...It's no secret that when it comes down to Nintendo and third party support - things have never been the best. For this reason and that reason, it's seemed that for years, third-parties just simply want to avoid Nintendo.
As of late, though - it seems that Nintendo has been trying to patch things up. From letting a third-party company handle one of their biggest franchises (Bando-Namcai working on Super Smash Bros. 4), to directly teaming up with a third-party company to create a cross collaboration (Nintendo and Atlus developing Shin Megami Tensi x Fire Emblem), to even securing 3 exclusive titles with a former rival (the Sonic-3 time Nintendo exclusive with SEGA). Or what about funding and publishing 3 projects developed by third party companies?
~ LEGO CITY: Undercover - T.T Games
~ Wonderful 101 - Platinum Games
~ Bayonetta 2 ~ Platinum Games
This shows that Nintendo is at least making an attempt to get third-parties on their side. The fruitage is showing from the numerous releases on 3DS and to a lesser-extent, but still noteworthy, Wii U.
And that's what we're here to talk about today - the Wii U's third~party support.
Looking back at it's predecessor - the Wii didn't really do all that well when it came down to third-party games. Because it was sporting slightly upgraded tech from the GC, many devs just flipped it off and didn't even bother developing games for it. And when they did decide to bring a game to the system, it was usually a half-baked port that was made by a back-water team.
This time around, the Wii U is still the underdog in the tech-category, but it's in no way, shape or form as handicapped as the Wii was compared to it's competition. Games like Trine 2, Mario Kart 8, Nintendo Land, Pikmin 3, Need for Speed: Most Wanted U, NANO ASSAULT Neo, and of course - X - have proved already that despite being less powerful than the Xbox One or PS4 ~ it's no slouch.
So then - why do developers insist that it is?
As of recent times, devs are still basically ignoring the system. Many games that you'll see appearing on other systems, current and next-gen ~ you won't see on Wii U. Some claim it's because they have no ideas for Wii U, others say it's because it's too weak and then there are some who just tell it how it is - they know they can't make money on the system, so until it sells, they won't touch it..which mostly makes sense, to an extent.
But just looking back at a lot of the third-party releases at launch, and even a few that are coming out this year - things seem to be a bit..well, off. Now, looking at the launch line-up, Wii U had a pretty decent library to boast at the time. A lot of the big-name titles would be appearing. Franchises like Mass Effect, FIFA, Madden, CoD, Sonic, and Assassin's Creed would all be there, front-and-center. Now, usually launch titles are sucky. Sucky in terms of being a quick-and-dirty version that seems that it was made on a very tight schedule. This explains why games such as Madden and Fifa had missing functionality, that was present on other versions, or how games like Disney's Epic Mickey: The Power of 2 had some performance problems. All of that is common launch-title stuff.
But what about now? When you see games, 6-months and on-ward in a console's lifetime, releasing (being announced really) - with missing functionality, it makes you wonder what on earth is going on. From incredibly late DLC releases (ahem - Injustice) ~ to launching without something as simple as online multiplayer (How to Survive and Batman: Arkham Origins).
When you see stuff like that - one must question, is it really the hardware or even the first-party, or is it just lazy/stuck-up developers? Sure, no Nintendo console can boast having good third-party support from since the SNES - but even now, when things seem to be brightening up, just a bit, some devs still think it's cool to half-bake their titles on Nintendo systems and then complain that they don't sell and that Nintendo gamers don't want to buy anything that doesn't have a Mario, Zelda or Metroid logo on it.
That's what I find so interesting - People, both devs and gamers are quick to jump out and make claims such as those, but when you look at facts such as games launching with missing features, being announced to have missing features, and being unoptimized for the system ~ why SHOULD someone fork-out their hard-earned money to pay for half-baked content, when others are getting all the fresh stuff?
Snipe me in the comments below...
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I would argue that some blame is to be shared since Nintendo should have done more to increase Wii U sales early on. The launch third party ports were actually really solid. I compared the Wii U version of Assassin's Creed III to the 360 version and they were almost completely on par (barring a few minor technical problems the Wii U version had). Black Ops 2's online (according to ReviewTechUSA) runs better on Wii U than PS3.
However, these half-assed ports we keep seeing are deeply rooting the competency (or lack thereof) of what little 3rd party support the platform has to a dark point of no return. Seriously, Batman axing off the online multiplayer? Sniper Elite having no features aside from the single player? Injustice having no custom lobbies? These devs are practically GUARANTEEING the failure of these friggin' games.
