Avalanche Studios: Wii U install base is too small

Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios has no plans to develop games for the Wii U due to the small install base, according to studio founder Christofer Sundberg.

[iplay1up2]

Uh, I am just saying. If you look at the 360/PS3 sales the first year the install base (more so for PS3) was not very large. So if developers choose to do this that is their mistake. Even if Wii U has only sold 5 Million by the time PS4/720 come out, well that is 5 million more consoles already owned when the others will have to play catch up for the install base. Also when those systems are released Nintendo will FINALLY have some better AAA titles that will make people want to pick one up. It will be an interesting Holiday season for sure.

[subtenko]

No one wants to develope for the Wii U even if it gets a bigger install base. They are just putting another excuse in so that it doesnt hurt some peoples feelings.

Sorry guys but the Wii U looks like another Gamecube (the way I saw gamecube) or maybe even worse. We'll give it time though. If they keep at this rate when the ps4 and xbox720 our out, Nintendo is done with that thing.

[3-4-5]

Install base will grow but it's once again up to Nintendo to grow it, via their good games, and then once it's "cool again" then everyone will jump on the Nintendo bandwagon and start making decent to crappy games for the Wii U.

I wish some of these Dev's had the guts to just be the person who makes you want a Wii U, by creating an awesome game for it.

Because there aren't that many good games for it yet, there is a huge opening there.....take advantage of it dev's....create the system selling game for Wii U instead of always relying on Nintendo to do it.

[jmc8888]

You're forgetting that games indeed skipped the 360 and PS3 when those were out.

Most people forget this because most 360/PS3 gamers were still playing games on the PS2...so they didn't notice.

But there were some good games in 2005-06-07 era that came out and were not on the 360/PS3.

The same thing was bound to happen with the Wii U. The same will happen (but less so) for the PS4 and 720. One thing is that developers have been waiting for the next generation and so they built their next gen engines to take advantage of both, or at the very least did a half step and now will proceed the other half step upgrade with their engine.

There's also the other thing, being in the greatest depression mankind has ever witnessed and every day is getting worse, well most companies deep down know this even if they say the complete opposite, thus if they are going to take a hit by making games for consoles that don't have a large install base, they want to do that for Sony and MS, not Nintendo.

Ubisoft did though, so hats off to them.

The Wii U needs more games. I'm sure Nintendo will deliver. I know for a fact it's powerful enough to run many of the 'next gen engines'. The Crysis team even had Crysis 3 up and running on it quite easily.

But Nintendo right now is caught in a chicken and egg scenario. They need games to sell the system, but developers don't want to make games unless the system sells.

Nintendo needs to pump out a bunch of core titles and get that system selling so other devs will jump on-board.

But remember though, smaller developers will continue to make 360/PS3 games for a while until they think they can afford the risk to putting out a game for the PS4/720 with it's much smaller (as 100 million or so per system vs 10-20 million at that time) user base. So don't expect full buy-in by the devs of even the 720 and PS4 for a couple of years. The big boys will of course be there at launch, even more so then the Wii U, but the Wii U had a decent amount of games at launch...just a good portion people had played on other systems and after the launch there was nothing until Monster Hunters and Lego whatever.

[DivineAssault]

smh... Wii U isnt getting any kind of support it seems

[AKR]

Heh? You sure about that?

Tell that to:

- Rayman Legends
- Watch_DOGS
- Batman: Arkham Origins
- Splinter Cell: Blacklist
- Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag
- Shadows of the Eternals
- Dues EX: Human Revolution
- The Wonderful 101
- Bayonetta 2
- And the plethora of indie titles . . .

[auragenz]

Too Short, Didn't Read.

[AKR]

@Auragenz ~ Yeah it's a short list, but at least it's SOMETHING right? And even so, all those games are QUALITY , high-demand titles. So even if it is a bit lightweight, that's still pretty good.

And hey, that list doesn't even include unannounced titles, as well as confirmed first-party titles. That's just all the 3rd-party games that have been CONFIRMED to be hitting the system, so far.

[majiebeast]

"Shadows of the Eternals"

I really wouldnt get my hopes up for that one they are at 120K and the donations are now going slower then a snail they would be lucky if they hit 500K at this pace. Also doesnt help that its by Denis Dyack and SK people.

