaginary, obtrusive points that allow greedy companies to charge more because people don't see what they're spending in dollars unless they do the math.

Wii U is a Nintendo console. Mario, Zelda, Kirby, Metroid, Donkey Kong, Smash Bros., and a whole wealth of other million-dollar franchises are there to back it up. Of course the system isn't selling well right now, because everyone likes to place blame on it but no one is willing to do something about it and develop for it. Just wait for Super Mario to come out and we'll see everyone wanting to jump on the Wii U train.

Well, what is this? A bunch of bullies just trying to bring the poor kid down? Never in my freaking life have I seen so much negativity, what the hell? It's been 3 months, the lack of a system seller has kept the console at bay but that is obviously going to change when those system seller come, so why all the "hate"? It's like they don't want it to succeed so they keep bashing the system.

This Wii U negativity is ridiculous. I'm not a zealot or anything, but I know when to stick up for Nintendo and this is that time.

Wii U is a great console with an incredibly unique concept that many devs unfortunately lack the creativity to put to good use at this early period in its life. It is a next-gen system (despite what some may say) and will compete extremely well against the 720 and PS4 thanks in part to a lower price range and will be a lot more dev friendly for those who want to innovate and those who don't want to spend zillions of dollars trying to develop for the """next-gen""" (like indie developers).

Nintendo's online policies are also much more attractive to consumers and devs alike, such as not charging extra for patches or updates to games and the use of dollars for the eShop as opposed to imaginary, obtrusive points that allow greedy companies to charge more because people don't see what they're spending in dollars unless they do the math.

Wii U is a Nintendo console. Mario, Zelda, Kirby, Metroid, Donkey Kong, Smash Bros., and a whole wealth of other million-dollar franchises are there to back it up. Of course the system isn't selling well right now, because everyone likes to place blame on it but no one is willing to do something about it and develop for it. Just wait for Super Mario to come out and we'll see everyone wanting to jump on the Wii U train.

Very curious as to what game the dev was referring to when he said it's sold tens of thousands instead of millions...

This certainly isn't great news. But to be fair, DICE had a negative/uncertain vibe for console gaming in general, not just Wii U. Watch Jesse Schell's keynote where he speaks about the iPad's unforeseen disruption... It's a very murky situation in the industry as a whole, not just in Nintendo Country. If anything, 3rd-parties have the most to lose since they don't have the sure-fire hit franchises of Nintendo. So of course they're the ones who will be freaked out and negative. Whoa man it's gonna be an interesting year...

Wii U doesnt need western third parties if they're so lacking in the creativity department that they can't figure out how to take advantage of the WiiU. WiiU will never be the monetary success Wii was, but it doesnt need to be. If Ninty can regularly put out great first party stuff, and get great support from Japanese developers like atlus, sega, namco, capcom, platinum games, konami, level 5, mistwalker, and hopefully square-enix, then WiiU will be fine. Will it outperform PS4 and Xbox 720? Maybe not, but it will hold its own and be a success when its all said and done. At the end of the day, if WiiU can offer different experiences that cant be had on other consoles, it will have a market.

Jeees how much negativity and bashing can one system take? Like others I think the basic concept is a good one and a truly innovative games developer should be more than capable of developing a decent game. The perception of third party games don't sell can be that in the past an awful lot of games have been pure crap and some shoddy ports (which may be down to system constraints). Nintendo's own games seem always to get the most out of the hardware and are fun to play. If the games developers can't be bothered to take their time and turn out a decent quality game then it won't sell regardless. It's time to make quality games and for developers to learn how to program for each platform and not try and turn around a port in six months.

If you read more of the thread, you'll find out the same person who talks about this is also talking about how the other consoles will likely fail too because of a number of factors. We're only hearing about Wii U problems because Wii U is the newest platform.

@star-fox
Once those developers saw the Wii was a smashing success they began throwing titles at it left and right, releasing all kinds of big budget games like they did for the less successful competing systems, and stayed far away from crappy PS2 era ports. Right?

Wait... They didn't?

I find the whole thing discouraging. I went all in on the WiiU at launch, which is a first for me. I gambled, and now I'm wondering if it didn't pay off. By the time some really good exclusive games come out, we'll probably have a price drop on the system, and I'm going to feel like an idiot. Out of the early third party downloadable games, only Trine 2: Director's Cut really grabbed me. NintendoLand is getting old. The system isn't being used, except for the occasional Netflix viewing. Come on, Nintendo. Wii U is supposed you be your baby. Show it some love. Give us something good.

