Topic: Battlefield 4 won't be coming won't be coming to WIi U.

[shingi_70]

Battlefield 4 will not see a release on Wii U, DICE has confirmed.

 Speaking to VideoGamer.com last night, creative director Lars Gustavsson explained that the decision to skip Wii U was to "ensure that [the team] deliver something good", rather than "risking" the project by stretching the team too thin.

"I think overall for me as creative director, number one is to deliver a really great game and experience," said Gustavsson on the subject of Battlefield 4 on Wii U. "Sometimes, at least for us, it's focus on what you do well and what you know well, and ensure that you deliver something good than trying a bit too much, stretching yourself too thin and risking it.

 "I'd rather play it safe, deliver something really good and then look at the future and what could possibly be done than trying a bit too hard and [failing]."

 Battlefield 4 is the latest high-profile multi-platform title to skip Wii U, joining Dead Island: Riptide and Saints Row 4.

http://www.videogamer.com/pc/battlefield_4/news/battlefield_4_skipping_wii_u.html
 
It's weird I would have assumed that the Wii U would have gotten good support until the PS4/Durango were released. Yet the Wii U cant even get ports of current gen games which is pretty sad.  Right now the system is looking to be mostly for Nintendo games and indies. Even then we aren't sure if the Wii U will still be the main go to indie console in a post PS4 world.
I just find it odd that they don't want to put resources to a console with an install base while its still rumored the game is also in development for PS4 and Durango which has no market share what so ever. I'm also guessing this means the ommiton of Wii U from Madden 25 wasn't a mistake as I previously thought.

[BlackNMild2k1]

I can only make the selfish & bitter response of "whatever, I wasn't gonna buy it anyways..."

[Adrock]

While that's also true for me (I may not have even played a Battlefield game before), this is still a bummer. I want support parity, dammit.

[shingi_70]

I'm usually a Halo or Call of Duty guy but was looking forward to trying Battlefield 4 (still probably will on Durango).
My problem is this isn't doing the platform any flavors and will be evident at E3 when we see each console's sizzle reel.

[BranDonk Kong]

Seriously this is getting sad. Nintendo needs to throw money at some companies to get them on board or something.

[alegoicoe]

Although I don't play battlefield games, is always sad to see a company give baseless statements on why their game won't make it to Wii U.

[Ian Sane]

Since the Wii U looks to be on par with the PS360 instead of the next gen, why would a third party take the time to include it in multiplatform releases when the Wii U will only fit into those plans for a year?  Their staff needs to take some time to get to know the hardware and time is money.  So you're going to invest money on what is effectively employee training for something that you'll consider obsolete by 2014?

And let's not forget that Nintendo pretty much spent the last six years turning away the very market that a game like Battlefield 4 would target.  The Wii U seems to be a very convential follow up to the Wii.  Well the Wii was seen as the casual console and with the Wii U being so similar it's a natural assumption that it would be the same thing.  Considering that consumers aren't buying it and third parties aren't supporting it I think that is exactly what is being assumed.  And for the casuals the fad is over and smartphones are their system of choice for videogames.  If Nintendo wanted to expand their customerbase with their new console then they absolutely should not have made a Wii 2 as that will only appeal to the Wii target market, which mostly ceased to exist over two years ago.

[Oblivion]

Just because a system has similarly looking graphics doesn't mean it has similar development. See my post in the other Battlefield 4 thread. Basically, the Wii U is too custom for their tastes.

[TJ Spyke]

Wii U is less custom than PS3 (which is notorious for being a pain in the ass to develop for). The director is essentially saying they are just too lazy to learn how to develop for a new system.

[alegoicoe]

They might be putting off development to see if the Wii U sales improve, but by the time sales pick up, certain games (Battlefield4) are just gonna be old like many of the launch titles.

[Oblivion]

Wii U is less custom than PS3 (which is notorious for being a pain in the ass to develop for). The director is essentially saying they are just too lazy to learn how to develop for a new system.

Yes, but look at how long the PS3 has been out compared to the Wii U. Huge difference. The support is already there. Developers have learned how to get around it (with the exception of Bethesda, it seems). The Wii U? They won't even give it a chance this late in the cycle.

[UncleBob]

Face it, it's not about the time and investment in programming.
Although for a different game, this about sums it up:

Publisher says it's too much work, would require re-writing the entire code:
http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2013/03/dead_island_riptide_is_skipping_wii_u

Developers say "No, it's easy.  And done.":
http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2013/03/dead_island_riptide_developer_says_the_engine_runs_on_wii_u_without_any_problems

Publisher comes back and just says "No, not worth it."
http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2013/03/wii_u_version_of_dead_island_riptide_not_worth_it_says_deep_silver

PIEtriots summed it up pretty well in their recent FloatingHeads segment.
http://pietriots.com/2013/03/26/fheads-dead-port/

[regin]

All hope is not lost. If someone at DICE has a kid that likes Smash Bros we might get a BF4 soldier in the roster!

[Seacor]

Reminds me of comments made by Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli. 

