EA: It’s Time to Be Honest – You Don’t Like Nintendo

There have been some conversations breaking out all over the net defending EA a bit because Frostbite 2 didn’t have very good initial tests and as such, Frostbite 3 “can’t” support the platform. EA has gotten a lot of flak over SimCity, but people are starting to actually give them a pass for the lack of support to Nintendo consoles. Hey, it’s the Wii U – it’s not as powerful as PS4 so it’s really not a Next-Generation console anyways!

Well, EA said it indeed was a next generation console.

[NYC_Gamer]

EA likes to make profit on software and lately they haven't on Nintendo platforms

[jcnba28]

Well what do they expect when they release mediocre ports? If they actually put effort into the ports the gamers would have bought them.

[jsslifelike]

Exactly. Who the hell would buy Mass Effect 3 for WiiU when, just days before, the entire trilogy was released on every OTHER platform?

Author makes a lot of good points- it makes me wonder of third party services(such as Origin, Uplay) will be apps that run in the background on these new consoles. If that's the case, then in turning down that crappy Origin service, Nintendo made the right decision.

[just-joe]

It's a kid in class making some piss poor project with no effort put into then dropping the class because he didn't get a good grade.

[SnakeCQC]

well nintendo harware sales have been disappointing this gen and ea dont want to invest its not really all that sinister

[evil_element]

That could be called a blessing. No EA, success for Nintendo.

[lilbroRx]

Fact: EA had more than 15 games that were million+ sellers on the Wii, which is only rivaled by Ubisoft and is more than any other third party developer on the console.

Fact: EA announced that every game they were bringing to the Wii U would have less or subpar content compared to the other versions before the games ever hit a shelf on top of making their price a full $60.

Fact: EA actively blocked Crytek from releasing Crysis 3 on the Wii U even though it was already ported and running perfectly.

[Kingthrash360]

fact: ps4 and xbox720(?) are going to be far superior to the wiiu amd while they may be able to make games on the wiiu, people would rather buy the game on ps4/720 if they own one

fact: wiiu has very little user base right now

fact: I dont give a rats ass about EA, but the fact is business is business and right now if your game isnt a first party game for wiiu then dont expect to make much.

fact: the sun is hot

fact: so what.

fact: this comment is over

[cleft5]

You are 100% correct, but the real question is why aren't they profitable on the Nintendo platforms? True the WiiU still hasn't reached it's critical numbers even slightly and to be honest there sells are terrible right now. This is something that Nintendo simply has to fix and it is going to take good games to fix this not a price cut.

But the 3DS is very profitable and the sells numbers on that platform is simply amazing for Nintendo and while the Wii wasn't a console I wanted, it sold incredibly well. Yet I checked how many titles EA had out on the 3DS and it was only 5 different franchise and the games themselves was average at best. There sells on the Wii was meddling also.

So why is this? Is it just that only Nintendo can make money on the Nintendo platforms? No, Ubisoft does incredibly well on the Nintendo platform. Just Dance was and still is a huge hit for them. And other developers have found success on the Nintendo platforms as well, especially the 3DS platform.

One of the main reasons that EA fails on the Nintendo platform is because they treat Nintendo like their dumping ground for crappy ports. EA is infamous for releasing substandard ports of their main franchises on the Wii, DS, 3DS, and the WiiU. They release these terrible ports and wonder why no one buys them. Hardcore gamers are wise to EAs shady tactics so they aren't going to buy an EA game for the Nintendo platform unless they have no other choice. And casual gamers don't necessarily want to play those core games.

So in order to reach the casual market they need to release content that appeals to the casual market. In order to reach the hardcore or core gamer on the Nintendo platforms, they need to release unique original content and then market it semi-well. These are things that EA refuses to do. Because they refuse to do this there games sell poorly. Rather than look for a solution they instead blame Nintendo for not selling enough consoles, meanwhile the 3DS has sold a ton and they still fail on that platform. Then when Nintendo does sell a bunch of consoles, and they will, EA will than claim that only Nintendo can be profitable on the WiiU.

Simply put, EA wants to play it safe and make a bunch of cash but they have ruined their reputation on the Nintendo platform and they refuse to do what is necessary to fix the problem.

