We all know the Wii U is struggling right now, but Nintendo still has plenty of tricks up its sleeve — yesterday's Mario Kart 8 DLC announcement being proof of that — and it would appear that the wider industry feels the same way, too.
Speaking to Examiner, Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg has warned against writing off the Japanese firm too soon:
They are obviously not off to the start they've probably hoped they would've had with the Wii U, but they also have some of the world's best IP and some of the world's best game makers. I've always said they've been through rough hardware cycles before, but when you have the kind of game makers and beloved IP like they do, you can't count [Nintendo] out for the long-term.
Activision is one of the biggest publishers out there, and is continuing to support Nintendo platforms with the likes of Skylanders Trap Team, which is coming to the 3DS, Wii and Wii U.
Thanks to Ryan Millar for the tip!
[source examiner.com]
Comments 64
Activision: Don't coun't out Nintendo, still we're pulling our biggest franchises from the system anyway
It is strange that Assasins Creed IV is selling higher on the eshop right now than Rayman Legends but yet Ubisoft says Wii U users don't want mature games. (Don't think Just Dance is there at all).
Everything they say is all lies designed to ruin anybody else's chances.
(At least this is not going to do any harm).
Yes don't count them out. Specially since you Activision probably prevented Legend of Korra from coming to Wii U and you pulled away CoD Advanced Warfare from Wii U. Yes.
Sigh....says yet another company that wants to look while bowing out. I grow tired of this.
Personally I've got nothing against Activision. I don't buy their products but they have a lot of people that do. They're sensible in what they can make money on the Wii U, have made an effort to make Skylanders Trap Team unique on the U, and haven't gone mouthing off negatively about the system or Nintendo's business plan like EA or Ubisoft at every chance they get.
when indie companies say things like this all people are happy to hear there are still companies being nice to Nintendo, when triple A companies say things like this people get mad. I don't get people (and this issue seems to appear with both sony, microsoft and Nintendo fans)
@darkswabber
I think the difference is that Indie developers say these things whilst announcing games for the Wii U.
Whereas major publishers say these things whilst withdrawing most if not all of their support.
Great. Where's Korra on Wii U? If you believe in Nintendo, put your games on the system god dang it or else it looks like you are spitting PR crap.
@IxC that's what I was going to say
@ZeroZX_Dev yeah no Wii U version of The Legend of Korra was dissapointing, but at least we are getting one on 3DS
Seriously, what's wrong with you guys? A developer says something nice about the Wii U and you continue to be angry at them and not buy anything they make.
Activision's turn to spout off babble i guess. Coming next week: A nice whopper from EA!
@DankeyKang
We will buy something if they will put something on the console. For what we know so far they have pretty much pulled all support except 1 or 2 games out of 10!
Every company is saying this so they don't look bad. If this is true, put LoK and Advanced Warfare on Wii U to help it even more
@DankeyKang The thing is, the only game I'm interested in from them (Legend of Korra) is not coming to Wii U, which is too bad, but I'll live.
I understand that they won't release advance warfare on the Wii U but Legend of Korra?
@gage_wolf I agree 100%. .....especially when the game developer handing out the vaguely positive remark is "barely" supporting Nintendo systems.
In response to all the people who are mad at Activision, Ubisoft and EA for making positive statements about Nintendo despite not releasing games for them: I'm sure they would love to put more games on the console if it was economically viable. But until then, all they can do is focus on the consoles that they know will bring them profit and meanwhile hope that the Wii U picks up.
Yadda yadda, actions speak louder than words, and all that.
Activision obviously don't look at the eShop ratings, 5 of their games are currently in the top 20, 3 of which are mature rated games. So, it suprises me that Activision are now only supporting the kiddie market.
Tbh though, it's rather dissapointing to have to pay out for an extra console just to play the non Nintendo games.
@FullbringIchigo Are you talking about COD? Seriously, I guess majority of Nintendo community really doesn't care about it.
We can't expect a company to support a system they feel isn't going anywhere. However, words like this certainly aren't going to make anyone feel any better about it. It means nothing.
