Ubisoft: No more Wii U exclusive games until more Wii U's sold

[EzekielRage]

Its simple: The 3DS launched without games for 250 bucks. Nobody bought it. After six months without games, Nintendo had the price cut to 170 bucks. Then they released a Zelda remake and a 3D Mario (Mario 3D Land) and Mario Kart and ever since then it sells like Hotcakes. Publishers jumped ship back then and now they are back on board. Of course there was more to it but thats just the short story. Anyways, nowadays the 3DS sells better than even the DS ever did. So I'm confident Nintendo can turn the Wii U around as well...

 

[Clydefrosch]

they better not have any ps4 or xbox one exclusives. Those didn't even sell a single time so far

Still I believe its terrible how suddenly first party has to carry all the investment risk with consoles.

of course they can, by the time the ps4 and xbox one get out we will have a list of first party games, and even if that doesn't work they will do the dick move they did with the 3ds when the vita got out, lowering the price

get your facts right, sony dick moved in first with their underpriced vita.

 

[superspudz2000]

I wish these companies would stop whining about not making enough money. Its a rough economy man, everybody's tightening their belts. It's as if they think everybody has enough money to camp out at EB games at launch day. At least they're not bankrupt, they still have enough to pay all the employees and keep the lights on, and probably give big bonuses to the executives.

 

[FAST6191]

they better not have any ps4 or xbox one exclusives. Those didn't even sell a single time so far

Still I believe its terrible how suddenly first party has to carry all the investment risk with consoles.

get your facts right, sony dick moved in first with their underpriced vita.

Is that a line of logic that really works -- Sony and Microsoft are electronics and computing powerhouses with what looks to be the new shiny coming out where the Wii U is a demonstrably struggling console.

I do not think first party support being the thing to sustain a console is a new concept at all, indeed I would counter why should any company take a risk on a new console they did not make or invest in?

Also far be it for me to put words into ForteGospel's mouth but the dick move in question is more likely to be them dropping the price on launch buyers (though I still hold that anybody that buys a launch console deserves everything they get). Sony was just doing business.

 

[ShadowSoldier]

WiiU : It's up to Nintendo to sell consoles
PS/Xbox : It's up to third parties to sell consoles
*Nintendo releases games which pushes consoles*
Devs: We can't compete with Nintendo's games in terms of sales. It's not a viable option for us.

The never-ending cycle of the game industry.

But I only care about Zombi 2 to be honest. God I loved the first one.

 

[chavosaur]

God I'm getting tired of people's opinions of third party support flip flopping in a microsecond.
"UBISOFT SO NICE THEY HELP WII U GET SALES"
Then this happens.
"OH WHO CARES ABOUT UBISOFT I DON'T LIKE THEIR GAMES ANYWAY"

 

[Deleted_171835]

God I'm getting tired of people's opinions of third party support flip flopping in a microsecond.
"UBISOFT SO NICE THEY HELP WII U GET SALES"
Then this happens.
"OH WHO CARES ABOUT UBISOFT I DON'T LIKE THEIR GAMES ANYWAY"

...No one's said that in this entire thread. No more exclusives is a perfectly understandable decision for even the most diehard Wii U owners.

 

[chavosaur]

...No one's said that in this entire thread.

It's REALLY implied, it just hasn't been outright said.

 

[JoostinOnline]

God I'm getting tired of people's opinions of third party support flip flopping in a microsecond.
"UBISOFT SO NICE THEY HELP WII U GET SALES"
Then this happens.
"OH WHO CARES ABOUT UBISOFT I DON'T LIKE THEIR GAMES ANYWAY"

...No one's said that in this entire thread.

chavosaur said it. Prophecy fulfilled.

 

[Suicide]

These developers are just pissed that only Nintendo games sell on Nintendo systems. And in the case of Electronic Arts, their offerings in the past have been shit compared to Nintendo's. Most, if not all, third-party developers hate making games on the system because they know they can't do any cash-ins.