[ijust2good]

Allot of people do not like Nintendo too but Most don't like EA either.

I grew up with Nintendo during the 90's. I also grew out of the 90's. They still think that Platform games are the dominant genre and Gamer's would choose "it" over a shooter...No, Nintendo has to realize that it cannot live off soley on Mario, Zelda and other Nintendo games alone. No FIFA's, GTA's, COD's, Mass Effect's, BF's and most other games we enjoy from third party and they do not release it makes Wii U look cheap and unworthy.

EA might have ended there support for Wii U. Activision and other publishers and devs have stated there frustration of Wii U regarding its Hardware sales and power.

Ninty fanboys can't admit it but the Wii U is looking likely to be a huge failure, just like the Gamecube. Sure the Mario Karts & Zelda's will sell well but its not enough to save the console.

Nintendo as a Console producer needs to die...Nintendo as a Software Publisher is the future. At least they will be more of a success than Sega for sure.

[SpiralTear]

How come everyone who says that Nintendo should go third-party and release their properties on other consoles are also the same folks who get on Nintendo's case about re-releasing Mario and Zelda so much?

It's not like putting those games on other consoles will automatically make them more palatable to those kinds of people.

Oh, and thanks for telling us the future. If that's cool, I'd like to borrow your time machine.

[ABizzel1]

I think if you ask most 3rd parties are they going to support Wii U in the coming months you'd get the same answer from them. Maybe not as harsh as some of EA's employees, but a No nonetheless.

First Nintendo needs to step up and help the Wii U, and hopefully that's what they do at E3. Second Nintendo fans need to put their money where their mouth is (Can't think of a better use for this phrase than Nintendo fans) and buy 3rd party games when they come to the system.

Once that happens then the Wii U will be the console people on the outside want it to be, but until then it's going to continue struggling.

[Muffins1223]

of course....whats the point of a company....to make money.

[RTheRebel]

How dem Vita sales?
lol

[ABizzel1]

Better than dem Wii U sales.

Childish antics doesn't help the fact that the Wii U is suffering. What helps is you getting up and going to buy some games instead of playing NSMB U and Nintendo Land 6 months later.

[GraveLord]

Exactly. It's not about whether or not they like it, its that they can't make money on it. It's that simple.

[Shok]

And yet, EA has used EVERY excuse OTHER than sales to justify why they're not putting games on Nintendo platforms.
- "It's not pwerful enough."
- "We want to focus on the lower-spec'd consoles."
- "We don't want to stretch out teams too thin."
- "Frostbite 2 can't run well on it."

Not once did they say they felt that they're games couldn't sell on the Wii U.

And don't bring up the Mass Effect, Madden, or NFS sells either.

1) The Mass effect Trilogy was announced before the Wii U even came OUT, why would a lot of people in their right mind by Mass effect 3 for the Wii U?

2) Madden lacked the new engine, which was the whole POINT of Madden 13.

3) Need For Speed while a great port, was a very late game. ACIII was late too but at least only a month late. Also the game had no marketing or advertising whatsoever.

ZombiU has sold 450,000, and Assassin's Creed III sold 140,000, despite the franchise being an entirely new IP to the Nintendo fanbase and launching a month after the other versions. Just Dance also sold over 100,000k despite it being available for the Wii.

And keep in mind the scale of these sales - this is out of a total install of 3.5 million, not 77 million like the PS3 or 360.

That's what happens when you REALLY support a platform. You can't expect EA games to sell that well if they're half-assed attempts. Nintendo fans hold grudges and are a VERY spiteful fanbase lol.

[Animavicion]

I'm sorry, but to be honest, I do not think anything bad will happen to nintendo. If sales of nintendo "wii u" are not increased, then the life support will be the "3DS" (already sold better than sega genesis, the atari 2600 and the first xbox. Http://goo.gl/rKPLF)

[Relientk77]

EA clearly do not like Nintendo or the Wii U, have you seen the articles on this site in the past day or two?