[DA_SHREDDER]

They are just mad cause they can't hardly sell their game even with 2 big install bases that are the ps3 and 360. Boo hoo!

[DivineAssault]

pretty weak list compared to all the games PS3/360 are getting.. Nx gen is going to be even worse if it barely gets current gen games

[Qrphe]

>Shadows of the Eternals

The way the funding for this game is going I wouldn't even bother listing it.

[themanaround]

it'll pull threw!

[BitbyDeath]

Yet they're making games for PS4 and Xbox 3 which currently have no install base...

[showtimefolks]

Yeh lets see 2 companies which have proven track record with 3rd party support to one with a proven track record not to get the support and when they do get the support 3rd party games don't sell

Also these are not my or anyone else's opinion these are cold hard facts

Wiiu will be like any other Nintendo console, I will buy one so will most other core fans to play Nintendo exclusives. I don't know why people are freaking out about wiiu not getting 3rd party support I mean the last Nintendo home console to get 3rd party support was SNES and that was a lot time ago

If people are pissed now on wiiu hate just wait after E3 when all news will be about next Xbox and ps4.

[kagamer79]

Wii u will be fine I think. They won't have as many 3rd party heavy hitters as ps4 or 720 tho. I really believe the wii u will produce some great looking first party titles. I'm not saying mario will save the day but I think when the wii u shows a game that looks stellar people will come around. I'm looking forward to a new zelda and I'm sure it will be better than any zelda before it.

[jaymart2k]

Let's rename the console Wii Ubi

It only does Nintendo & UBISoft published games.

[auragenz]

Nah, Wii U still works. Cause, If you want to play any game for it, U gunna have to make em yourself at this rate.

[LOL_WUT]

@auragenz +1 well said ;)

[Sharius]

so just change the name to Wii FU then?

[ZeekQuattro]

Swing and a miss!

[Theyellowflash30]

Forgot Warner Bros! Batman Origins, and Injustice Gods Among Us.

[AKR]

This is a very contreversial excuse that Avalanche is giving. I can see where these guys are coming from - They simply don't want to spend a plethora of cash on a system with a very little amount of users. That's understandable,since money is hard to come by these days. BUT ~ by forefitting to make games for the Wii U isn't doing ANYTHING to help increase that small install base.

It's a circular trap. Software sells hardware.

~ No hardware sales = No software.
~ No software = No hardware sales.

See how that goes? Someone needs to break that trap - which in this case, is Nintendo's duty. They do plan to revive the Wii U from the Summer on-ward, starting with the release of Pikmin 3. By the end of the year, the Wii U should have at least 6 million+ units sold (from since release) - hopefully.

At the end of the day ~ It really isn't the end of the world. All consoles go through this "infancy drought" stage, but they pick up eventually. You don't have to look to far back in history to see that. Just look at PS3 and 3DS. Both were "too expensive" at the time, and didn't have any games worth playing. That's exactly how most feel about the Wii U. So, both of their owners decided to drop the price a bit, and they released a few quality titles and BOOM. Now look at them? 3DS and PS3 are dominating the charts right now.

The Wii U could see a similar future. Once Nintendo gives it that push, it's release schedule could be like the 3DS - Heavily saturated.

[Phil32]

It's almost a self-fulfilling prophecy. Third-parties say the install base is too small, so they don't release games. However, games are the thing that get people interested in a console. Then Nintendo doesn't try to overshadow third-parties at launch(something third-parties complain about often) so Nintendo doesn't release much. Third-parties then are still unhappy.

Meanwhile, consoles with zero install base (PS4 and NextBox) are already getting loads of support. It's a cop-out, and they should just say they have no interest in the Wii U.

[josephayal]

nintendo chose a very bad time to get into the HD console business

[LOL_WUT]

So you're implying that they should get out? I think the biggest mistake was not calling it the Wii2 ;)

[BLow]

People it's not that hard to figure out. 3rd party games don't sell that well on Nintendo home consoles and that's why companies choose not to release games on the their systems. It's called Return on Investment. If Nintendo users start buying more 3rd party games then things will change.

What's that point of companies taking the time to implement exclusive features for their console and spend money when they are not going to get nothing back in return. Business 101.

I know some of you want to pad the facts but the truth hurts sometimes. Buy 3rd party games(home console) and they will come. It's up to the Nintendo owners to make the change. How long has this happened with their home consoles. Come on people stop with the selective memory and think. It's simple...BUY 3RD PARTY=MORE GAMES....HELLO???? Change the trend and they will come.

