Minecraft Wii U Version Depends on User Base and Update Process

4J Studios, the developer of Minecraft's different console versions, believes that the game could appear on other platforms, like Nintendo's Wii U, if the user base is large enough and if the update process is as smooth as possible.

[R00bot]

Why is it coming to the Xbox One then!? It has more than a million less install base than the Wii U!

[Metallox]

Because Xbox One third party games seem to sell well, specifically the most mainstream ones, like Minecraft. This is from VGChartz, but it's the only thing we actually have. http://www.vgchartz.com/pla...

[R00bot]

While true, Minecraft is the kind of game that would sell like hotcakes on the Wii U. We simply don't have anything like it at the moment.

[lilbroRx]

When did XBone third party games sell well. I thought the generall consensus from every Sony article I clicked on he was that XBone games don't sell well.

[3-4-5]

Wii U 3rd parties don't sell well because:

* There aren't that many

* The ones available aren't that great, or are worse versions than what is available on other consoles.

* If most 3rd party games for PS4 were iffy like the Wii U ones, then PS4 users wouldn't be buying that many 3rd party games either.

* When all you give us is dookie, don't expect it to sell.

[TongkatAli]

Xbox One is doing good with its first year. It isn't crazy to say it won't catch up and third party actually is liked there.

Third party can mean indies too, anything non Nintendo does lackluster sales compared to first party.

[Eonjay]

I think Minecraft would be great with the gamepad.

[Realplaya]

I think at the moment Wii U eshop games are selling better than X1's games or there selling just as good.

[SilentNegotiator]

"Minecraft is the kind of game that would sell like hotcakes on the Wii U"
And you're basing that off of....?

"I think at the moment Wii U eshop games are selling better than X1's games or there selling just as good"
Same question to you.

[DanielGearSolid]

True...

And it might be outselling x1 worldwide on a weekly basis if vgchartz accurate (but... They never are)

[ape007]

attachement rate of 3rd party games on wiiu is the worst i've ever seen, xbox one may sold less but 3rd party games sell like crazy on it

Watch dogs sold a million on xbox one

[for we are many]

Minecraft is an Indie game and those are VERY successful on Wii U, besides the fact that this game in particular will greatly benefit from the Gamepad controls. I'll just stop at that.

[for we are many]

Not to mention it's coming to the Vita. Now analyze that!

[lilbroRx]

The Third party games on the Wii U are the worst I've ever seen.

Also, what for we are many said. Its coming to the Vita.

Games like Minecraft actually have well known success on the Wii U. I think this is more an issue of bias on the devs part like with Night Trap.

[user9558903]

Yea I'm sure the one guy who still owns a vita is going to love it

[herbs]

It's funny every time someone mentions potentially superior controls from the Gamepad they always get downvoted. The truth threatens the fanboys...

[Axios2]

The big take-away

WiiU needed 21 months and probably 100+ Countries to hit 7m

X1 has hit 5m with 13 Countries in 7 months

September the X1 adds 29 more Countries

I suspect the X1 sales will spike.

Edit, @ R00bot, agree, I think WiU is in for a great holiday

[R00bot]

Wii U is almost doubling its sales per week atm. With Smash Bros. coming I can't see that changing.

[Big_Game_Hunters]

Does anyone outside the U.S care about xbox?

[DonDon]

Even if the Xbone has less Wii U owners, Wii U had a major head start and Xbox One's pacing might be pathetic, but at it's pace may outrace Wii U (but who knows, Wii U's lineup for 2015 has most of the best games coming in 2015 (of all 3 systems).

[randomass171]

That only depends on whether or not it can up its pace but the exclusive lineup for Nintendo is a pretty big advantage. Third party support is not really advantageous for Xbox One because of PS4 like with Watch Dogs. It depends on Halo or Smash having the bigger fanbase. Basically a battle of the exclusives.

[Monster_Tard]

@SilentNegotiator I think it would appeal to the audience, since it's more casual and really can you name a platform that Minecraft was released on that it didn't sell like "hotcakes" on?

[Metallox]

I think it would sell good. The Gamepad fits with the whole idea of Minecraft, and this is something told by many Wii U owners.

[2pacalypsenow]

but the wii u has a bigger install base than xb1

[HappyWithOneBubble]

Wii U have a different type of audience though. 3rd party sell less. Start supporting other games instead of Mario and comments like yours wouldn't be said.

[Geekman]

Minecraft is a indie game. Indies sell well on the Wii U.

Minecraft is a kids game. Kids games sell well on the Wii U.