Nintendo needed to launch with a brand new ip for both mature and youngsters wanted to get their hands on day 1. Instead we got more Mario, old ports of games like ME 3, Arkham Armord Edition and Darksiders 2 . Zombi U and AC 3 did not sell well on the Wii U. So what were people going to play ? Not suprising the Wii U is not selling well. Unless they have something extroidinary planned then its Game Over Nintendo. Sorry but the thought process that went into this Wii U launch was horrible.

So are the developers just whiny morons who forgot about EVERY OTHER LAUNCH EVER or is it legitimate concerns considering past history with 3rd party sales on Nintendo console? I'm honestly not sure which.

"saying that a high budget game that Nintendo had hoped would sell millions had only sold tens of thousands thus far"

I'm calling BS on this comment. What other high budget game on Wii U right now would Nintendo have thought to sell millions of copies on their new system?
I know Black Ops 2 was a high budget game, maybe AC3 and I say "maybe" AC3 and just possibly Batman but even then I'm far from convinced... Anyway, there's no way in hell Nintendo or anyone else expected those "PORTS" to sell millions on a brand new platform during launch, that's just plain stupid.

For the real sauce, Nintendo has apparently struck a home run, and that I guess we all expected. Check it the link below, so there's no confusion, that, that so called high budget game was not a first party title...
http://mynintendonews.com/2013/01/30/nintendo-land-and-new-super-mario-bros-u-both-sell-over-2-million-worldwide/

@edcomics
Then read a happier comment about Wii U , over a cookie and some warm milk and I guarantee you'll feel better in no time...
Just stay away from the negative articles cause you seem a little easy to sway, if you know what I mean?

these are the developers that bring nothing but garbage to the games library no new ideas,no creativity,no ambition,something is wrong with these developers.on the other hand other people are making good games without compromising.like someone said its three months and all the ideas that went in the garbage.wasn't going to sell these crappy games.Think with the wii u you have to come better than whats going on on other consoles,hats all try a little harder.sad for them that when monster hunter or couple of nintendo

The Wii U is certainly not lacking games, creativity, or any of that sort. Nintendo just doesn't have a very good image right now. Many gamers who had the Wii felt burned by Nintendo, and found a new cozy home with Xbox and PlayStation. Basically, everyone in the game market, consumers, developers, and publishers alike, are just not willing to take the risk with Nintendo, so Nintendo's gotta come out and really show gamers a thing or two about gaming with Wii U!

Wii U looks like a fantastic game system, and Nintendo surely has what it takes to make a fantastic next-gen console. I like to think of Wii U as a cross-over between GameCube and Wii: It's revolutionary, new, cool, and it includes lots of great new features like the Wii, and will have many fantastic-quality games a la GCN. I think Nintendo just has to try and get gamers hearts back, because I think that we all know that Nintendo truly is the king of the games industry, and that they've got the right idea, but the true problem here is that everyone is so blinded by their past mistakes and by the other game consoles out there. Nintendo, if anyone can turn things around, it's Nintendo!

@Farmboy74
I agree 110% regarding dev's, at least for the current gen PS360 they optimize for the 360 mostly, then when regarding the PS3 and to a much lesser degree, the Wii, dev's are only thinking "PORT IT" and "Profit by strength in no's".
It's a lazy fckn industry right now... But hey PS3 has some great exclusives on the way and has had some pretty neat ones already released, but non of those titles as good as they are carry the same kind of weight as the big N's own IP's. In that regard Wii U has nothing to worry about. It's up to Dev's to think about how they as an entity want to make money. How they make their games and for which system is determined by this fact. And the best news as the PS3 has proven, it doesn't need to be a million studio's all making that one great game on Wii U for it to be a success, but Nintendo should really think hard on what select no' of studio's they believe will make the biggest impact on their system to make it a hit and then pull out all the stops to get them on-board.
For first party titles, no-one would be silly enough to say between Nintendo, Retro Studios and Monolith Soft that Wii U's not going to see it's fair share of impeccable games...