There comes a point where we let go of Nintendo's poor handling of Wii U's launch and remember that these devs are making bad games on hardware that is being handled much more appropriately and impressively by indies, Platinum, Sega and Nintendo themselves.
I will snipe you :P
I think it is easy to push the blame onto the developers but you got to look at it from their perspective. When the Wii U launched a lot of developers were really gunning for it but sales never took off. The Wii U wasn't the must have item Nintendo thought it was. This is why you get bad or missing content ports because developers and publishers cannot afford to make an extremely small minority happy.
This is then reinforced by the fact both Microsoft and Sony are not doing that type of second screen gaming as they know the consumers do not want that (thanks to Nintendo). Developers are not going to make a game that utilises the gamepad any more.
It is easy to say if third part developers make games for it the system will sell but the market doesn't seem to be going this way. Wii U sales are at an extremely low point right now. It could be questioned why make the game in the first place? It is Nintendo's fault for not thinking about the third party developers (from this and last generation) and the consumer interest. They created an unstable market for third parties on an Nintendo platform.
It isn't Nintendo's fault. People just blame them because they are the manufacturer. It is a combination of developers and buyers that are to blame. A lot who make noise about wanting multiplats on Nintendo don't buy them when they are given the option. While the few Nintendo only owners will. Most of the people making noise only ever buy the exclusives. It is those who also own a Wii U but don't use it to blame on the buyer's side.
For the developers, these are the ultimate culprits at the end of the day. Whenever something goes wrong on any fence they are always blaming gamers and never once themselves. When you look at it from those who want to enjoy the full experience they rightfully take a stand. The companies will then blame Nintendo.
When you look at the bottom line its the company. Not the fanbase. Not the manufacturer. The company. I go to Game and don't even see ACIV and Watchdogs advertised for Wii U. So how do you make Wii U owners aware they can have the game if they don't let them know? You are responsible for the death of your products.
Uhh, yes it is. They've put out very little themselves. Expecting third parties to carry your brand new system is absurd.
For the last 3 generations Nintendo has had issues with third party support. They can only blame themselves.
"Games like Trine 2, Mario Kart 8, Nintendo Land, Pikmin 3, Need for Speed: Most Wanted U, NANO ASSAULT Neo, and of course - X - have proved already that despite being less powerful than the Xbox One or PS4 ~ it's no slouch"
*Facepalm*
You can't seriously think that Trine 2, Mario Kart, or Nintendo Land are demanding games, can you? Developers have been complaining about power restrictions for years. A system that proves it can have a slightly nicer looking Need for Speed game at 720p, or Mario KArt at 720p60fps, or a 2.5D game like SSB at 1080p, is not what they were asking for. PS4 and Xbox One provide exactly the sort power they were seeking.
That pic! Is that an actual WiiU that can be bought?
Nintendo seems to be stuck in their old ways. They still cater a system to themselves and not the devs around them. Even though the WiiU relaxed that belief a little it is still present. Online infrastructure is still not even close to being on par with MS or Sony. Their system while nice still doesn't have the power a lot of the devs are looking to work with.
When you go through a whole generation without some of the best 3rd party main games then you know you are in trouble.
Nintendo had it easy with the NES and they were bullies about it. Nintendo was notorious for locking 3rd part games, charging extreme submission fees, rejecting games and making companies only release certain amount of games a year. They were the biggest kid on the block, who could tell them no?
When Dreamcast and Playstation dropped they still had that mentality. And that is part of the reason why they stuck with cartridges for the N64 instead of CD's. They truly believed cartridges was a better medium and that companies would still stick around and make games for them.
they finally learned from this but still wasn't ready to go all in which is why they turned to the GC disc format and making a controller that suited them. Further alienating most 3rd parties.
With the Wii Nintendo struck gold. 3rd parties saw this gold and tried themselves but only seem to pull of carbon copies of Nintendo's hits for the system. A lot of 3rd parties found this to be a waste of time and focused on Sony and MS.
With the WiiU, Nintendo is trying but still not where they need to be to be true contenders. 3rd parties are feeling burnt, just like how they felt with the Dreamcast. Nintendo wants to cater to 3rd parties but it seems they are still holding on to that little bit of NES bully pride.
Meanwhile Sony and MS has provided everything possible a dev could want to make the best games possible.
The end.