Yes, Nintendo definitely dropped the ball with the Wii U, but maybe they can turn it around. Unfortunately, they are just playing it safe and not reviving some awesome franchises from the past or making new Nintendo classics that are must buys.

 

[ShadowSoldier]

It's REALLY implied, it just hasn't been outright said.

...No it isn't.

 

[Nathan Drake]

Guys, let me drop a truth bomb on you if you think that third party exclusives aren't important, and that just getting multi-plats is okay:

Looking at Wikipedia, the Gamecube only sold about 21.4 million consoles worldwide. It came in last place during that generation, not by a large margin compared to the Xbox, but not for a poor reason. Anybody who owned or owns a Gamecube can tell you: almost every title worth owning is a first party title. Almost every third party title is a multi-plat, and whatever exclusives there may have been weren't exceptionally notable when compared to what was appearing on the likes of the Xbox and especially the PS2. Even with the strength of the Gamecube, the first party was only enough to keep it afloat until the Wii came out. In the mean time, like they are now with the 3DS, and like they did in the past since the initial release of their portable line, they simply kept their handheld a great success.

Go back another generation: the N64 sold only about a third of the consoles that the PS1 sold. What did the N64 have? It had a decent first party line up, but most people that talk about the N64 don't refer to its great third party content. This was the first time Nintendo truly had major competition that wasn't a somewhat lackluster Sega console, and they found that their first party games just couldn't quite stack up to the likes of the notable FF7 and other third party titles that reached the PS1. Developers only released 387 games on the N64 compared to the PS1's around 1100. That definitely tells you where developer interest sat, and what it did to N64 sales.

The only reason first party saved the Wii was because of the type of crowd the Wii appealed to. It appealed to the casual market that ultimately only Nintendo could truly satisfy. Instead of tapping this market further, Nintendo chose to reenter the more serious gaming market, and they're finding that, once again, the third parties aren't on their side. Their strong first party content actually is hurting them more than it's helping them, since it scares off developers when their games don't sell nearly as well as Slightly Improved Mario Game #30. It attracts some when they see the system is selling, but even that isn't a grabbing point right now because the system isn't really selling.

The Wii U is currently on the path of being just another Gamecube or N64, and it isn't an unlikely outcome looking at Nintendo's history since other big names have established themselves in the gaming world. Nintendo needs third party exclusives. Multi-plats won't sell a system. They only satisfy current owners.

 

[DiscostewSM]

You know, this wasn't unexpected because we've seen at least Rayman Legends, a game meant to be Wii U exclusive and launch back in November 2012, end up becoming multi-platform. Now, it's quite possible that sales would have increased if Ubisoft, and others, had decided not to make such exclusives multi-platform, actually released the games when they said they would, and (for the others) actually take the time to learn the hardware instead of making bad ports as if the Wii U is designed like the PS3/360. But, with companies continuing to pull away from Nintendo, how do they expect the system to actually improve? It's the Little Red Hen all over again.

Summary of the Little Red Hen:
No one wants to help the hen make the bread, but they sure want a piece of it when it is done, which they get promptly denied when it is made.

So many companies are pulling out because of bad sales, yet if they aren't attempting to help, then they're helping to make the problem worse. The moment Nintendo gets it going with the few devs that are left, the big companies will want back in (EA, for example), yet they not only didn't help, but were the source of making it look bad in the first place. I hope they get their just desserts in the end.

 

[stomp_442]

This is screwed up because I'm not purchasing a PS4 or xbone. Nintendo, and what ever is left of the third party publishers, better have some killer games for the Wii U. I think the Wii U will be the last console I purchase, unless the third party developers quit acting like babies.

 

[Pleng]

I'm pretty sure this is somehow EA's fault...

or perhaps Sony's.

