EA stops making games for Wii U

[EvilBoB]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22565945

Guess they will be concentrating on the PS4 and XBox One then - oh and crappy phone games.

[Bald Bouncer]

Games giant EA has revealed that it currently has no games in development for Nintendo's Wii U console. Despite being a launch partner for the gaming device, EA said it had no developers working on future titles. The news comes as a blow to Nintendo on the day that it is due to unveil a fresh marketing strategy to boost interest in the Wii U. Nintendo's financial results revealed that sales of the successor to the Wii had fallen short of expected targets. EA revealed in an interview with tech news site Kotaku that it had halted work on Wii U games. Since the console's launch it has created versions of Mass Effect 3, Fifa 13 and Need for Speed Most Wanted.



Despite this early commitment, EA will not be producing Wii U versions of its big gaming franchises, which include Battlefield 4, Madden and Fifa.

This stands in contrast to the releases EA prepared for the Wii console, many of which were produced long after launch. However, EA said it would not rule out working on a Wii U game in the future.

Nintendo's latest financial results reveal it has not sold as many Wii U consoles as it expected. Since launch, Nintendo expected to sell about 4 million consoles. Instead it sold only about 3.45 million.

On Friday, Nintendo is expected to unveil the summer line-up of Wii U games and reveal how it plans to get more gamers interested in buying and using the console.

Source: Rheena.com

[scoobypatch]

I must admit, I'm not concerned by this. I sick off the bloody sequels they have been pumping out for the last 10 years. I personally think they are getting lazy, not wanting to try an innovate or enhance their games.

[EvilBoB]

Indeed. the last thing the Wii needs is more sequels (Zelda, Mario etc.) Getting a bit old. I think game publishers are scared of trying anything new these days. Too many rehashes of the same old, same old.

Every so often something new comes out that is genius - that's what everyone is really waiting for.

[Bald Bouncer]

EA not releasing for the Dreamcast was the kiss of death for them, not so important in Europe but really did enough to finish them in the states.

[{{909}}]

The dreamcast had a solid lineup of games, including similar first party sports titles (which was EA's big thing back then) and the DC still sank, I'm not sure if its comparable with the WiiU, but I dont see it as good news either way.
While a few of us veterans may prefer original titles (something the DC had by the boatload), sadly the general public love the same old shit with better graphics and without EA on board, thats a huge market they are going to miss. They still have Ubisoft I presume, so we can look forward to biannual assassins creeds and a ton of shiteware, again.

I can see the Wii U being another N64 in the end, a stella line up of first and second party titles which only really get appreciated 10 years down the line.

[Bald Bouncer]

Gives a bit more of the history on it and you might find the career of Peter Moore quite interesting.

As the video game industry entered the 21st century, the competition for consumers’ attention—and dollars—continued to heat up. Throughout the ‘90s, several challengers to Madden NFL’s dominance over the football game genre had risen, though none were able to make much of a dent in the franchise’s supremacy. But in 1999, when Sega launched their Dreamcast console, a rift developed between the console manufacturer and Electronic Arts. Little did anyone know that this conflict would help change the landscape of sports video games for years to come…

While Sega and EA had successfully teamed up with John Madden Football on the Genesis system in the early 1990s, they couldn’t see eye-to-eye about EA’s Dreamcast presence. According to a 2009 Gamasutra article, Sega had already bet their sports fortunes on a California-based developer named Visual Concepts, buying it for $10 million prior to the system’s launch. Ironically, Visual Concepts had previously developed three Madden titles for EA—Madden ’94 and ’95 for 16-bit consoles, with’96 getting canned due to programming difficulties with the new Sony PlayStation.

In a situation that mirrored their Joe Montana licensing deal back in the ‘90s, Sega wanted Madden on Dreamcast while still publishing their own football game. But though EA took over Joe Montana Football when Sega couldn’t get the job done in 1990, this time Visual Concepts was on track to deliver the goods with NFL 2K.

EA remained unbowed; they wanted to be the exclusive sports game publisher on Dreamcast, looking to ink a five-year exclusivity deal. Sega reportedly offered EA the opportunity to be the only third-party developer of sports games for the system—meaning that it would still publish its own 2K franchise. But EA walked away from negotiations.

Bing Gordon, Electronic Arts’ then-marketing director, was quoted in the press as saying, “Dreamcast can’t succeed without EA.” As it turned out, Gordon wasn’t far off the mark. While Sega and Visual Concepts released NFL 2K and NFL 2K1 exclusively for the system—to absolutely rave reviews— it couldn’t stave off the onslaught of the PlayStation 2. And EA didn’t mend fences with Sega: Madden never appeared on the Dreamcast, but found a happy home on Sony’s console. Sega ceased Dreamcast production in March of 2001, after only 18 months.

EA’s Dreamcast-snub wasn’t all about ego. They reportedly had legitimate concerns about Sega’s decisions prior to the console’s launch, such as flip-flopping over whether or not to include a built-in modem, and not throwing in with EA’s preferred chip-manufacturer 3dfx. But no matter how justifiable Electronic Arts’ beef with Sega might’ve been, their public stand against the system signified an attitude that had grown at EA after years of unrivaled success.

In an e-mail interview with Machinima, former EA Sports designer Ernest Adams explained that the company’s outlook had shifted over time as their industry position solidified:

“As EA got bigger, the company got rather cocky and inclined to act as if success were its due. It was no longer an eager young success hungry for more; it became a middle-aged success that thought it could do no wrong.”