"We did have Crysis 3 running on the Wii U," Yerli said. "We were very close to launching it. But there was a lack of business support between Nintendo and EA on that. Since we as a company couldn’t launch on the Wii U ourselves--we don’t have a publishing license--Crysis 3 on Wii U had to die."

http://venturebeat.com/2013/03/01/crytek-chief-puts-on-his-warface-interview/2/

[Stogi]

Yet EA released NFSMW (And the best version of it)? It doesn't make sense.

Someone needs to make Third Party Goggles in the same vien as Drunk Goggles or "See through the eyes of Bender Unit", because I want to see how they view the world.

[Kytim89]

If Nintendo were to create an economic situation on the eShop where third parties could ninety percent of the revenue generated from digital sales then I could see EA swallowing their pride and making games for the Wii U, or atleast exclusively on the eShop.

[shingi_70]

So the real reason seems that the Wii U isn't in ICE plans for the frostbite engine and doesn't support it
. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-03-28-the-big-battlefield-4-interview-dice-leaves-technology-behind\

Eurogamer: Some Wii U owners are disappointed to see Battlefield 4 is not coming to the console. What, exactly, is the reason for that?

 Patrick Bach: The biggest problem we have right now is we don't want to back down from what we see as our low spec machines. We right now don't have support for the Wii U in the Frostbite engine. The reason for that is it takes development time. What should we focus on to create the best possible Battlefield experience? We are now focused on PC and the current-gen platforms, and then there might be other platforms in the future that we can't talk about...

Eurogamer: One of them you can.

 Patrick Bach: Yes, in theory, but we won't. But it's important to understand it's about focus and setting the bar. Where do you start? What's the minimum? What's the maximum? What's the scale in-between.

 Tobias Dahl: We have long experience with scalability. We've always been making PC games. But we don't want to ship different games dependent on the platform. We need to set the limit somewhere, to have the lowest spec for this title.

 Patrick Bach: We could probably make a Wii U game in theory. But to make the most out of the Wii U, that's a different game because of the different peripherals. We want to utilise all the power of each console.

 Eurogamer: Are you saying it's not about the power of the Wii U itself, rather, it's about the controller?

 Patrick Bach: It's everything. We could potentially make a Battlefield port for the Vita. But what would that game be? Is it something we could scale down from what you saw in the gameplay video, or would it have to be a complete redesign of the whole game?

 It's about, where do you put your focus? And the Wii U is not a part of our focus right now.

 ...

 Tobias Dahl: Going back to the Wii U, it's also a matter of scope. We can only work with so many platforms per person per day. It's a time-consuming thing to be a multi-platform title.

That also means that at this pace Wii U won't receive
a port of the new army of two
Dragon Age 3
the next need for speed
and around 13 other EA games that will run of the engine
 
Its funny how Nintendo had EA get on stage and in the developer talk up a possible port of Battlefield when the system can't even run the engine needed to play the game.
Mass Effect 4

[TJ Spyke]

Another BS excuse, like him saying they want to use all the features of the system. Does this mean the PS3 version will use PlayStation Move? The Xbox 360 version use Kinect? If not, they are not using all the features. And he essentially says they will support "current" gen systems, and the PS4/XBX 3, but not Wii U.

Also, he did NOT say Wii U can't run the engine, he says that they cant be bothered to port the engine to Wii U.

[Louieturkey]

He also acted like Wii U is lower spec'd than the PS360, which is a joke, proved by Criterion who happens to have the same publisher.  All I keep hearing is spin every time a game isn't made for the Wii U.  I wish these guys would give a straight answer like Crytek did.  At least then, we wouldn't blame DICE and we'd blame EA for more crap.

[shingi_70]

He also acted like Wii U is lower spec'd than the PS360, which is a joke, proved by Criterion who happens to have the same publisher.  All I keep hearing is spin every time a game isn't made for the Wii U.  I wish these guys would give a straight answer like Crytek did.  At least then, we wouldn't blame DICE and we'd blame EA for more crap.

isn't the engine isn't made to support the Wii U yet a valid answer. t

[bustin98]

Not if they make it support PS4 and Durango, which by definition have a lower install base than the Wii U.

[Oblivion]

I give it a month. After that, they'll have a higher install base.

[TJ Spyke]

I give it a month. After that, they'll have a higher install base.

Yes, if they somehow have more sales than any launch system ever. The Wii U is over 4 million.

[Adrock]

While it's not looking very good for Nintendo currently, I'd give it much longer than a month. The Wind Waker HD comes out Q3 and we still don't know what Nintendo's big Q4 title is. My guess is Mario Kart which always sells well. PS4's price also makes changes this quite a bit.

[Oblivion]

I give it a month. After that, they'll have a higher install base.

Yes, if they somehow have more sales than any launch system ever. The Wii U is over 4 million.

Yet how many people are actually enjoying and using the system on a daily basis? I don't care if the system has a billion sold, if only a few thousand are actually using it, it isn't worth it. I sure haven't been playing mine, but I guess that's because of Persona 4 and Bioshock Infinite.