 

[tbgtbg]

So they won't make more exclusives until more people buy the system, but more people won't buy the system until there are more exclusives, but they won't make more exclusives until more people buy the system. WiiU more like CatchTwentyTU

 

[Nathan Drake]

This is screwed up because I'm not purchasing a PS4 or xbone. Nintendo, and what ever is left of the third party publishers, better have some killer games for the Wii U. I think the Wii U will be the last console I purchase, unless the third party developers quit acting like babies.

Yes. Third party developers should just throw exclusives at systems that show little promise, if any, even after being on the market for over half a year. Solid plan. The developers go where the money is. In case you haven't paid attention for the past 15 years, Nintendo has never had strong ties with third party developers, and essentially left them high and dry with the Wii as Nintendo raked in all the profits with first party titles. Third party developers already had little reason to go for the Wii U when observing past trends. It isn't Ubisoft's fault that Nintendo is a failure in enticing the third party to develop for their system.

 

[stomp_442]

Yes. Third party developers should just throw exclusives at systems that show little promise, if any, even after being on the market for over half a year. Solid plan. The developers go where the money is. In case you haven't paid attention for the past 15 years, Nintendo has never had strong ties with third party developers, and essentially left them high and dry with the Wii as Nintendo raked in all the profits with first party titles. Third party developers already had little reason to go for the Wii U when observing past trends. It isn't Ubisoft's fault that Nintendo is a failure in enticing the third party to develop for their system.

I could care less if the third party makes exclusives or not. Just the fact that Ubisoft has to make such an announcement goes to show that they are trying to put the hurt onto Nintendo, what other reason could they have for such an announcement? And then there is the whole EA thing, also trying to make Nintendo look bad. These companies are making themselves look bad, or trying to help Nintendo's competition. The third party has been doing this since the release of the first XBOX and Playstation, and Nintendo is still around. It's about time they jumped on the Nintendo bandwagon. If they can make a good game then it will sell, one game that come to mind for the Wii is Just Dance 3, not my kind of game, but it sold really well. I'm interested to see what kind of return they are going to get on their investments when the newer consoles are released.

 

[naved.islam14]

Looks like U-BE-SOFT finally stopped being soft.

 

[Nathan Drake]

I could care less if the third party makes exclusives or not. Just the fact that Ubisoft has to make such an announcement goes to show that they are trying to put the hurt onto Nintendo, what other reason could they have for such an announcement? And then there is the whole EA thing, also trying to make Nintendo look bad. These companies are making themselves look bad, or trying to help Nintendo's competition. The third party has been doing this since the release of the first XBOX and Playstation, and Nintendo is still around. It's about time they jumped on the Nintendo bandwagon. If they can make a good game then it will sell, one game that come to mind for the Wii is Just Dance 3, not my kind of game, but it sold really well. I'm interested to see what kind of return they are going to get on their investments when the newer consoles are released.

They announced it because gamers and most importantly investors should know what to expect. They didn't announce it to attack Nintendo or to bolster the competition. The announced it so that everybody would be entirely aware of what they could expect from Ubisoft as a company. I'm sure this is considered to be a relatively major company decision, and acting like they're some evil, malicious force is plain childish. It isn't that hard to see things from the perspective of a company looking at the market if you just take the time to think about it. It's like people attacking EA over the same decision: they announced it because it was a major company decision that many parties needed to hear about simultaneously. Either way the news was going to be out there. Blatantly announcing it was easily in the best interest of both Ubisoft and EA.

Nintendo is still around in terms of home consoles only because they've been skirting on by with their first party sales. The Wii is the first time Nintendo has done very well since the SNES. The funny thing is, you know what Nintendo has with the success of the SNES? Third parties. The Wii is kind of an anomaly in that it saw overwhelming success with primarily first party releases, but I can guarantee, the Wii U will not be another Wii.

Now, before you reply and give me another answer akin to what I would expect from an uneducated 13 year old, go read up on some sales numbers and general console information. You may even surprise yourself with a bit of research.