EA: No Wii U Titles in Development [Upd 2: LOL JOKES, WE ARE!]

From Kotaku.

"We have no games in development for the Wii U currently," company spokesperson Jeff Brown told Kotaku yesterday. He did not rule out the chances of EA developing for the Wii U again. EA publishes many of gaming's biggest franchises, including Madden, The Sims, and Battlefield.

The lack of Madden and FIFA is a big deal for Nintendo. As a consumer, I really don't care. I can only think of two titles from EA I've liked in the last 10 years.

Update 1:

I don't want to make this into a System Wars thread but I thought this was relevant. EA was at the Xbox One Presentation and stated they'd be supporting current generation platforms till 2017 at the least. That being said, I wonder now what the real motivation behind not supporting the Wii U (for sports titles at least) is. 

Update 2:

Turns out EA is making Wii U content ... 

Electronic Arts is developing games for the Wii U, but not as many as the company is developing for Sony and Microsoft's consoles, EA's chief financial officer Blake Jorgensen said today during the Stifel Nicolaus 2013 Internet, Media and Communications Conference.Polygon

"You know I will ultimately let consumers vote on PS vs. Xbox. You know I think Nintendo's business was more of 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. You know, what I think the consumer will find is a lot more powerful gameplay with the new boxes that are coming out, and a lot of excitement, but it will remain to be seen as to the services associated with those how the consumers decide which direction they want to go."

Um, stop trolling us? Please?

AKA if sales pick up they'll go back to their "strong relationship with Nintendo" stance :P I don't care about Madden, but no NCAA 14 and up does bother me. I'm sure Nintendo is much more worried about it than most consumers though, that's a big money making gap to fill.TxTech1923

I think the biggest hit will be the lack of sports games for sure. Battlefield 4 and what not is not going to matter as much. It's just funny to see that EA is bailing out, while the other two big publishers have titles lined up for Wii U still. Activision has stuff like Call of Duty: Ghosts and Ubisoft has Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Rayman Legends, Assassin's Creed IV and Watch_Dogs.

[QUOTE="TxTech1923"]AKA if sales pick up they'll go back to their "strong relationship with Nintendo" stance :P I don't care about Madden, but no NCAA 14 and up does bother me. I'm sure Nintendo is much more worried about it than most consumers though, that's a big money making gap to fill.Haziqonfire

I think the biggest hit will be the lack of sports games for sure. Battlefield 4 and what not is not going to matter as much. It's just funny to see that EA is bailing out, while the other two big publishers have titles lined up for Wii U still. Activision has stuff like Call of Duty: Ghosts and Ubisoft has Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Rayman Legends, Assassin's Creed IV and Watch_Dogs.

"Might Support In The Future"

...not if the recent sales data has anything to say about it...

You know, I'm starting to feel that by E3, it may already be too late for Nintendo to inject life into this system. It sounds silly, given that it's only a handful of weeks away, plus the high-profile IPs that Nintendo are supposed to present. However, there's a ton of damage being done to the system's future, even as Nintendo positions itself to make a huge push, and that hole may be getting too deep for Mario and Co. to rope the system out of once they do show up.

EA's lack of support is HUGE, regardless of if anyone on this board is an EA fan or not. To top it off, you also have the likes of Take-Two that appear to be setting themselves up to do the same thing (no WWE 2K14, no 2K Sports Wii U announcements of any other sort, etc.). It all just seems like the beginning of a snowball effect that's eventually going to too big and going too fast for Nintendo to handle.

I HOPE I'm wrong about all of this, but... I just don't see it...

Activision and Ubi have had some pretty strong successes with Nintendo lately though. Almost all of the Wii COD's were million sellers (I think only MW3 didn't crack it), lead seller for Skylanders, Goldeneye did better than it did on the HD twins combined, and Ubi had good sales publishing some core cames with great sales in the dance stuff. EA on the other hand has watched sports game after sports game tank after experimenting with a bunch of different control options, and almost all their published stuff tanked :P I can kind of see where they're coming from, their only big sales success on the Wii was EA Sports Active, and the sequel bombed miserably.TxTech1923

Yeah but those games speak for themselves.

EA's Wii U support was Mass Effect 3 at launch. Hardly anyone is going to buy the third entry in that series on a new console without the first two. Then they announced the trilogy on PS3/360/PC for the same price as Mass Effect 3 on Wii U. The product was doomed from the start. Need for Speed: Most Wanted U, despite being a good game, came out 6 months later when most people who wanted it got it already and can get it for $29.99 compared to $59.99.

I'm starting to think sales of the Wii U has less to do with this. I mean sales only tappered off around February, and EA's output was basically done by then - they must have known for a while they weren't planning on supporting the Wii U long-term.