Man, why they don't just shut the f up .. all those comments on Wii U, it's a great console .. they just don't know it yet ..

I wish more people could understand how great the wii u is you really need to play it to understand! Nintendo need to put wii u's in different shops so people can play and experience it!

This is just depressing.

That's pretty much all I would have said about this.

Ya the Launch is slow, it is for all consoles really, Well see things start t pick up in march with the release of some big games starting then

I thought all the doom for Nintendo will be gone once the Wii U arrived, guess i was wrong

@LittleIrves and @Discostew good points gentlemen..

People don't realize these third party developers/companies are going through a transitional period were they're not making as much $$ as before... They're getting desparate and looking for a savior to bail them out....

I'm not worried about Nintendo/Wii U. The market is going to go small again.... The previous model of developing a HUGE game and gaining massive income from that one project is gone...

The 3rd parties will have to stop Bitchin' and just adjust.

I think that a lot of developers don't want the innovation that Nintendo's hardware is bringing to table. They only want more powerful hardware with added features. I think that some of today's developers are lazy, and this doesn't look good going towards the future with video games in general.

I don´t know why there´s so much hate to Nintendo, Wii and 3DS had the same situation. I had great moments with Wii, I know I´ll have great moments with Wii U. People just don´t understand, Nintendo always brings innovation, but I think developers don´t know how to use it. I know when a new Super Smash Bros. comes out, Wii U is going to get higher, and not to say about a new Legend of Zelda. I just got tired of bad news abut Nintendo. For me, Nintendo is and always will be the best. Someday they´ll understand that violence, blood, guns, fps and graphics doesn´t make a good game.

I'll be laughing if negativity shifts over to 720 and PS4. I think devs are starting to lean towards more mobile and PC development rather than consoles.

we don't need their 3rd party shovelware anyway wii's a great system and if these f%*@tards dont realise it then there blind.

it might be a sad time right now, but past e3 I bet Nintendo gives everyone a reason to get the system, till then it could be a sad couple months

Everyone now-a-days seems to quickly judge a system before it has a chance to really go anywhere (PS Vita, now the Wii U) honestly, these systems will get alot better, hard to have tons of games on systems that are less than a year old Despite what they say, I support these two platforms, cause they have potential, people need to learn to be more patient If you only owned a Wii, and you own a Wii U, chances are the launch games alone blew your mind.

Even if Wii U will be the second GameCube and will not sell so well as Wii, it honestly doesn't concern me. For years I was loving Nintendo platforms for the ex titles and not multiplatform games (that nowadays are all about multiplayer, except few xbla/psn games like journey, the walking dead, deadlight etc). I honestly doubt Nintendo will remain on top of the home consoles, but if they're gonna show me really great games that I didn't get on Wii, then I will be still satisfied, cause "It's all about the games". I honestly don't care about watching tv or movies on my console, I'm buying them for great games and to play games with bunch of great people that are scattered all around the world.

I love Nintendo and it's own IPs but I have to agree with @Slapshot here and say that it can appear that Nintendo gamers only are interested in first party IPs some of the time.

Going off and saying 'why aren't you lazy a** developers going to make games?' is not going to do a thing if you won't actually, you know, buy their games. Even though they were mostly ports, some did try to add in a use for the Gamepad as well and probably were testing grounds to see if Nintendo gamers who skipped out before(those who didn't really fool with PS360) would give these games a shot. It was good timing as well, with the lack of first party games and all.

@Aran The same can be said about games like NSMBU. No doubt it was a good game, but they also played it extremely safe with it, not much changed overall. If they came up with a way to really get good use out of the Gamepad they could have shown even more potential with the Wii U and the series.

If fps doesn't make a good game, then where do you stand with Goldeneye 007 for N64, arguably one of the most fun games on the console?

Graphics are all over the place. You're only looking at the realistic style others strive for, which isn't the only style. If graphics didn't matter, we'd probably be stuck with a Super Mario Bros. look but now HD forever. Nintendo's games, aside from Zelda which has had many different styles, have usually been more into making something aesthetically pleasing rather than a realistic approach; I honestly couldn't picture Mario looking like a real person anyways.

@Koto I wouldn't be opposed to a portable/console hybrid like others have mentioned a possibility about, just don't see Nintendo giving up on two different devices. Hopefully the next console/handheld will be interactivity heaven with the divisions being placed together. Apparently they will also make heads spin as well.