@DankeyKang - um, if you read the quoted paragraph, it says the Wii U is crap, but not to count out Nintendo "long term", meaning they'll bounce back with new hardware next gen. There is nothing nice said about Wii U, its a "rough hardware cycle".
Plus Nintendo has the only successful handheld, nobody wants to put their games on Vita, so companies have to say nice things about Nintendo, but not Wii U.
@Omarpixel9 yea, the Legend of Korra kind of surprises me as that show was directed at kids and well... we all know everyone sees Nintendo as a family friendly console that is great for younger kids.
@rjejr I agree with you completely... they are being nice speaking about Nintendo, not Wii U, cuz "They are obviously not off to the start they've probably hoped they would've had with the Wii U".
Ppl should understand that the gaming business isn't about future investment but what profit can be get from investment already done! If Nintendo goes multiplatform holding their own, of course it sale a lot even more than what we could expect maybe, but that will impact their business as hardware maker; well is a backward way. Companies cant keep affording huge investments for developing a game that, will sell lower than needed for a system... is not a smart move. If Ninty were only software... they will do the same! It's all about profit!
Don't know why companies are saying nice things about Nintendo but do almost bugger all about the games coming to our systems but whatever business is business i suppose.
If the post E3 stuff has anything to say the WiiU's future then things outta be looking up for the little system that could.
I'm glad Activision does'nt sell cars!
@DankeyKang Here's the quick and dirty: Activision just recently announced that their latest CoD game was not coming to the Wii U, so it seems like they're slowly/quietly withdrawing support. Then they come around and say "Oh, but Nintendo is great, we love them!"
A bit two-faced, wouldn't you say?
So why not release COD Advanced Warfare and Legend of Korra?? I'm happy to see statements like this but based on what we seen this is damage control. Skylanders is still great Swap Force was way better than Disney Infinity and now Trap Team looks more promising than 2.0
@Omarpixel9 I'm pretty sure Bayonetta 2 being Wii U exclusive is why they pulled Legend of Korra away from Nintendo's console (Platinum Games is developing those Korra titles after all).
@DiscoGentleman this is damage control and by not releasing that it completely contradicts what they said which is basically what Ubisoft just said
@FullbringIchigo can you show a source? I didnt think there was a 3ds version and a quick search confirms that.
@FullbringIchigo Lol Right
@FullbringIchigo Lol Right
@willgord with the install base being what it is, it's economically viable as long as it's given the same treatment as other platforms.
But if they release a bad port or talk crap about that version or just pretty much make no mention of its existence in any ad campaigns or interviews then it's not economically viable.
Watch Dogs was selling for $39 yesterday on all systems except Wii u since it's not released yet. By the time it's released it'll probably be $39 even when not on sale, and Wii u will be $59.99 with very little advertising or hype and yet Ubisoft will complain and the viability of the Wii U market rather than look at their own poor marketing practices.
@Falchion
www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00L86B56I?pc_redir=1408853665&robot_redir=1
@MrCanzine So why do they do it then? Because they don't like Nintendo? They're companies not children and they most likely have more numbers and survey results to look at than you and I. You're right though, The games would sell better If given the same treatment as the other consoles.
Obviously this means Kings Quest and Galaxy Wars are confirmed for Nintendo systems. Great!
@FullbringIchigo Oh, its a completely different game from the other systems, I get it now
I think i never even purchased an activision title in the last couple years...huh, guess i counted you guys out early
But in all seriousness: Its all hot air, nothing more than marketing blabbering.
@unrandomsam I honestly believe something is going on behind the scenes between Nintendo and Ubisoft. Otherwise it just doesn't make any sense.
sit back a mo and think about this, Electronic Arts call bad stuff about nintendo and the wii u it makes me laugh that NINTENDO HAVE BEEN IN THE GAME FROM September 23, 1889 MAKEING GAMES AND CONSOULS LETS SEE ABOUT Electronic Arts May 28, 1982 WHOS BIGGER AND SMARTER NINTENDO
Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles
@Falchion yeah it's a tactical RPG not a action game although aparently it will follow the same story but that's just a rumour at the moment
@MrCanzine TRUE IN EVERY WORD U SAY PEACE
@Salamihawk UR RIGHT THERE 100%
So right people think Destiny will be the biggest game this year but Smash bros will win best game of 2014 and blow away all other console games.