[QUOTE="TxTech1923"]Activision and Ubi have had some pretty strong successes with Nintendo lately though. Almost all of the Wii COD's were million sellers (I think only MW3 didn't crack it), lead seller for Skylanders, Goldeneye did better than it did on the HD twins combined, and Ubi had good sales publishing some core cames with great sales in the dance stuff. EA on the other hand has watched sports game after sports game tank after experimenting with a bunch of different control options, and almost all their published stuff tanked :P I can kind of see where they're coming from, their only big sales success on the Wii was EA Sports Active, and the sequel bombed miserably.Haziqonfire

Yeah but those games speak for themselves.

EA's Wii U support was Mass Effect 3 at launch. Hardly anyone is going to buy the third entry in that series on a new console without the first two. Then they announced the trilogy on PS3/360/PC for the same price as Mass Effect 3 on Wii U. The product was doomed from the start. Need for Speed: Most Wanted U, despite being a good game, came out 6 months later when most people who wanted it got it already and can get it for $29.99 compared to $59.99.

I'm starting to think sales of the Wii U has less to do with this. I mean sales only tappered off around February, and EA's output was basically done by then - they must have known for a while they weren't planning on supporting the Wii U long-term.

We should wait and see how the fall turns out for the system.  If companies keep bailing by 2014, then I will say Wii U is done for. 

Last EA game I bought for a Nintendo system was whatever Madden launched with the Gamecube! I have a PC, Xbox, or Playstation for EA games.......if I actually want them.

Must've done really shit with Wii sales.  Only good games they had on Wii were the Boom Blox games and they sold like crap probably.

This doesn't matter to me that's for sure.

Must've done really shit with Wii sales.  Only good games they had on Wii were the Boom Blox games and they sold like crap probably.

This doesn't matter to me that's for sure.

Chozofication

F*** you EAOreoMilkshake

good thing I haven't bought nfsmwu. Then again haven't bought any EA games since BF3. :p

In the same week that EA announced that they're not going to be supporting the Wii U, SEGA announces that they're making 3 exclusive Wii U Sonic titles and giving Nintendo publishing rights and Ubisoft reaffirms their faith in the Wii U.

As with any new console, it takes some time to grow an established base. Ubisoft has a varied and high-quality line-up for Wii U, with more big titles on the way including Rayman Legends, Watch Dogs, Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag and Splinter Cell Blacklist. We're confident that this will help in continuing to attract gamers to the Wii U system and that Nintendo will take steps to ensure that the Wii U is successful in the market.Ubisoft Rep

Link.

EA seems to have prematurely jumped the gun here. Everyone else can see that Nintendo's heavy titles aren't out yet and that's a big part of whether or not the Wii U will regain some momentum.

Sucks for sales. Not for me, unless there will be another seriously awesome SSX game. Not sure about the last one, but SSX 3 is one of my favourite games ever.

good thing I haven't bought nfsmwu. Then again haven't bought any EA games since BF3. :p

superbuuman

[QUOTE="superbuuman"]

good thing I haven't bought nfsmwu. Then again haven't bought any EA games since BF3. :p

TxTech1923

I purposefully avoid EA too, they're just bad devs and even worse publishers, why support that with my money? Last EA game I bought was NFSMW on PC for like $10, and that felt like a total waste of money for the best version of the product.

Once EA releases some games worth owning and/or they actually stop being total tools then I'd probably pick up a game or two that deserved the purchase.

[QUOTE="superbuuman"]

good thing I haven't bought nfsmwu. Then again haven't bought any EA games since BF3. :p

TxTech1923

[QUOTE="superbuuman"]

good thing I haven't bought nfsmwu. Then again haven't bought any EA games since BF3. :p

TxTech1923

Also why would I want to support a company that would release ME3 for the WiiU @ $80 then release ME trilogy @$80 for the competitions?

[QUOTE="TxTech1923"][QUOTE="superbuuman"]

good thing I haven't bought nfsmwu. Then again haven't bought any EA games since BF3. :p

superbuuman

Also why would I want to support a company that would release ME3 for the WiiU @ $80 then release ME trilogy @$80 for the competitions?

[QUOTE="superbuuman"]

[QUOTE="TxTech1923"] How dumb is this line of thinking, do you wonder why 3rd party support for Nintendo is poor..? They wont _____ so I'm not going to buy _____! Congratulations, you've reaffirmed why they aren't making any games for the console right now.firefox59

Also why would I want to support a company that would release ME3 for the WiiU @ $80 then release ME trilogy @$80 for the competitions?

You mean a company that had to re-work a ton of stuff, change the game to fit with the Wii U pad, and then port it over a good while after ME3 had already been released. That company? And when the sales were terrible they realized, hey, maybe it isn't worth the effort. The conformity and ignorant hate for EA is one of the stupidest things going on right now in gaming.firefox59

It doesn't matter. EA likely knew very well ahead of time that the Mass Effect Trilogy was coming out. Why would you make Mass Effect 3 on the Wii U when the previous console didn't get the first two games, but then release the whole trilogy on the PC/PS3/360 for the same price? EA's killing it's own Wii U SKU.

