To be entirely frank, Nintendo hasn’t had a decent track record in the recent times as far as business is concerned for its premier gaming console, the Wii U. And more shocks were on the cards with top developers like EA stating that the console can only expect popular titles such as Battlefield 4 if it supports next generation engines like Frostbite 3. However, it seems like not all is lost for the company.
In a recent turn of events, EA Games has revealed that it is still possible to run the rich Frostbite 3 engine on Nintendo’s unsuccessful Wii U console. The company was recently in an interview with Japanese website 4Gamer where it stated that while development for the Wii U is “slightly less” than PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the upcoming Battlefield 4 could still make it to the Nintendo console at some point in the future.
“Our idea is giving omnidirectional support to all platforms as before,” said EA Games Executive Vice President Patrick Soderlund, as scripted by Aussie-Gamer. “Electronic Arts released Mass Effect 3 and FIFA 13 for the Wii U, but currently we’re focusing our resources on Xbox One and PS4, so it’s a fact that the priority (of the Wii U) is slightly lower. However, making Frostbite 3 work on the Wii U is not impossible. Where there are gamers, we’ll be there as well.”
While it seems like EA has suddenly fallen out of love with Nintendo, this wasn't always the case. It wasn't too long ago that Battlefield developers used the console as a pedestal in the market for advertising, and back in 2011 when the console was released, EA CEO John Riccitiello declared an “unprecedented partnership” between the EA and Nintendo.
However, that “partnership” only lasted until Mass Effect 3 and FIFA 13, after which any kind of support for the console dried up, EA’s Peter Moore blaming the dissolution on the Wii U’s online engagement.
"The lack of online engagement that we see on Wii U [is troubling]," Moore told GamesIndustry.biz at the time. "It's so integral to what we do. They're so small it's hardly worth running the servers. It seems like a box that's out of sync with the future of EA - which is one that gives a real social feel to our games. The Wii U feels like an offline experience right now."
It will be interesting to see if EA ends up bringing the next Battlefield title to the Wii U, but that depends on how Nintendo goes about with its console from here on.