Im gonna lmao when these 3rd party develoers loose hundreds of thousands developing games for ps4/xbox720 and then the systems not selling as well as wii u.

As long as the WiiU does well in Japan, I don't see doom for Nintendo. Less western 3rd party releases could open the door for publishers like Xseed releasing more obscure titles in the west. It looks like the Wii U might end up being a niche system, but a potentially great one.

I don't normally put any stock into what "insiders" or "analysts" say, as these people seem to be wrong more often than they're right. However, the evidence of cancelled and delayed games, and games going multiplatform which were originally going to be exclusive, that evidence speaks for itself. The Wii U's start is rockier than anticipated, third parties are either bailing or hedging their bets, and Nintendo needs to fix that situation now.

For an example of how to turn this around successfully, Nintendo doesn't need to look any further than Netflix. When Netflix's instant streaming feature seemed in jeopardy because the content owners were preparing to pull out, Netflix started writing checks that kept the movies on there long enough for the subscriber base to grow, then started a huge marketing campaign to tell the world how they could stream content directly from devices they all had at home (ironically focusing mostly on the Wii's huge install base). It worked perfectly, and today it'd be difficult to agree with an "analyst" who says Netflix instant streaming feature isn't successful.

a high budget game that Nintendo had hoped would sell millions had only sold tens of thousands thus far

I bet it was Mass Effect 3. That game dropped off my wishlist immediately after the trilogy was announced.

Needs games needs games needs games.

All the schedule slippage for games I want to play doesn't make me want to recommend the Wii U to other people, as much as I love mine.

To quote political guru James Carville, "it's the economy, stupid." And, stupid is in reference to the MORONS in question in this article.

Being industry people, you'd think they'd be aware that a lot of people can barely gather enough mony for food, much less a $350 gaming system (and more expensive games). Are they REALLY expecting Wii Us and games to sell like hot cakes right now, are they fools, or are they so in love with Sony & Microsoft that they want Nintendo to fail?

The economy isn't what it was when Wii, PS3, and X360 hit the market in the mid '00s. Doesn't take a genius to figure that out. All you have to do to find out is look for work and try to pay your bills. Has anybody ever heard of "reasonable expectations." Guess when it comes to greedy companies making money, no such things exist.

I am so sick and tired of the Wii U negativity. With all due respect to Nintendo Life (my favorite gaming site), is there no good Wii U news out there to report?

Hmm...as others have said, this is a problem, but it's too early to judge yet.
However, I don't think Nintendo will get the same casual fanbase numbers as the Wii, as they probably think they don't need another console. I think console gaming in this upcoming 'generation' will become less popular, but I certainly hope not.

I'm not ready to write the Wii U off yet. Wii Fit U will show if casuals are interested in the console or if they'll say the old Wii stuff is enough for them. Same goes for Mario Kart Wii U.
A good E3 presence would definitely not hurt either.

Well, I'll take the comment with a grain of salt since it's one anonymous person making anecdotal reports. Give me specifics and I'll have something more to say about that.

As far as other folk's comments here, I didn't buy this machine thinking there would be more 3rd party support; I pretty much figured it would be exactly the same as the Wii. I mean after 3rd parties started dropping support Nintendo would really have to prove themselves to get that support back and the only way they'd instantly climb on board would be to duplicate the Wii's install base overnight.

I think we need to see what develops by the year-end. If the new machines from Sony and Microsoft tank because they cost more and the economy continues to be in the dumper whilst the Wii U's install base doubles in size and improves software attach rate, I think we'll see a turnaround. I mean, what else are third parties going to do, sell PC games for $20 each? The fact is that the days of the multi-million dollar blockbuster are numbered. It's just not sustainable for more than a handful of franchises.

Most developers SUCK IT , thats just the truth they are after nothing but a QUICK BUCK and that is it as well they want to make that QUICK BUCK as fast as they can with as little effort as possible on their part thats the TRUTH OF IT , Nintendo puts out AWESOME new system that challenges them to bring or add something new to the way we play games and it's to much to ask - I mean why should they be CREATIVE what was Nintendo thinking !! I can't wait till Nintendo puts out some of their titles and proves once again why they are so AWESOME and there truly is no one like them !

