IN DEPTH: WHAT WII U MEANS UBI LOVES U
Ubisoft is preparing eight games for the launch of WiiU: ZombiU, Just Dance 4, Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2013, Assassin’s Creed III, Sports Connection, Marvel Avengers, Rabbids Landand Rayman Legends. That’s a third of the games shown during Nintendo’s E3 press conference. Many are made at Ubisoft’s
French studios. MCVcaught up with the studio director Xavier Poix to find out why Wii U is such an exciting prospect.
Why go so big with Wii U? Ubisoft wants to be first on each new console. And having a variety of controllers lets you reinvent gameplay. There’s asymmetrical gameplay, which means one person is playing with the GamePad, while the others are using the traditional controllers. In ZombiUin multiplayer, one player is handling the usual FPS gameplay with the Wii Remote, the other – using the GamePad – is the master of zombies, touching the screen to send zombies to areas on the map. It is the first time the player can play as a game designer, you are in charge of the AI. It is great for hardcore gamers who want to challenge themselves. On Rabbids, for instance, you play as both sides, so you can personally decide how hard to make it for the other player.
What sort of gamer do you expect at Wii U’s launch?
It is the question we ask ourselves every day. We are sure that the first players that will buy Wii U will be gamers. Those that line-up for hours at the launch. That is why we have created games like ZombiU. But I think the transition from gamers to a broader audience will be fast. It will attract more than just Nintendo fans.
How hard is it to incorporate the GamePad into your games? It is a new approach. With Wii U you can port quite easily and add a bit of inventory on the second screen, but what will be the most interesting is the game where the controller is really linked with the core game.
20 June 22nd 2012
www.mcvuk.com
away from Wii U with deliriously positive things to say. “I am really excited by the potential of what the tablet can do,” Daniel Suarez, vice president of production at Activision tells MCV. Suarez oversees a pipeline of products that have a very clear commercial objective. Namely, the Call of Dutygames. But get him talking about Wii U, and clearly he finds it inspiring in a different way. “The asymmetrical gameplay Nintendo have talked about, and which they showed off last year, has potential. I don’t think I have seen the full demonstration of that being utilised yet, but that’s where I see that platform really differentiating itself from everything else. Just like what Nintendo did before with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk and Wii Sports, that defined a new style of gameplay.
“I think the [Wii U GamePad] has that potential.” Maybe Call of Duty: Black Ops II, expected for Wii U by those in the know but not yet officially announced, is the game to fulfil that potential.
CUT TO THE CORE
But enough of all the touchy-feely stuff. MCV’s not alone in wanting hard, tangible facts about Wii U. When in 2012 is it out? How much? What about the add-on controllers, what do they cost? Yarnton can’t say. “We don’t set the price. We have a cost we have to hit to get our money back, and the retailers set the price after that. We’re still not in that stage.”
What he
will talk about is the
start worrying about actually buying it. It faced the same challenge with Wii, DS and 3DS.
“
It’s still early days for the specifics of the Wii U marketing campaign, but sampling – yes, including getting test units into retailers – will be hugely important. “We have always been firm believers in getting people to have hands on experience. Wii was very visible. You could watch someone and you want to join in. It will be the same for Wii U.”
I am really excited by the potential of what the tablet can do.
Daniel Suarez, Activision
expected impact on the UK market. The assumption is that Wii U will follow a similar trajectory to the Wii. “UK people are very early adopters. They are quick to buy into new technology. We saw it on Wii: we have the highest household penetration in the world for that device, and it’s still in total the best- selling console of this generation. People jumped on board the Wii very quickly and families are now looking for a new one.” Clearly MCVis not the only ones asking for more guidance – others are looking to Wii U and seeing salvation, even. “Retail has been challenged across all sectors this year. They are asking me the same questions as you: when? how much? As I say, we haven’t been able to officially answer that yet,” says Yarnton. “But they are already impressed by the third-party titles. And they are very impressed by it when they get to see it and interact with it.” It’s this latter point that is so crucial to Nintendo. It wants people to play Wii U, and buy into the magic before we
This explains why Nintendo went into information overload mode at E3. Says Yarnton: “We wanted to give people as much information as we can so they can make their own decisions and their minds up from all the noise. The difficulty we have is with everything we do being so innovative that unless people actually play or use it, it can be hard to understand the full concept. There are so many features on the GamePad you could devote even more time talking about it.” And there is more to say, and Nintendo is keeping some details under wraps. Yarnton says they’ve only scratched the surface on talking about the online service and how Wii U works with two GamePads. Third- parties, too, have held back talking about some games, either worried about further accusations of ‘confusion’ or waiting to contribute to the hype as it grows.
“Over time there will be even more detail as we get closer to launch.” And, he adds: “there will be a few more surprises as well.” So: think U know Wii U? We’re almost there, but Nintendo has a few secrets left to share.
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