EA are making zero games for the Wii U, they're not putting Frostbite 2 on it, and an EA Sports engineer tweeted repeatedly on how bad the Wii U was, its less powerful than the Xbox 360, a current gen system that's almost 8 years old

[Animavicion]

" its less powerful than the Xbox 360, a current gen system that's almost 8 years old" in fact, no: http://goo.gl/5qRZ2

[evil_element]

No one likes EA, ranks America's number 2 most hated company.

[lilbroRx]

He tweeted on "his thoughts of how powerful it is"

Criterion, Frozenbyte and Square Enix have already proved that it is stronger than the last gen consoles with actual games.

[weekev15]

Pretty sure noone is in any doubt what EA thinks of Nintendo. They would never come out in a press conference and say "we dont like Nintendo" but lets be honest they have more or less have done so in the past week.

One thing is for sure they have now got an unprecedented relationship with Nintendo...

[CaptainN]

To hell with EA......that make crappy recycled sports games andhonestly have very bad business practices. They have been voted worst company in USA 2 years straight, and are out of touch with gamers in general. And now they deliberatley screw over a whole fanbase of players because of their own lack of effort. The brought 4 games to the Wii-U......all of which came out later than last gen versions. Madden was missing the new engine, Fifa was missing features, Mass Effect 3 gets no DLC, was outsourced and was sabotaged by releasing the trilogy on other consoles at the same time, and Need For Speed while being the best console version, came out so late no one cared. And then EA has the balls to say well the sales aren't there. Well the console has only 4 million owners so far, what did you expect to sell?

But they now want to focus on PS4/Xbox 720 which has 0 install base so far. Good idea morons, you give up 4 million for 0 !!!!

[matrixman92]

I would bet money that ps4 and the next Xbox will sell more than the Wii U in about 2 months time. Saying that they gave up 4 million for 0 at this current time is hardly fair. Its about the future sales

[CaptainN]

So in that theory your assuming Wii-U will have no future sales....and I would take that bet that both those console will not even come close the first 2 months...you obviously have not looked to see how long it took 360 and PS3 to even reach 4 million LOL

And loving all the disagrees even though I stated all factual info...frikin trolls here are amazing !

[Megaplaynate]

@CaptainN But you are also asuming that the PS4/Xbox720 will have less sales than WiiU, and you are not even using facts right because you are comparing sales from the Xbox 360 and the PS3, based on that assumption the WiiU should be around 7 million units sold by now, and even if they sell less, the combined sales from the games on both consoles would be higher than those of the WiiU.
The WiiU is a great console, but nintendo's actions so far are holding it back.

[Adnan_rules]

looking forward to nintendo striking bk

[Animavicion]

"You do not like Nintendo, and as such, you will not support them. Is it so hard to say? No one cares about your shitty justifications."
truths as bumps.

[maxgamehard]

I have a Wii U and I am enjoying it a lot. I grew up with Nintendo and Sony games. I bought the system last Christmas and I don' have regrets.

Let EA say that they won't support Nintendo, its fine. I bought my Wii U for the great franchises I grew up with. As of right now there isn't a ton of titles but that can change post E3.

The Wii U might not be a next gen system compared to the PS4 and new Xbox for some people, but it is a next gen Nintendo experience and its great to finally see mario and luigi in HD!!

EA shouldn't complain when they take the magic out of their games to appeal to the masses. Look at Fuse and Dead Space. Yet their complaining about Nintendo when Ubisoft is showing some love and praise.

[chrispseuphoria]

I went to EA Sports' offices and I think this idea of the company hating Nintendo is ridiculous. They had a plaque on their wall with Satoru Iwata's signature and they really appreciated the company for visiting them.

[0pie]

im tired to see nintendo fanboy crying over the fact that EA will not do games for nintendo on wii-u.

If you want tu play a EA game, buy a real console or a pc and get over it.

[RAFFwaff]

nintendo made the right decision. you dont dont begin to put more effort into your online structure by using 'origin'. fu*k ea.

[shuuwai]

Well, Not hating on Nintendo, I love them.