These companies need to get their heads out of there butt. Wii U is the best console out right now, and will be for a while regardless of what the next PS4 or Xbox is, because it's out NOW, and there are gamers wanting games NOW. They are in a position to make games and support a console in it's early life, and would rather deny opportunity. Looks like DICE isn't confident in themselves or Nintendo. I would say that's their problem, not Nintendo's. Were waiting for games DICE, so make one, or GTFO.

CAN WE STOP WITH THE NEGATIVE ARTICLES PLEASE.

If the only news to report is negative, then you'll get a lot of negative articles. There is the interview with that nice young lady with the impressive console collection and some game reviews, so there are recently positive things to read!

Negativity usually makes success that much greater...ive been using my WiiU a lot more than i have my old Wii im very happy with my WiiU and am eager to see Nintendo succeed hopefully 3rd parties will stay as well

I have never seen this much negativity directed at a console since the Sega Saturn.

Who the hell realistically thought they could sell 1,000,000 of a game on a new system within a business quarter? Has that ever been done?

nintendo are in a tricky spot with wii u and it's sold millions.the world has gone mad.i remember the same thing happening with the 3ds and it was'nt until the vita released that the truth became apparent.nobody is buying new consoles.yet nintendo still sold millions and they will continue to because responsible parents will always buy nintendo.it will probably do no favours for the big third party devs and thats why they don't want to be involved,but it's going to sell out next christmas after a small price cut when the games arrive.

Theyll be saying the same stuff next year about the new MS and Sony systems regarding console sales.

If any Nintendo fans want some small measure of satisraction go look at Vita sales numbers vs Sony predictions. They cant even sell a portable gaming system in Japan. How is that even possible?

Good WiiU news will come. Eventually.

@SCAR392 I think you're missing something here mate - this was at the DICE Summit in Las Vegas. This isn't the company "DICE" speaking directly, but this is top developers all throughout the entire triple-A development communities convening together at one of the larger yearly development conferences. This is one of the conferences where they sit down and discuss trends and where they should be putting their focus within the gaming community. Even though they might be competitive firms working against each other, they do work together as a whole as well to keep the dedicated gaming platforms thriving.

You are correct though, the Wii U is the newest console on the market, but this news is especially bad because these (again) are the guys who will bring the big triple-A third party titles to the console, but they don't see it as a viable console at this point in time, nor the near future. They're looking past the Wii U and at the next consoles from Sony and Microsoft. These are businesses mate, not your friends. They are looking for big profits and they clearly don't see that in the Wii U at this time, which isn't good for the system.

@Slapshot i agree dispite a lot of effort from nintendo AAA 3rd party games don't sell so these games will not be on wii u.but i think the eshop games will and i think thats very important.there will be new content on a regular basis and that has not always been the case on nintendo hardware.

@gazamataz I agree! The simple fact that the Unity Engine is diligently being ever formatted for work better for the Wii U is nothing but a good thing for the console and its owners. Independent developers have a hard time affording a great gaming engine to develop on and the Unity Engine offers them a powerful tool to bring great games to the Wii U eShop. With its wild variety of unique control interfaces and system power, I think the indie gaming scene is going to be great on the console. The only hindrance there is here, is that downloads are being tied to the console. Hopefully this recent story about the loyal gamer losing his games will get Nintendo on the ball to rectify this poor business decision.

The reality is this; nintendo has something else in store, and the Wii-U is kind of like their... PSPGo. I find it disgusting that anyone can make any assumption about a consoles longevity this early in its release. People forget the PSP and DS both had horrible year-long-crap-fests with NO games worth playing.

@Yanchamaru

A bunch of whiners is what we have here. Developers and distributors who expect INSTANT lightning in a bottle like the Wii.

Lets all sit back and watch as consoles burn and melt as soon as Sony and Microsoft make it so expensive to develop that only first and second party companies will survive.

WiiU feels doomed I'm glad Monster Hunter is coming though as that is the only real reason I have one.

@Bliquid

3DS has sold nearly 30 million so far worldwide (28-28 million), which I believe I read was faster than the DS sold for the same period of release. 20 million of those 30 million have been sold outside Japan.

What was your point?