These companies spin their PR so hard that they could fly a propeller plane indefinitely...
Why is it every time a third party company cuts support they make a comment about how scrappy Nintendo is? I don't hear Nintendo making any comments about them. You made your business decision. Let it go. Don't PR spin it.
I just want the LOK game. Everything else...Meh..
You can't count Nintendo out, that's why COD: AW is skipping the Wii U.
@SuperSNESLiam
the thing is, no one here really cares about cod.
the cod trick never works here
In other words...
We are not porting our games to the Wii U at the moment because either we can't be bothered or it won't make us as many millions as we desire. But we want to stay friends with the good people at Nintendo and it's community because when their systems are flying off the shells again we want to sell as many copies of our yearly rehashes as possible to the gamers who are silly enough to buy our milked franchises.
Do creatures like this Eric CEO think gamers are so dumb and stupid that we can't see through his transparent nonsense?????
Since when did not releasing one game mean "we're leaving Wii U FOREVER!!!!!1!!!!"?
Can we just stop looking for something bad in these developers and be thankful they're saying something POSITIVE about the Wii U and Nintendo.
@Omarpixel9 To be fair, I agree that the Wii U can't handle yearly COD games. Most of us are not COD fanatics. I only want a one, maybe two COD games. Ghosts was too similar to be considered an improvement. But I think they should have pushed Advance Warfare to the Wii U because it seems like a refreshing experience and I've seen more Wii U owners interested in it than we were in Ghosts.
My issue with this statement is the lack of support and I'm not talking about just for Wii U. For starters they can't say anything about IPs and leave Crash just rotting.. And if you claim to support the system show it. I don't want Duty as much as I want Pitfall for SNES/Genesis (Tony Hawk Pro Skater would be a dream). They have a catalog of games that they could get on the VC if they really wanted to. At least they aren't Ubi or EA who are just barking from the side of their necks IMO.
So i guess i'm going to read many third party developers saying" you cant count Nintendo out".And not release any games for their home console amazing how these people think.
The great first party and indie games justify a WiiU purchase. Activision, Ubisoft..... just get a PS4 for those and ebjoy all of the best gaming this generation. Or an XboxOne if that's your thing.
Somebody needs to remind Eric Hirshberg of the old saying, "Actions speak louder than words", because while he's saying one thing, he's doing another.
@willgord it may sound fanboyish but some of the reasons may actually be because some don't like Nintendo. While it may not be overly accurate at a management level, when you watch interviews with some of their development heads and other programmers they have very little good to say about Wii U or their Wii U versions. These attitudes can carry some weight going up the chain of command. If enough programmers and such say Wii U is just too underpowered then management will believe it.
But I'm not saying that's the only reason. Most of it is their poor marketing. While they may have lots of numbers in their databases to crunch which may show the market isn't interested, those numbers arrived after poor ports and bad marketing. So the only thing their numbers should prove is that their marketing strategies are failing in the Wii U market, rather than the Wii U market failing to be willing consumers.
Perfect example is the watch dogs issue I mentioned. They'll blame Wii U market for poor sales of the game like Wii U owners simply don't purchase "mature" games, rather than blaming themselves for releasing the game almost a year after the other versions, in the middle of the holiday shopping season with all the new AAA titles.
They've got the numbers but they choose to interpret them in a way that justifies their lack of investment. After all if investors knew how much money they could make if they improved marketing in that market rather than abandon it they may start asking questions about the company leadership.
Currently almost 10million console owners are not being marketed to.
There's gonna be a Legend Of Korra video game?!
Anyway, this totally surprised me, Activision's been far from supportive of Nintendo in the past...
They kick Nintendo down but then they offer kind words?!
Rather than voice your support, get games on the damn system. If you have games heading to the PS3 or 360, there is no reason not to have it on Wii U.
You say this Activision, but you alienated your Call of Duty fanbase on the WiiU.
I'm still waiting for Black Ops 2 Map packs.
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