[QUOTE="firefox59"]You mean a company that had to re-work a ton of stuff, change the game to fit with the Wii U pad, and then port it over a good while after ME3 had already been released. That company? And when the sales were terrible they realized, hey, maybe it isn't worth the effort. The conformity and ignorant hate for EA is one of the stupidest things going on right now in gaming.Haziqonfire

It doesn't matter. EA likely knew very well ahead of time that the Mass Effect Trilogy was coming out. Why would you make Mass Effect 3 on the Wii U when the previous console didn't get the first two games, but then release the whole trilogy on the PC/PS3/360 for the same price? EA's killing it's own Wii U SKU.

[QUOTE="Haziqonfire"]

[QUOTE="firefox59"]You mean a company that had to re-work a ton of stuff, change the game to fit with the Wii U pad, and then port it over a good while after ME3 had already been released. That company? And when the sales were terrible they realized, hey, maybe it isn't worth the effort. The conformity and ignorant hate for EA is one of the stupidest things going on right now in gaming.firefox59

It doesn't matter. EA likely knew very well ahead of time that the Mass Effect Trilogy was coming out. Why would you make Mass Effect 3 on the Wii U when the previous console didn't get the first two games, but then release the whole trilogy on the PC/PS3/360 for the same price? EA's killing it's own Wii U SKU.

http://www.jbhifionline.com.au/support.aspx?post=1&results=10&source=all&bnSearch=Go!&q=mass+effect+trilogy&submit=Go

http://www.jbhifionline.com.au/game/pre-order/mass-effect-3-special-edition-wii-u/668512

At them prices would you really get ME3 for Wii U over the trilogy pack for other system?...this is the price we're slug with here in Aust. 

With EA showing off it's new engine there's no way we see the games in their current states.

Current gen consoles were having a tough time with things like crowds and stadiums filled with people, the Wii U isn't enough of a jump to change that.

EA Is Supporting Current Generation Until 2017, At Least

The only reason why I'm adding this to this thread is because I find it weird that EA is supporting current generation platforms for a long time, but has decided to ignore the Wii U. They claimed at first it was a technical limitation, then complained it was due to sales figures. I don't think either checks out, but I really would like to know why they're so bitter. At the very least, I'd expect Madden, FIFA, NBA, NHL to be supported on the platform. If they don't want to downport other titles for next-generation only, that's understandable.

EA Is Supporting Current Generation Until 2017, At Least

The only reason why I'm adding this to this thread is because I find it weird that EA is supporting current generation platforms for a long time, but has decided to ignore the Wii U. They claimed at first it was a technical limitation, then complained it was due to sales figures. I don't think either checks out, but I really would like to know why they're so bitter. At the very least, I'd expect Madden, FIFA, NBA, NHL to be supported on the platform. If they don't want to downport other titles for next-generation only, that's understandable.

Haziqonfire

I'm pretty sure EA is using the PS3/Xbox 360 as a safety net. Between the Wii U's historically bad start and the horrific Xbox One reveal, EA (and other third parties) are probably going to need platforms they feel confident in, especially if what we've already seen proves to be an omen for the upcoming platforms.

As far as the Wii U goes, it's just a dead-end for most games at the moment. While that could change in time, there isn't much of a reason to make a strong software push right now, given the total lack of impact the system has had. There's a chance EA could find its way back into the fold, but I can't say I blame them or anyone else for not having a lot of faith in the Wii U these days.

Well, now I am not sure which EA guy I should trust.

I guess time will tell.

@Madmangamer364, check the update in the OP.

I am entirely confused. I don't even know now. What?Haziqonfire

...

LOLOLOLOLOLOL! :lol: Did the Xbox One reveal spook EA THAT much? :P

In all seriousness, though, I found part of the quote very telling.

"We are building titles for the Nintendo consoles, but not anywhere near as many as we are for PS or Xbox. You know, what I think the consumer will find is a lot more powerful gameplay with the new boxes that are coming out, and a lot of excitement, but it will remain to be seen as to the services associated with those how the consumers decide which direction they want to go."

EA's focus still appears to heavily on making sure the upcoming platforms are still getting the top-notch treatment. This was pretty obvious, even before EA "pulled" its Wii U support. Perhaps it's by reaction to various features (or "services") that have been announced for one of the upcoming platforms, it seems that EA has become aware that it's possible consumers will not be as accepting of what's to come as they had hoped. The quote implies some flexibility potential consumers may have in terms of which system to choose, but kinda in a cautious sense. In a way, it makes me wonder if there are more controversial things to be known about the two upcoming systems than what has already been announced.

On the plus side, at least we know EA's support for the Wii U isn't totally dead, although I still believe that there was damage done in EA's previous announcement that could resurface with other publishers later on. Too soon to tell for sure, though. Still, since we know that EA's offerings will probably be slim on the Wii U this year, how and where exactly will EA support resurface on the console? There's a clearer view now, but we're not out of the woods with this topic just yet. :P

wow the back pedalling has started already. :P