How much does ot cost to even get a game on the eShop? My guess is like $20,000. If you have $20,000, and ALOT of time to make an ACTUALLY good game, then I don't see why these companies can't get games on there. I'm sorry I can't afford, and have enough time to get a eShop game up guys. If I could, there would be at least one more game on the eShop for you guys to play:(

alot of people may not no this but sony said ps4 cpu is 1.6mgz and microsoft said xbox 720 cpu is 1.5mgz and this is really funny nintendo wii u cpu is 1.2mgz or 1.3mgz i think but alot people think that the wii u will fail if the wii u fail so do ps4 and xbox 720 too because the cpu are the same thing third partys game company need to get on the boat and start making games for wii u there are the same power no different to these consoles hahaha we love are wii u and cant wait to win the console wars again

Well maybe it wouldn't be in serious trouble if you 'pubs and devs' started talking about future Wii U projects rather than cancelled projects. Put some games on the system, software sells hardware, the platform isn't going to sell itself so stop acting like it. I'm getting really frustrated with third-parties lately, it's like they're collectively trying to phase out Nintendo by cutting off support completely.

Don't know if anyone else remembers but someone from Ubisoft said the same thing, and I'm inclined to agree. Not every game needs to be a AAA blockbuster budget title. It baffles me how these huge companies whine about how they're loosing money and can't break even but then turn around and do things like hire celebrities or big name voice actors. The first thing people do when they're having trouble making ends meet is eliminate unnecessary expenses and cut the excess fat from their bills, so why don't they?

Studios like R* hire lesser known talents while I've seen companies like Bethesda hire celebrities to play random NPCs, just stop doing that and save the big guns for key roles and keep the blockbuster budgets for the games worth pouring that kind of money into.

Please do read this, it's amazing:
http://pietriots.com/2010/12/17/the-3rd-party-wall-of-shame/

all talk of doom for wiiu yet the vita has totally flopped and is still not pounced upon in the same way. wtf? who are the developers in question anyway? Coz seriously, are these 3rd party titles really so great? not in my experience, they are normally just filler... super buggy, badly made, unfinished turds. I am happier without turds.

how come none of these anonymous 3rd parties have lashed out at the vita thats been out for much longer and has done much worse than the wiiu( which has actually done fine by launch standards) its like everyone wants nintendo to fail EA first now UBISOFT it doesnt matter though because nintendo have shown that they can survive without these cretins i.e the gamecube and N64 nintendo made very good profits every year these supposed failures where in shops and creativly wiped the floor with there competition so no im not worried not one bit.

@gavn64 @3dbrains Um.. Developers aren't making games for the Vita. So... same situation as the Wii U.

@SCAR392

It has to do with the fact that "time" costs "money." The direct result is that developers need $20,000 and money to pay for the time. Nothing is free.

Surely even using rough, small underestimations anyone can see this. For example, a small team of ten employes working for two years on a game at $50,000 a year would cost $1,000,000. Plus the cost of PR, workspace, development kits, tools, etc.

As for those talking about the Vita, while we haven't seen a lot of vocalization, what @Bankai said is true. Looking through PSV games on Metacritic's New Releases and Coming Soon lists is painful.

I'm currently addicted to MiiVerse so this just feels surreal to me. The Wii U has some rough edges but it delivers in so many unique and sweet ways. "It's a secret to everyone" apparently.

@sonicriders a majority of "gamers" in the new generation have been bred to think that if it's not sony or Microsoft than its not "real" gaming. I can give a list of reasons why microsoft are the posers of the industry And why sony shouldnt be taken that seriously. Its a mixture or a lot of things.

@sgotsch "Has the perfect concept for me, cant name a thing I miss. Nobody need a better resolution than 1080p, Miiverse is just awesome, the Gamepad owns everything I have ever used as an controller. "

Well the Wii U then should at least have one game that does actually run in 1080P. So far it has none. They are all 720P or less just like the 360.

They released a weak system with unremarkable games. Now they are paying the price. They had all of that time to design a powerful system but instead decided to make something with a little more power than an Xbox 360. The 360 is on it's way out. Big mistake.

There is a stigma attached to Nintendo from 3rd party developers/publishers. They put out 3rd rate software and then complain that it doesn't sell well on a Nintendo platform; which is ridiculous as it wouldn't sell well on any platform.

