EA hits a wall with the Wii U

Lewis Pugh 7 Comments 1895 views Infendo

Logo_of_Frostbite_3

 

Frostbite is the name of the engine that powers allot of EA’s games, such as Battlefield 3 on Xbox 360 and PS3 using the Frostbite 2 engine. EA’s next generation engine Frostbite 3 is already underway and EA has confirmed the next instalments of Battlefield, Need for Speed and Mass Effect will all be using this engine.

So how is everything shaping up with the Wii U? EA DICE technical director Johan Andersson had this to say from his Twitter account

FB3 has never been running on WiiU. We did some tests with not too promising results with FB2 & chose not to go down that path

Obviously a twitter post does not tell the full story but it is worrying that EA is having trouble getting Frostbite 2 games up and running on Nintendo’s latest hardware.

As for Frostbite 3, this news does not mean we won’t see these games in development come to Wii U. Frostbite 3 itself is also in development and like many engines it may become more scalable, letting it run on a larger variety of devices. In addition the raw power of the Wii U may not be the issue here but the difference in system architecture, this is also an area which could be resolved with further development of Frostbite 3.

What do you think of this latest development from EA? Will EA ensure there engines play nicely on Nintendo hardware or could they be persuaded by Nintendo to make this happen? Let us know in the comments.

Lewis Pugh
Lewis Pugh is a game developer at Leuvsion (www.leuvsion.com) for mobile platforms, born and bred on Nintendo gaming. Being a developer gives Lewis a unique perspective on Nintendo news, especially relating to the eShop and Nintendo Network. Today he plays Wii U and 3DS enjoying their distinctive gameplay offerings. Looking into what the future holds for Nintendo is always tricky, even with its established heritage, but that’s exactly what makes it so fun. NNID: Leuvsion

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7 Comments

  1. Hey Essel, isn’t this great to hear from EA? 😛

  2. Mike, I know you re loving this :)Stay tuned, I am working on an article in regards to EA and Nintendo’s “rocky” relationship.

    I am saddened, though, that you didn’t read my article over on Nerdzy.com yesterday, lol

  3. I don’t have Nerdzy favorited. I should get on that so I can read it more lol.

  4. EA. thanks for nothing.

  5. I like Nintendo, but…

    at this point, why would any developer spend time on the Wii U? It comes down to money, and it’s just not a good investment.

    Disappointing, yes. But that’s the reality.

  6. I don’t think it is the Nail in the Coffin Quite yet, but I don’t think it’s a sign of Very Good Health. I won’t claim to fully understand the Technical side of things, but from what I understand the Wii U is as Powerful as a 360 or a PS3, Consoles which are 6-7 Years Old(?) and about to be replaced, Wii U is just not powerful enough! The Wii had a Strong (at the time) Unique Selling Point and different approach to Software, so while underpowered, appealed, the Wii U currently has neither, the Games are as they are on other Consoles, and the Game Pad has yet to be used in a Genre Shifting Way.

    I’m hopeful Nintendo has an Ace Up their Sleeve, but I am starting to doubt it, or believe that if they do, they may play it too late (where is Pikmin?), and having been a Nintendo Fan for the Last 25 Years, nothing would sadden me more.

  7. I don’t know, but everybody seems to think the next xbox and ps4 will have their success guaranteed. I’m not very convinced…

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