Tickled_Pink Posted May 19, 2013 Share Posted May 19, 2013 Is this a sign of things to come, I wonder? EA has announced it currently doesn't have any games in development for the Wii U. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22565945 Nintendo has also shifted fewer Us than they expected. With 3.4million sold instead of 4million expected. Sales of the 3DS also don't appear to have been anything special and the Vita has been struggling, although it's starting to do a little better. I suspected a while ago that the new generation of consoles would struggle to excite players in the way that the previous two generations have. The fact is that the current generation is ample for most people. If something still works great and has been allowed to evolve into something as all-singing-all-dancing as the 360 has, why would anyone want to shell out another $300-$400 on something that doesn't seem to add anything new or groundbreaking? It does look as though the hardware manufacturers have fallen into the trap of trying to be the first to bring out a new console, just because the other guys are. None have considered whether new hardware was necessary. Nintendo probably did need something new and Sony needed to replace the PSP but I'm not so sure that the 360 and PS3 need to be consigned to history just yet. I certainly have no plans to buy a new console - if I do, I'd be better off just building myself a small gaming PC. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Algus Posted May 19, 2013 Share Posted May 19, 2013 You know I consider myself a huge Nintendo fan. I've carried the banner through the N64, Gamecube, and Wii when all my friends were turning to PlayStation and Xbox. (Of course I have those consoles too since I'm an uber-gamer) but I just can't get real jazzed about the Wii U. I mean, I want one and will buy one eventually for first party titles but I don't feel like it is something I have to pay new console premiums for. I'm content to wait for a price cut and not worried about having difficulty finding the games I will want to play, even if they are out of print. The PS4 on the other hand? Definitely interested there. Sony doesn't seem to be planning to make the same mistakes they made with the PS3 launch so it could turn into a pretty good console. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xg4bx Posted May 19, 2013 Share Posted May 19, 2013 Ubisoft is wholeheartedly supporting it, as are Capcom, WB, and others. EA's loss is their gain. Let's see the sum of EA's U output: Mass Effect 3, which is useless if you haven't played the other two, and Fifa/Madden in which they couldn't even be bothered to include the new physics and improvements and merely reskinned the previous installments. I know I'll be weeping into my Cheerios over the lack of their stellar games on the platform....:/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariLeaf Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 Ironic decision since EA is not a game company most people want to buy from anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atariboy Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 (edited) I'm not familiar with the soccer game, but wasn't the football game well received on the Wii U with most everything fully intact beyond lacking the new physics engine that launched last Fall and with several logical Wii U feature additions? And with a very short development schedule to boot. And you have to start somewhere with Mass Effect. It would've been a shame that PS3 and Wii U owners weren't allowed to experience it merely because they series wasn't starting at square 1 on those platforms (A situation since rectified for PS3 owners after the fact). Bringing your character with you throughout the series, while a neat feature, isn't the be it end all of Mass Effect and clearly didn't stop PS3 fans from embracing the game. And the port itself seemed fine. And Need for Speed Most Wanted U clearly saw TLC and seems to be the definitive console version of a fine game and is on my list of Wii U games to purchase. They seemed to be off to a solid start to me. While not a loss where I'm personally concerned since I don't play many EA published games anymore, it's too bad that they're abandoning it since EA does matter and their loss is a big one. And it will be tough to re-enter the Wii U marketplace, let alone possibly even embrace it down the road, when the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 which are technical contemporaries of the Wii U hardware start to be phased out. Edited May 20, 2013 by Atariboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reaperman Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 (edited) Well, whether EA was the chicken or the egg, dreamcast didn't do well without them. Just saying. The one and only Wii-u game I was interested in was Project CARS which I would have expected would have been published by EA. I was probably more interested in the PS3 or PC versions for wheel support and me not having to buy a new system, to be honest--but it was what wii-u had for me. Edited May 20, 2013 by Reaperman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagitekAngel Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 To be honest, I found it downright idiotic that EA opted not to bring the Mass Effect Trilogy bundle over to Wii U and instead ported the third game standalone at the exact same price point. And as much as everyone loves to shit on EA, the sheer number of studios they control means that a lot of good games are published under their banner. Some of the most interesting and most fun games this generation carry the EA badge: Mirror's Edge, Dead Space, Spore, Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Kingpms of Amalur round out the titles I've enjoyed. Their absence will be felt on the Wii U. On the other hand, Nintendo remains the most capable of the big three as far as propping up a console with their own dev teams. It could go either way. Because Nintendo's consoles are always more cost-effective to manufacture than their competitors', coupled with the fact that Nintendo makes bank on a much higher proportion of the software sold on their systems due to their overwhelming first-party support, they could feasibly eke out a niche market of 30-40 million customers this generation and still remain profitable. As such, even if the Wii U proves to be a dud this gen, don't expect them to pull a Sega. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 Uggg... EA is a mediocre game company anyway. There's a lot of great games from 3rd party companies coming out for Wii-U anyway. It's EA's own loss if they don't support Wii-U. This topic has already been beaten to death I'm tired of discussing it. I was hoping people would change their doom and gloom predictions; this crap happens every time Nintendo releases a new console. The N64 and Game Cube were both great consoles that existed during Nintendo's "underdog" years. And the Wii-U is hardly a Sega Dreamcast. Sega did what NintenWON'T! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atariboy Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 (edited) I'm not terribly familiar with the upcoming Wii U release schedule. What are some of the great 3rd party games on the slate for this year? I'm sure there's more than just that Rayman game but I can't think of any off hand. It's the 1st party stuff that have me excited for later this year. And while there's plenty of blame on EA (Not porting the Mass Effect Trilogy over instead like MagitekAngel said and the delayed release for Need for Speed for two examples where they shot themselves in the foot), it's not all their fault. Because of the reality of the situation that was out of their hands where the Wii U simply just wasn't present when these games were initially released on the competition, the fact that series like Mass Effect were well established on the over half decade old competition, and because the Wii U was brand new, EA's slate of initial games that seemed well programmed have been pulling some pitiful numbers. And because of the situation with a series like Mass Effect, they were going to have a tough road no matter how well the Wii U was selling and how well done they were. It's hard for early console adapters to get excited about the same games that they can find in virtually identical form on the over half decade old competition. So it's in a way commendable that they tried and put effort into it since there's no way that something like Mass Effect 3 on the Wii U was going to be a system seller or a blockbuster. It's just too bad that they didn't try to hit a home run with an exclusive that could've been a major release for the platform and rewarded them in the sales department. So between that and the slowness of the platform in the opening months of 2013 with sales stagnant, it's not hard to understand them being a bit cautious and taking a step back. I think it's a mistake since as one of the largest 3rd party publishers they should be involved in trying to get this platform back on track and thriving instead of worsening the problem on a platform that they could potentially make a lot of money selling games for in the future. But it is understandable, especially with two new consoles on the way where their major releases will be guaranteed sellers and where their focus will be. It's one of the less heinous things they've done in recent years even though it stinks since no matter how unimportant they are here, series like Battlefield and Madden are important for the mainstream console audience and their loss at least for now is a problem for Nintendo. Edited May 20, 2013 by Atariboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atariboy Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 I hate that, I thought I was being short and sweet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Cafeman Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 side-question - when does EA lose its monopoly on NFL games, or did that happen already? Concerning Wii-U and EA ... if I were actually interested in purchasing Wii-U (which I doubt I will anytime in 2013), EA would be the last company I'd care about supporting it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Gemintronic Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 For a company trying to get into the digital download/Farmville cash cow they sure seem to be making all the wrong moves. EA can afford to put up with the Nintendo store policies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tickled_Pink Posted May 20, 2013 Author Share Posted May 20, 2013 To be honest, I found it downright idiotic that EA opted not to bring the Mass Effect Trilogy bundle over to Wii U and instead ported the third game standalone at the exact same price point. And as much as everyone loves to shit on EA, the sheer number of studios they control means that a lot of good games are published under their banner. Some of the most interesting and most fun games this generation carry the EA badge: Mirror's Edge, Dead Space, Spore, Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Kingpms of Amalur round out the titles I've enjoyed. Their absence will be felt on the Wii U. On the other hand, Nintendo remains the most capable of the big three as far as propping up a console with their own dev teams. I don't think too many of the games you listed were big sellers for EA. Mass Effect, for sure, and maybe Dragon Age but I think Mirror's Edge was a bit of a hidden masterpiece, I'd love to see a Mirror's Edge 2 on any platform. Apparently it is being developed by DICE because of fan reaction rather than sales. Mirror's Edge is a brilliantly designed and executed game and I'd recommend it to anyone who's fed up with the constant stream of FPS games. Unless you're a sports game fan, the loss of EA isn't that big a shake-up since the best games on Nintendo's platforms tend to be by Nintendo. However, the real question is whether game developers are getting a little tired of the constant stream of new platforms and are trying to streamline their product ranges to just a handfull of platforms. For me, even if I was in the market for a new console, the loss of EA would instantly turn me off the Wii U - I love FIFA but don't buy every iteration. My last one was FIFA 11 on the Xbox. I went online with it for the first time in ages recently and discovered that the servers had been shut down. So I'm going to be in the market for FIFA 14. Neither of my girls have shown an interest in the Wii U. We have a Wii that gets a rare outing every 6 months or so. The 360 gets much more use from the older one while the youngest is happy with her DSi XL and 3DS. To be honest, I don't even know if they know anything about the console ... hang on, I'll ask ... .... ... I was right. They haven't ... and showed zero interest when I asked. And that's going to be a problem for the current gen consoles. At least until they see one of their friends with one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master Phruby Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 I guess there will be no Star Wars on the Wii U for what that is worth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reaperman Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 I guess there will be no Star Wars on the Wii U for what that is worth. No star wars, no nfl football, no need for speed, no battlefield, burnout, dead space, FIFA, NBA live, NCAA football, NHL 'XX, sim city, the sims, tiger woods 'XX--nah, wii-u gamers won't want their expensive new system to run any of those. But even if they're not going to miss any of that, bejeweled and boom blox should at least sting a little. Like them or not, EA is pretty big time. Wii-u support doesn't bother me as much as the lack of Ouya support though (which makes no sense at all to me). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HammR25 Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 I wonder if the new MS partnership has anything to do with EA not bothering with the Wii-U. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 (edited) I guess there will be no Star Wars on the Wii U for what that is worth. You bring up a valid point. To quote myself from another thread, since it's relavent to the conversation: Speaking of licensing, now that the Star Wars license has gone exclusively to Disney and EA, and EA is not releasing content on Wii-U, does that mean that Lego Star Wars will get discontinued since they were released by a different company (TT Games and LucasArts)? There was a similar issue a year or so ago when The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles license got sold, and all "Turtles" related games got immediately pulled without warning from the Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft download platforms, including both VC titles and remakes. That's why you gotta love physical copies of games: once they've been released, they will always be out there in some form for future gamers to enjoy, no matter if IP changes hands or not. I wonder if the SNES Star Wars games currently available on Wii VC will be affected? Edited May 21, 2013 by stardust4ever 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesD Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 With EA focusing on next gen game engines I can't say I'm surprised. The Wii U isn't powerful enough. Yeah, EA is supporting last gen consoles but those are almost guaranteed to have more sales than there are Wii U consoles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Cafeman Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 No star wars, no nfl football, no need for speed, no battlefield, burnout, dead space, FIFA, NBA live, NCAA football, NHL 'XX, sim city, the sims, tiger woods 'XX--nah, wii-u gamers won't want their expensive new system to run any of those. But even if they're not going to miss any of that, bejeweled and boom blox should at least sting a little. Like them or not, EA is pretty big time. Wii-u support doesn't bother me as much as the lack of Ouya support though (which makes no sense at all to me). No Star Wars on a Nintendo console? That's kind of a deal-breaker. Why'd EA get the exclusive license to SW? Crap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmax2069 Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 (edited) Oops, a user error has occurred. Edited May 21, 2013 by madmax2069 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmax2069 Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 (edited) They actually do have a few in development http://www.polygon.com/2013/5/21/4351844/ea-developing-wii-u-games I wonder if the new MS partnership has anything to do with EA not bothering with the Wii-U. No, it was the lackluster sales of their titles on the platform that made EA do this. Edited May 21, 2013 by madmax2069 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mendon Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 There are so many rumors going around about **ALL** the systems that my head just can't keep up with them. Latest rumor I read is that the titles EA is developing for the Wii U are the Star Wars titles. Supposedly, Disney stepped in and told EA it didn't want the Nintendo platforms ignored and EA reluctantly said okay. As I said, rumor - rumor - rumor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cimerians Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 EA backpedals: http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2013/05/22/ea-backpedals-games-in-development-for-the-nintendo-console.aspx?utm_content=buffer3b28c&utm_source=buffer&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Buffer lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tickled_Pink Posted May 22, 2013 Author Share Posted May 22, 2013 (edited) No star wars, no nfl football, no need for speed, no battlefield, burnout, dead space, FIFA, NBA live, NCAA football, NHL 'XX, sim city, the sims, tiger woods 'XX--nah, wii-u gamers won't want their expensive new system to run any of those. But even if they're not going to miss any of that, bejeweled and boom blox should at least sting a little. Like them or not, EA is pretty big time. Wii-u support doesn't bother me as much as the lack of Ouya support though (which makes no sense at all to me). From a major developer's viewpoint, the OUYA is about as pointless as it gets. It's really a console for Indy developers. The only confirmed big developer that I know of is Square Enix ... And last I heard they were bringing out FF 7. I'm thinking that Atari or Activision might have a stab at it because of their old library of games, which wouldn't cost a fortune to revamp for OUYA or the Gamestick. At the end of the day it's all about money. It's why some smaller dev teams have said they will no longer be working on consoles, and why large publishers are going concentrate on areas where they can have maximum exposure and make maximum money. There is a shifting of priorities across the industry. Edited May 22, 2013 by Tickled_Pink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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