They love the Playstation and Xbox brands but don't trust in Nintendo, which is shown by the fact that the Wii U has sold more hardware and software than the PS3 did during its launch, yet they say "There was always the confidence that the numbers would get there over time with PS3. I’m not sensing that with Wii U".

As usual Nintendo will have to turn things around with some amazing games and then listen to 3rd parties whine for the rest of the gen that their half assed games don't sell as well as Nintendo's.

It's always the same story no matter what Nintendo does. With Wii U they are being by far the friendliest when it comes to digital content, for example not charging any extra for game updates (which should be great for 3rd party buggy games). It doesn't make any difference though and the only thing that'll change it is a huge number of Wii U systems being sold .

Even the fanboiz have to admit the Wii U launch was a disaster. Forget the ports as I know everyone will blame "3rd party laziness" etc. The system was launched and it wasn't even finished. You had to do a day one hour and a half system update to use simple features. The Nintendo releases were lackluster. What did they have? A 2D SNES style mario scroller and a disk full of minigames? Really? that is it? No metroid, no Zelda, No Smash brothers, no 3D Mario. What the hell have they been doing for 6 years? They had all of that time to do stuff as the Wii was basically a GameCube with motion controls. The WiiU should have launched with great Nintendo titles that amazed with the graphics as well as design. It should have made the statement "welcome to next gen". Instead it said "welcome to me too" "now we have the power of the Xbox 360" too. That is great except the 360 is on it's way out and will be replaced by the 720 this year.

Then their demo kiosks in stores were (and still are) basically billboards saying "we have nothing". There is only ONE playable demo and the rest of the "demo games" are basically just still pictures. Yes, pictures not even video! I doubt that demo kiosk is going to convince anyone to buy a Wii U and most likely will have the opposite effect. It is like they are trying to fail and doing a good job of that.

I'm not worried.

So what if developers are canceling a couple of games. It's okay. They'll be back around once Nintendo releases a couple of Triple A titles. Then they'll see the concept of the system and attempt to make such quality games. That, or the next PS/XBOX also includes a tablet like controller with a more powerful system that pursuades 3rd parties to develop for them instead.

@Rinslowe There's been a steady accumulation of disappointment surrounding the Wii U post-launch. My comment refers to more than just this news item. I'm pretty pleased with the 3DS now, but I feel fully justified in expressing concern about the Wii U, based on its performance thus far and all the new info coming in.

Your comment was a bit like a personal attack. Maybe you can reflect on that over that warm milk and cookie you suggested. You know what I mean?

I love Nintendo and always will. its sad that there getting SO much negative publicity that being said we've been here before with the 3DS launch. its FACT Nintendo doesnt sell consoles without Nintendo games. At E3 this year Nintendo will announce a price Cut and have a Long list of games coming out. I mean Did will all forget that last N direct. they know whats up.

What Nintendo needs to watch out for is the low-cost chipsets that the PS4 and new XBOX are using. They are both looking into using mobile tech to keep cost down. Sony is looking at a $399 to $450 launch for the PS4. Not exactly too much over the Wii U's price point. I love my Wii U, but keeping the modified PowerPC tech for their CPU and not using a newer one with more horsepower is going to bite them in the butt as it's already making it awkward for developers to quickly port games. Everything has to be re-coded to run through the GPU and compressed. MASS EFFECT 3 runs great and I love it, but STRAIGHT RIGHT had over a year to port it.

@Bliquid Weeeeeell, if VG charts is anything to go by, the 3DS has around 8.75 million sales in North America, and around 7.48 million in europe, compared to the 10.45 million or so in Japan, it's not too bad.

I have been so excited about the Wii U for about 6 months now. I've been ignoring all the hate and negativity towards the system from all angles(publishers, developers, gamers, press)..I've even defended the system saying that this time around, it's not going to be like Wii and that it will be on level with the 2 "big boys." But as of recently, I've started to become less optimistic and almost a bit worried about the system. I now ask myself, "What if all this doom n gloom is true? What if Nintendo really is flopping this gen?" I mean, where are all the ads, billboards, commercials, and endorsements?? Where are the major launch titles like 3D Mario, Zelda, Metroid that are supposed to show the public that this is the system they want? What's with the premature hardware launch? So many things missing aside from the hours long day-one update..no headphone jack? I thought this console was supposed to be about online connectivity and interaction.? No cross game party chat? No party chat in general?? Come one Nintendo!!! I had such high hopes.....Looks like I'll be swallowing my words about selling my 360 and only having the Wii U this gen..As a Nintendo fan, I am sorry to say this guys.. Xbox 720 couldn't come any sooner..

