EA Games has clarified that it isn’t making Wii U games at the moment due to the console’s low sales figures.
The Wii has struggle to achieve strong sales figures since it launched late last year, causing third party developers to question the validity of the console. EA Games has already confirmed that it won’t be making any more Wii U games for the Nintendo console until sales start to pick up.
“Look, the only thing they can do to fix it is to sell more boxes,” said Frank Gibeau, President of EA Labels. “We’re a rational company, we go where the audience is.”
“We publish games where we think we can make a great game and hit a big audience, and make money. That’s why we’re here, that’s why we have an industry.”
EA Games has tried to support the Wii U, having released four games for the console since it was released in November last year for UK markets.
“We shipped Madden, FIFA, Need for Speed and Mass Effect. In fact, the last Need for Speed shipped 60 days ago and had a pretty good Metacritic. It was a good game. It wasn’t a schlocky port, we actually put extra effort into getting everything to work. And it’s just not selling because there’s no boxes.”
The developer hasn’t said it will never produce Wii U titles again, but states that the console will have to achieve improved sales figures before the platform makes viable business sense.
“Nintendo is a good partner and never count ‘em out and all that, but right now we’re focused on PS4 and Xbox One. We’ll look at the Wii U, we’ll continue to observe it. If it becomes a viable platform from an audience standpoint, we’ll jump back in.”
EA Games announced its intentions for the development of Wii U games last month, which was seen by many as a nail in the coffin for the struggling console.
“EA is a great partner of ours, they’ve had games on our platforms before. They want what all third parties want and what we want: for the install base to grow,” said Charlie Scibetta, Nintendo’s Head of Corporate Communications in America.
During E3, Nintendo announced a raft of new first-party games for the console, including Mario Kart 8 and a new Super Smash Bros.
“We’re confident that once some of these game come out that we have planned between now and the holiday and into 2014, that it will help drive the install base and when that happens the platforms will look more enticing to third parties.”
Next, read why the Wii U is Nintendo’s Dreamcast.
Via: Joystiq
