Topic: Wii U Version of Batman: Arkham Origins Will Not Have Online Play

[bluelander]

The Dark Knight will be running solo on the Wii U.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/35056

The recently announced online mode for the upcoming Batman: Arkham Origins will not be available in the Wii U version of the game, according to a Warner Bros. representative.

The mode will allow players to work together to hunt down opponents, and has been confirmed for all other versions of the game.

This is unfortunate news for anyone wishing to purchase the Wii U version of the game, set to release October 25.

[Mr_50_Percent]

Honestly, I could care less. From the sound of the format, it feels like it was just tacked on. I enjoy single player experiences more in my games. I would care if it was online co-op but considering its on Wii U that would not be allowed to be on a Nintendo console (I'm joking). What does bother me is that the game will be the same price as the other versions. If there was a precedent set that games without MP were 40/50 dollars and then 20/10 dollars to add on the MP, I would be elated as a poor graduate student. The honest truth is barely any of my buddies have a Wii U and so I don't even have anyone online to play with. That said, I will still end up buying the game on Wii U.

[Soren]

6 months from now, future NWR news story.

"Arkham Origins Developer says: Wii U third party sales sluggish. Nintendo, consumers to blame."
Batman: Arkham Origins Wii U sales have not been up to snuff, according to developers of the series and its publisher Warner Bros, and they blame Nintendo and it's consumer base.

When asked for comment, a Warner Bros. representative said: "Wii U sales are considerably behind other console versions. It's not even close."
Pressed for further clarification, he added: "Nintendo just haven't done enough in terms of pushing the console out there. And consumers have stayed away from third party games in general. If it's not published by Nintendo, it doesn't have a chance on Wii U."
When asked if missing online features from the Wii U version of the game hampered sales in away, he replied: "We just don't consider the Wii U a "connected" or "online" console. Yes, it does have online and yes games with online capabilities have worked well. But we here at Warner Bros. have a firm commitment in knowing just exactly what a consumer wants, even if they themselves don't know it. We just know Wii U users aren't going to get online with it, so it's ok if we strip those features from the game. This is obviously a big disappointment and we will have to study whether we continue our Wii U commitment moving forward.

The online mode in question allowed players to work together to hunt down opponents, and was confirmed for all other versions of the game months before its release. 
These statements come as no surprise to Wii U owners, seeing as how they've had to deal with these issues since the console launched in November 2012. So much so that this totally accurate news report was crafted almost a full 3 months before the game was released on October 25.

[broodwars]

The Arkham series has been staunching single-player focused. If you want this game & don't own one of the other platforms, I don't think you really lose anything by buying the Wii U version unless it's a shoddy port.

[Ceric]

I would really like a detail explanation of what the problem is.

The Arkham series has been staunching single-player focused. If you want this game & don't own one of the other platforms, I don't think you really lose anything by buying the Wii U version unless it's a shoddy port.

They just confirmed its a shoddy port.

[broodwars]

I would really like a detail explanation of what the problem is.

The Arkham series has been staunching single-player focused. If you want this game & don't own one of the other platforms, I don't think you really lose anything by buying the Wii U version unless it's a shoddy port.

They just confirmed its a shoddy port.

It's missing a tacked-on multiplayer mode. So what? It's not like the Wii U version of Arkham City with the reportedly malfunctioning motion controls.

[Pixelated Pixies]

Wow. This is becoming embarrassing.

[Ceric]

I would really like a detail explanation of what the problem is.

The Arkham series has been staunching single-player focused. If you want this game & don't own one of the other platforms, I don't think you really lose anything by buying the Wii U version unless it's a shoddy port.

They just confirmed its a shoddy port.

It's missing a tacked-on multiplayer mode. So what? It's not like the Wii U version of Arkham City with the reportedly malfunctioning motion controls.

Their not putting in the effort to give the game feature parity.  Do you honestly thing they are doing anything but the bare minimum on the rest of the game?

[Phil]

Self-fulfilling prophecy, TAKE 302!