If it was anything less than Wii sales it was going to be viewed as a "major dissapointment." Haven't people been saying it's done better than 360 and PS3 at their launch? If that's true why all the hate? There's no AAA ie 3d mario, Zelda, Metroid, for the system yet either. If the system really is in trouble Nintendo will say "Here's mario, here's zelda, here's smash brothers, and here's a priced drop." They'll be fine!

I'm much more concerned about the new Sony and Microsoft consoles then I am Nintendo. I don't see why everyone is so convinced that they're going to be able to pull it off again this gen. There's plenty of other options for getting third party content, prices are way cheaper, and you feel like a valued customer. They have a lot to contend with!

One wrong move, they piss people off too much, get them too fed up with all the Bologna and the industry will completely reinvent itself, probably in a way no one saw coming! I mean, how many people saw the smartphone craze coming, that's what i mean!

There's too many contenders out there waiting for these monolithic companies to F it all up and come in with the open platform alternative.

Fact is, nintendo didn't see Discs coming, not really. Sony and Microsoft didn't see the casual games crazy coming. I think we're due for another disruption but I doubt it's coming from the big three this time!

5 of the 6 games I have on the Wii U are 3rd party discs or indie DLs, the one game that isn't is the NintendoLand disc that came bundled. The next few games I'm planning on buying (when they get released) are all 3rd party.

@AceTrainerAndy, let's wait and see how much EA cuts out of the Wii U version first.

Why we are accepting to listen to all this crap, who is feeding the hate for Nintendo since 2006, who is descorauging gameplay in front of good graphics, who has started console wars based on pure technical details, who is saying that the console makes the console and not the games makes the console?

You have your answers, i'd rather stay with Nintendo even if they fail to provide a continuative stream of games because i don't care if people don't care about the Wii U.

The PS4 and nextbox will have only digital release of games and Microsoft has clearly said that they want people to be always conneceted even to play single player games.

We'll see who will save the market...AGAIN!

Araknie said: The PS4 and nextbox will have only digital release of games.

Really? Sony has already pointed out why they are not going download-able only games in an statement months back, and that comes down to internet connections.

Nintendos Wii U will be just fine & so will be the Next Gen consoles PS4/720, the gaming industry always slows right down just before new hardware gets released any developer can tell you this so nothing new there. And this article only focusses on the bad news not the good news which there would of been plenty of.

Virtual Boy failure again.

@Banker-Style Hardly. The Wii U sales are still more than double then where the PS3 was at this time in its launch.... 360 was behind even further than the PS3.

If the Wii U(2.6 million in homes) is the next virtual boy, what are we to call the PS3 that had less than a million sales in its first 2 months?

@Gamesake
Interesting thought. That's certainly one to consider. I never even had it on my wishlist because I would like to play the others first...and if I'm going to do that, I might as well play the third on the same system so I can use the same save file.

Really though, I think EA shot themselves in the foot with that one. "Hey guys, let's release the THIRD game in a trilogy for this new console and expect everyone to want to pick it up without knowing the back story! AND THEN we'll announce that we're going to release a full trilogy collection for the other consoles! I bet this will sell millions!"

@FiveDigitLP

As a father of 3 I did not have the time to play the entire MASS EFFECT TRILOGY on my 360, but I do get time here and there to play part 3 on my GamePad while the kids are watching cartoons or the wife is using the tv. I can still be around my family AND go space hopping. The whole trilogy would have been nice, but at least I get to experience one of the best RPGs of this generation; something I would have never been able to do on my 360.

@Metabble_King
I'm just saying a game in general, not a game as highly marketed as Mario, Zelda, Madden, etc. I understand it takes alot of time and money to make a high profile game. I don't think the eShop should just turn into an iTunes app store, but having multiple games that can last at least 10 hours, have high replay value, and are still acceptably presented have space on eShop. These companies think they always need the biggest titles to make an impact in the industry.

I guess you could say that DICE took quite a gamble.