[mikel1015]

But it's coming to the Vita?

[MrSwankSinatra]

This is why i cant take these third party developers seriously when it comes to the wii u. If these developers dont want to put games on the wii u then just say it. Instead they choose to make half assed excuses that are blatant contradictions.

[iamnsuperman]

You don't really know what is going on behind the scenes. Two possibilities could have made the Vita version a thing. One could be the cross save thing made it an attractive proposition for the team or, more likely, Sony gave the team support and money (incentive) to make a Vita version (look at borderlands). It is public knowledge that the Nintendo has not got the best relationship with the third parties. That doesn't just come out of nowhere without a reason

[TongkatAli]

The Vita makes indies a lot money, hot line Miami sold a ton on it,you guys make fun of the install base, but the users buy way more games then Wii U owners.

Minecraft dev knows what he is talking about.

[randomass171]

I though indies were doing pretty well on Wii U also. Shovel Knight's success on Nintendo systems seemed like a pretty big deal.

[WeAreLegion]

The attach rate for the Vita is insanely high. Vita owners buy games. Lots of games. They'll definitely buy Minecraft.

[LucasRuinedChildhood]

The Vita has a software attach-rate of like 10:1, and there is close to 9 million units out there. It's a no-brainer, especially since Sony has much more liberal policies, and will let them update without much hassle. Sony has made the process simple, and are accommodating.

Even if third-party ports weren't good on the Wii U or they were released too late, and it was their fault, there's still minimal examples of successful non-Nintendo games besides Legends, which was advertised as an exclusive. Nintendo has really poor relations with third parties as well.

[OtakuDJK1NG-Rory]

source?

[LucasRuinedChildhood]

OtakuDJK1NG,

Sony said it back at 2013 at E3,

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

There suspiciously wasn't any articles on this good news. I wonder why? They had to keep the Doom and Gloom articles coming, I suppose. It's good that the Wii U is mostly out of that phase.

[Dunban67]

The Vita's userbase is about 1.8 million larger than the Wii u's

Also they mentioned updates being more difficult on the Wii u

From everything they have said - it sounds as if the people at Nintendo have not done a very good job communicating w the Minecraft people at 4j

[TheUndertaker85]

Holy crap does anyone read even the full headline anymore?

A WiiU version depends on user base AND update process, neither thing Nintendo has on it's side.

[jaymart2k]

Yes cause PS4/Xbox One 2 weeks update process is short.

Play PC, the updates get rolled out instantly.

[TheUndertaker85]

""It's mostly about platforms that make sense," he said about ideal destinations for Minecraft. "We didn't anticipate the mobile version to be that big compared to the PC, and it's the same for consoles. People always compare it to the PC, which is supposed to be like the big original version where you get all the cool features first."

"But we have seen there is a massive audience on other platforms so there are still huge groups of people who don't play on PC at all.""

Just saying. They actually address PC.

And yet the point still remains valid. It took how long for WiiU owners to even receive DLC and updates for Black Ops 2? How many games like Assassin's Creed didn't release DLC at all with their latest release? How many Devs have said time and time again that Nintendo doesn't make things as easy as either Microsoft or Sony when it comes to the network front and even getting support out for your title?

[jaymart2k]

Minecraft would seem like a game Nintendo fans would buy. Slap some Nintendo skins & it will sell alot.

[Gezmoyassine]

Wii u is at 7 million and X1 is at 5 million.If the X1 got a MCraft version being at 5 million,i don't see why the wii u can't.

[TheUndertaker85]

Because that 7 million has taken nearly two years and the 5 million hasn't even taken a complete year?

Meaning if trends stick the Xbox One should be set to overtake the WiiU in even sales totals by what will be most likely the end of the year. The PS4 has already overtaken the WiiU in less than a year so what makes it so hard to believe the Xbox One will do the same?

Not to mention again, past sales a WiiU version depends on the update process, much like the story states.

[Gezmoyassine]

Even if it took the Wii u two years to reach the 7 million mark.7 million Wii u users should be good enough to port the game to the Wii u.
Heck to save money and take less risk with the wii u,they could just release the game on eshop.
No need for a physical copy.
And i know that the X1 might or will surpass the Wii u at some point.No one can tell what will happen.

[KaladinStormblessed]

It doesn't matter how long it took, it doesn't change the fact that WiiU has 2 million more users than XBoxOne. And the WiiU is currently selling better weekly than XBox One so it's unlikely XBox One will pass it.