[Ian Sane]

I really feel that the Cube was hurt by typically having the worst version of multiplatform games.  Oddly enough it was the online features being stripped out that back then as well.  If the Wii U version is the worst one only someone who owns JUST a Wii U would ever buy it.  Seriously, if you owned this and one of the other consoles wouldn't you buy the other version even if you didn't play online, just in case somehow you later wanted to?  Give me the option of two otherwise identical things where one comes with something extra and I'll pick the extra one every single time.

I don't know why this would be like this.  Some hiccup in Nintendo's online setup?  The publisher half-assing it on a version they figure won't sell?  Nintendo should care about this stuff and figure out a way to ensure it doesn't happen in the future.  I'm pretty confident that Sony and MS would make a big fuss if they were the ones getting the inferior version.  Reggie should be on the phone with Warner Bros. right this minute talking to them about it.  Maybe he is and he just can't do anything about it.  But Nintendo has been letting this stuff happen without making a peep for multiple generations (ie: like on the Cube) so it comes across to me like they don't give a ****.  Hell, that's my assumption in regards to Nintendo's third party support in general.  It has been the drizzling shits for over 15 years and I have never seen any other videogame company have such a chronic problem with support (mostly because those other companies go under).  If Nintendo gave a **** about third party support they would have fixed it by now.  No one is this incompetent; they don't try because they don't care because they have thus far managed to avoid having it ruin them financially.

[ShyGuy]

Can we retro-actively strip multiplayer out of games like Metroid Prime 2 and Bioshock 2?

[Agent-X-]

Ding ding ding ding... they don't try, because they don't care. They don't care because they believe it hurts their bottom line enough to extend the effort to stop it. It's not incompetency but indifference.


What's even more irritating is that the publisher will not acknowledge that this game is being developed to FAIL. Somehow they must still believe that a million Wii U owners will buy this thing, or they could just go ahead,  save money on development for the Wii U, and ax this thing. Instead, they'll make the game and then point to it as the defacto example of why they will discontinue support for the console.


I was considering buying it for Wii U, but now I'm even more likely to buy it for PS3 or PC. I may still consider the Wii U version if it comes with off-screen play support or some other unique advantage. Still, I'm just one consumer, and I believe the vast majority prefer the online features. This game just became DOA on Wii U pretty much.

[Retro Deckades]

I would really like a detail explanation of what the problem is.

The Arkham series has been staunching single-player focused. If you want this game & don't own one of the other platforms, I don't think you really lose anything by buying the Wii U version unless it's a shoddy port.

They just confirmed its a shoddy port.

It's missing a tacked-on multiplayer mode. So what? It's not like the Wii U version of Arkham City with the reportedly malfunctioning motion controls.

I'm currently playing Armoured Edition, and I think it makes great use of the gamepad's screen. However, I quickly disabled the motion controls.


In a way, I can understand where the developer is coming from. With comparatively low sales, the online multiplayer of the game would probably go widely unused. However, in light of this decision I'm fully expecting a discount on the Wii U version of this game, as it should cost less to develop. If there isn't one, then I have no problem waiting for a price drop.

[the asylum]

"Nobody's going to buy this on the Wii U anyway so why friggin' bother?"

- Warner Bros.

[Shaymin]

Ironically, I'm now more tempted to pick up the WiiU version because it'll have less of the Fee to Pay elements.

[broodwars]

Can we retro-actively strip multiplayer out of games like Metroid Prime 2 and Bioshock 2?

Hey, the MP in Bioshock 2 was surprisingly decent. No one asked for it and no one wanted it, but it was pretty competently put together. I had an enjoyable time with it for a while, at any rate.

[smallsharkbigbite]

Hey, the MP in Bioshock 2 was surprisingly decent. No one asked for it and no one wanted it, but it was pretty competently put together. I had an enjoyable time with it for a while, at any rate.

That's one reason to at least wait and see on the multiplayer. I'm not going to say that I'll definately buy the PS3 version over the Wii U version, but I'll look at reviews to see if MP adds anything and if the Wii U version lacks other features.