The Dreamcast’s demise spurred Sega to quit the console-making game, devoting all its time to making software. By the end of 2001, Sega and Visual Concepts released NFL 2K2 as one of the Dreamcast’s last titles, but it also appeared on the PS2 and Xbox. While other rivals had tried to get a taste of Madden NFL’s pie, Sega’s new franchise began carving out a serious slice.

Source

[EvilBoB]

I thought the Dreamcast died because of piracy. When you don't even need a chip to be able to play games off a CDR I doubt anyone bought any games after that. Car boot sales were rife with people selling them around where I lived at the time.

[Bald Bouncer]

EA may be making Wii U games after all

EA revealed some pretty significant news last week, with a spokesperson saying the company currently has no Wii U games in development. Now, it appears that EA may have some Wii U games in development after all, according to EA CFO Blake Jorgensen. The news comes by way of comments made by Jorgensen at the Stifel Nicolaus 2013 Internet, Media and Communications Conference. "I'll let the consumers ultimately vote on PS versus Xbox," said Jorgensen, weighing in on the major console players. "I think Nintendo's business was more [an] extension of their last console. We are building titles for the Nintendo consoles but not anywhere near as many as we are for PS or Xbox." Jorgensen's comments would seem to indicate that EA is, in fact, still developing Wii U titles, though it's possible he's referring to the slate of already available games.



If there are Wii U games in development at EA, it's hard to say what they might be. The publisher has definitively stated that many of its biggest 2013 games are not planned for Wii U, including Battlefield 4, Madden 25 and, most recently, FIFA 14. We've contacted EA to see if we can clear things up.

Source: Rheena.com

[Goldberg]

It is only a matter of time before Nintendo realise they can make much more money with games.

Sony and M$ would be stupid not to jump on board and allow them to sell the games.... Plus the back catalogue of 'arcade titles' etc.. etc..

Their time is unfortunately up (other than the Gameboys and even that is questionable). They need to license out 'Plug-into-TV' systems etc.. Take a leaf out of Sega's book.

[Nuanil]

Biggest problem to me seams to be a general lack of noticable improvements over the predacessor console, certainly not enough to make it into my budget. We are also still very much in a recession globally.

[ant3b]

I really like my wii u. There is no point saying it has no games it has plenty....

[SiE]

I really like my wii u. There is no point saying it has no games it has plenty....

Which are?

[ant3b]

wondefull 101
luigi u
resident evil revelations
need for speed most wanted
Zelda wind waker
Mario bros wii u
sonic karting (best karting game since diddy kong)
call of duty black ops
assasins creed and black flag
both raymans
pikmin 3
batman arkham city and the new on origins is coming out
splinter cell....
lego city..
monster hunter

lots of VC games and games on the eshop

plenty.....

there is more games than I can play.....

[scoobypatch]

You also forgot zombie u! I'm playing this now and I'm shitting my pants. It makes you feel so nervous.

[scoobypatch]

Also, you can now play wii games using the pad as a screen. The off tv play is the best aspect to be honest, and the 2 player aspect, where one player has the tv and the other player has the pad.

[{{909}}]

Biggest problem to me seams to be a general lack of noticable improvements over the predacessor console, certainly not enough to make it into my budget. We are also still very much in a recession globally.

The shift from 10 year old SD hardware to 5 year old HD hardware is pretty big imo, plus, if we are just talking about hardware, the differences are difficult to miss really since the primary input is a frigging touch screen. I think the noticeable differences between the Wii and WiiU are far higher than those of the upcoming generation from MS and Sony, but they have much more momentum with other elements away from simple graphics prowess.
It is a tough time for any gaming company, as you mentioned we are in a recession and traditional consoles are becoming less desirable as kids are turning to 'free' tablet games as their main source of gaming, which is a fucking crying shame since 99% of the games are fucking shite.

Nintendo need to realise they cant sell a second console on the back off 1 title that coems free with the machine. It worked stupendously with the wii, but they relaised that there isnt a solid stream of cash from that alone. They seem to have lost their direction if they were expecting the wiiU to sell itself as they seem to do very little to actually get the machine into the public eye. With the holiday season upcoming, now is the time to shine and if they cant manage that, its gotta be gamecube time once again.

[rIKmAN]

I think they are gonna push hard with the new Mario game in the run up to xmas and probably with a price cut.

If they don't I can see them doing a Sega and publishing their games on the new PS and Xbox, as even with the push I doubt they are gonna make a dent in the two big boys.

PS. Way to drag up an old thread Nuanil.

[{{909}}]

I think a big issue with Nintendo is they were forced to globalise release dates when competition did the same, back in the 80 and 90s they needed to do very little to promote their games as the massively staggered release dates meant that titles were in gaming mags for months before release UK release dates. It was absolutely agonizing waiting for mario 64 to be released as it was all you ever fucking read about in the magazines. The UK version was a full YEAR behind the Japanese one. Nowadays they have to get off their ass and show people what games they have and they just dont seem to be able to manage it. They are too used to free hype.

The idea of them dropping hardware and publishing on multiformats just doesn't bode for me, IF there was a sega console, they may have joined that ship and published exclusively for Sega, but the playstation, whilst Japanese just carries too much negative history. If they did jump on board the playstation exclusively I think it would be game over for MS.

[QfanatiQ]

For selfish reasons I just hope this pushes the price down. I am keen on the Wii U, but the price tag seems a bit high for my liking!

Q