[not_UKRsoldier]

Because wiiu owners don't buy games unless there is mario or toad or donkey kong in them.

[Ck1x]

Why do people say crazy stuff like this? There are plenty of indie games on the eShop that have received regular updates already. They had a great opportunity to get ahead of the curve on the WiiU and they will probably scramble to make a WiiU version after they see how well Mario Maker sells.

[HentaiMasterRace]

Hmm, sounds good but I'm already getting the Vita version. Minecraft seems perfect on the go, plus it's exactly the same as the PS3 version. No Pocket Edition BS.

[iliimaster]

this falls on the developers the gamepad is pefect for this game it caters to nintendos system more so than ps4 xboxone
its a shame what all these developers are doing to nintendo its gnna be weird when its all said and done i think nintendo's gnna have a huge holliday and in the end be neck and neck with xboxone

[Realplaya]

For those who want to throw the argument that Nintendo gamers don't buy 3rd party games I am going to post a interview excerpt from yacht games. Wii U owners have said this for the longest and this just goes to show that they won't back companies that are looking to screw them out of $60.00 bucks.

Read what developer David D’Angelo had to say.

SA: In the sales blog you mentioned that Nintendo gamers made up about 1/3 of the backers on Kickstarter, but when the game was released, a large portion of Shovel Knight sales came from the Wii U and 3DS eShops. Everyone believes that Nintendo gamers are a fickle bunch. Most seem reluctant to buy anything unless the name “Nintendo” is on it or in the description. Were you surprised at how well-received Shovel Knight was with Nintendo gamers? What methods did you use that broke that barrier making Shovel Knight so accepted by the community?

YGC: No we weren’t surprised. We spent a lot of effort going to conventions, talking to Nintendo media sites, and much much more to make sure Nintendo fans knew our game fit the kind of experiences they loved playing. Nintendo of America also did an amazing job stepping up to the plate and getting the word out there. They showed the game off any chance they could, and integrated us into their own events like Nintendo Live at SDCC and Treehouse Live at E3. They put us on the front page of the eShop and their own website! So hopefully, with Nintendo’s backing and our own marketing, we looked like a game that any Nintendo fan could appreciate.

Now take Madden 2013 for the Wii U Per IGN the game came without the infinity engine and instead, it's using canned animations. That's what every Madden before Madden NFL 13 was doing, so the effect isn't horrible, but it isn't the game changer we saw on PS3 and 360. he Wii U is a great version of Madden. There's less detail in the graphics and The game seems to stutter more. So one has to ask why make your first game a outdated broken product and sell it for the same price as old games that ran better and get mad when no one bought it?

This is just a sample size of the travesty Wii U have been facing from day one, You may not be a Wii U owner but as fellow gamers everyone should take offense how these companies do gamers. I like that Wii U owners are vocal with their wallets.

[Realplaya]

This article is funny but lets play devils advocate. Lets take away the year head start the Wii U had and look at all the games released so far because were keeping those. Also we keep the games because Microsoft and Sony have been making HD games for 8 years.

So with that being said it's possible that if all systems came out the Wii U would still have sold the same amount of systems in less time. It's possible they could have sold less but it's possible they could have sold more.

Imagine this starting lineup Mario Kart 8, Super Mario 3D world, Pikmin 3, Donkey Kong, New super Mario Brothers U, Windwaker re mastered, New super Luigi Brothers U and many more are all million plus sellers on the Wii U. If the Wii U had these games from the start and game developers had another year to touch up on the games that were released to put more polish on them. It's possible the Wii U and PS4 could be duking it out for top honers. BTW At this point it's not about who sales the most systems it's about who makes the most profit looking at the way Amiibo has been pre ordered and is selling if Nintendo sold just 1 to each console owner there geared to make 92 million off the figures alone. Also if they sale 2 figures per console that's double the profit. So why system sales matter Nintendo just put themselves in position to do better.

In closing Mario Kart 8 wasn't the reason for the turn around it was the fact that they stop getting so much bad press.

[TheVideoGamHer]

Ironically, Minecraft is one of THE most requested games on Miiverse and some of the most creative minds post to Miiverse daily. Why not cash in on it? Nintendo gamers WANT games like this.

[DoggyBiscuit]

Minecraft for the Wii U could attract a lot of Japanese gamers

[Dunban67]

Nintendo needs to do a better job of reaching out to 4j and making it happen- if Ni t edit was 1/2 as confident as many in these boards they would offer sales guarantee s for Minecraft in order to get it on the Wii u ,