[Theyellowflash30]

Yet there developing a game for the PS4? How big is that install base? Zero I think.....

And the Wii's fanbase is huge! Did they make any games for that system? NOPE!

All right Avalanche....I can smell BS from a miles away in your statements. Just stop. You don't want to develop for the Wii U cause you think the PS4 is much better.

You don't have to make all these excuses. Develop for whatever system or systems you want.

[ado908]

I dont think thats quitehthe case. On facebook, sony are looking for game testesting on the ps4 and already more than a few million views and interests are hitting down. Out of this generation, exclusive wise Sony offered the best quality games (my opionion so please dont flame me for sayung this). Its because of the software on the ps3 that gives the ps4 so much attention. And also because ps3 set standards with its graphical capabilities. Sure, much bigger install base bought the wii release day but thats only because the wii mote was made to be unique. Unfortunately, they did not provide the core audience and had little to no third party support. They left a bad impression with people with the regular wii, despite having great first party titles like smash bros, mario galaxy, and zelda. But games like that will not hold the user base forever.

[Theyellowflash30]

"But games like that will not hold the user base forever."

Sorry but I have to disagree. Zelda, Mario and Smash Bros are great franchises that will continue to be around and sell millions of units.

Developers put their C and D teams on the Wii. So they got poor results in the process. Why doesn't a third party company make a game as good as Mario Galaxy on Wii? You don't need PS3 level graphics to have a good game and sell well on Wii.

RE 4 Wii Edition sold well. Monster Hunter Tri sold well. Bloom Blocks sold well. Epic Mickey sold 3 million units on Wii. Red Steel 1 sold well. Even Star Wars the Force Unleashed sold on Wii. Developers got lazy as hell on the Wii. They should aim to make games as good as Mario and Zelda, not just put out some cheap shovelware.

The PS4 has interest, but we have no idea how it's going to sell. The PS2 had this same attention... and the PS3 isn't even going to touch the lifetime numbers of the PS2.

[ado908]

You are missing the point I am trying to make. When I say first party titles will not hold the user base forever, I mean that those games alone will not persuade buyers to get a Wii U. Sure the games will sell amazingly good but those are the people that already own the console. They know not to make games for the wii because they can tell it is not going to sell on the wii. You gave a small list of which third party games sold decent but compared to the sales that third party games sell on the ps3/360, the wii's sales are none existense. Their sales depend mainly on first party franchises.

[Theyellowflash30]

And it seems you missed my point.

The same amount of effort that was put into the PS3 and Xbox 360, was not put into the Wii.

When developers actually tried, they had pretty good results.

[just-joe]

Not to troll but what other games besides Just Cause has Avalanche made?

[Plagasx]

Wii U is doomed.

[VR-4nic]

"Nintendo could learn a lot from Sony by reaching out to developers and generating enthusiasm." Lol that has to sting a little ha.....lol

Lol! Nintendo is finally getting a tasted of their own medicine after how BAD they treated Devs during the NES&SNES era! When 3rd parties were limited to the amount of games they could publish per year. Nintendo prevent third parties from making ports of NES titles for other competing consoles. All carts had to be made by nintendo and paid for up front.

This is really telling of how Nintendo treated 3rd party devs its from wiki.
Quote:
"Nintendo's intention, however, was to reserve a large part of NES game revenue for itself. Nintendo required that they be the sole manufacturer of all cartridges, and that the publisher had to pay in full before the cartridges for that game be produced. Cartridges could not be returned to Nintendo, so publishers assumed all the risk. As a result, some publishers lost more money due to distress sales of remaining inventory at the end of the NES era than they ever earned in profits from sales of the games. Because Nintendo controlled the production of all cartridges, it was able to enforce strict rules on its third-party developers, which were required to sign a contract by Nintendo that would obligate these parties to develop exclusively for the system, order at least 10,000 cartridges, and only make five games per year.[51] GameSpy noted that these "iron-clad terms" made Nintendo many enemies during the 1980s."

And it appears some still exists and want nothing to do with Nintendo and the Pii U!

[R00bot]

And they're expecting the PS4 to have a bigger install base than the wii u (considering it'll probably have been out for a year when their game/s is/are out)?