All the developer know that they could make one game, and port it too three system. The beauty of this is less or no effort at all. They don't want to rewrite their game engine, tweak files, downsize files, debug files, and just to make it work for the Nintendo Wii U. Lets be honest here, most people who are going buy EA's games are mostly on the xbox, PC or PS3. Looking at my GameCube,Wii, Wii U, I don't have any EA games for those systems. It's because it on my PC or PS3. Some of you made say their being lazy, but who's going fund these projects? Who's going answer to the shareholder if the game doesn't sell well and its a total lost. I'm sure Origin on the Wii u was going ease EA's revenue lost, but Nintendo said F no, EA said kthxbye. The horse is dead. Leave it alone.

I just want a new Metroid!!! or New Zelda!!! before this year is over, and its gotta be made by Nintendo. That's sole reason I bought a Wii U system.

[CouldHaveYelledUiiW]

Nathanial Rumphol-Janc "Excellent" Story and "Yes".

I agree with the Story-

EA can do whatever they want,
I just am tired of the slander and lies.

That simple.

I don't even need to know why. Miyamoto could have eaten the last Hot Pocket or Dumpling...
Fine.
Just stop making up lies to hurt Nintendo like an immature angry Ex-girl friend.

[dcbronco]

The console is so under-powered compared to the others that a separate version of everything would have to be made. The Wii U also isn't selling well. Especially not for hardcore games. Why would EA make a special version of everything for Nintendo? Nintendo should start to make consoles closer to everyone else again.

[weekev15]

So the underpowered console with the more powerful GPU and 4 times the ram which runs NFS better than the other consoles using an engine that EA say doesnt work on WiiU would need games remade? I dont get it. Its obvious the beef is between EA and Nintendo, why are EA making themselves look stupid.

All they are doing is making themselves look like a lazy dev who doesnt care about their fans. Why not just come out and say "we won't make games for Nintendo because they broke a promise to us and we don't believe in helping a company with this sort of morals and business practises" to be honest if EA made a decent game that wasnt a half arsed port or a late port priced at more than double what I can get it for on the other 2 id consider buying their games.

[dcbronco]

Underpowered compared to the consoles coming out later this year. They waited too late to launch the Wii U. If they had released it in 2010 they would have had three years of having the best consoles. Instead they released a console that is better then current generation, but weak compared to the machines coming out in a few months. And on a different architecture. So there would have to be a completely different version. It's a business decision.

As I finished writing that I thought about something. It's not like the PS3 and 360 are going anywhere and EA will be making a version for those install bases. The Wii U is a souped up 360 so actually there should be a Wii U version. And it should be easy to port it from the 360 to the Wii U. Or even if the PS3 is the lead since it is done for the 360.

I'm not sure what EA's excuse is but it can't be about the HW or install base unless previous sales were really, really low. If that was the case it is a matter of Nintendo releasing too close to next gen or the Internet killing something before it is even launched. I personally wouldn't buy a Wii U because they waited too late. If Nintendo wants to make it work, they need to push out quality first party software fast and constantly. Otherwise the Internet will kill the Wii U and they will have wasted their money.

[Agent_hitman]

This is one of the reasons why people hates EA. Nintendo is one of the pioneer video game company in the world but they ignoring it.

PS3/360 are 6-7 year old machines but they can run Frostbite 2 just fine. One console has split memory 256+256, the other one has unified memory 512mb, but still the games powered by that engine runs fine with no problem.

While Wii U has a little advantage when it comes to memory, 2GB ram and more powerful GPU+Compute chip, but it's really annoying to hear that dumb EA stated that FB2 won't run on Wii U. They probably thinking that they can fool the consumers, since majority of netizens these day have Technical backgrounds in hardwares.

[Jagsrock]

As long as Nintendo and Ubi stay in good graces Not having EA around won't be that big of a deal. Nintendo is now working very closely with sega and it seems like Activision will also be supporting the wii u for now as well. Wii U is also getting indie support and nintendo has multiple first party titles that will most likely be out before the end of the year. That said my guess is it won't be long before half ass EA ports begin appearing on the wii u once again.

[Enigma_2099]

How do people vote them the worst company in America one second then hop right on their bandwagon joining them in dissing Nintendo the next?

How do your minds work?

[NYC_Gamer]

I dislike EA but i'm not blind to why EA isn't supporting Nintendo platforms...