Oh dear, oh dear. Things aren't looking good for Nintendo's newest console, the Wii U. With disappointing worldwide sales, disappearing exclusives and a distinctly quiet looking upcoming release schedule, it's no wonder people are starting to panic. Much like pundits on the financial markets, publishers can be equally jittery when it comes to making investments - and when things aren't going well, all it takes is one or two to start to panic to cause an avalanche of lost confidence. And so, in news that may well cause a few sleepless nights for Nintendo executives, it's been revealed that EA - the folks best known for some of the largest series in the world, from FIFA to Battlefield to the Sims - have no more games in development for the Wii U at this time. Although things may change in the future, the announcement means that, at least for the next year or so, there will be no EA games hitting the Wii U. As for why this could be significant? Well, let's take a step back through history to the time of consoles past...
At the moment, Lego City Undercover is one of the few Wii U exclusives...
Back in the days of the Genesis and Mega Drive in the early 90s, EA and Sega were close. With EA's FIFA series finding its feet (it wasn't quite the no.1 selling behemoth it is now back then), things were rosy enough - but the relationship wasn't going to last. When Sega released the Sega Saturn, an ill conceived, overly complex console that sunk under the weight of competition with Sony's Playstation (one), they were forced to cut the console's life short, and move on to the next with the hope of giving the company a fresh start - a decision which lost some publishers a not insubstantial amount in development costs. When Sega's next console, the Dreamcast launched, only one major company was notable by their absence - EA. Frustrated by the hardware, which they considered to be overly complex, and flung together at the last minute after too much internal flip-flopping, EA had gone to Sega seeking some sort of reassurance that the effort they put into making their games wouldn't be for naught on the Dreamcast. Fearing competition for their sports games from a company known as Visual Concepts (the folks behind the 2K sports games, who Sega had just bought out to ensure a strong line-up of sports titles on their console), EA pushed for an exclusive deal with Sega to become the only sports game supplier for the Dreamcast. Unable to comply with their terms - not least because they'd just bought Visual Concepts with the pure intents and purpose of making their own sports games - Sega explained they couldn't agree to their terms, and EA pulled their support. Feeling somewhat offended by Sega's decision - or as the internet would now say, 'butt-hurt', EA sunk all their efforts into backing Sony's emerging Playstation 2, which went on to be the single best selling console for many, many years. In their negotiations, EA told Sega the "Dreamcast can't succeed without EA" - and in the long run, they were proven right, when just two years later when Sega halted production and retired from the console race altogether.
With EA pulling support for the Wii U, many people are calling it the console's 'Dreamcast moment', and fretting about the box's future. But things are different with the Wii U. A lack of FIFA and co may hurt the console in the minds of the hardcore, but the Wii attracted a different market to the hardcore sports fans - and the EA games the console had were sufficiently different to suit. As fun as they were, it was clear EA's Wii games had had nowhere near the same budget as their big brother versions on the 360/PS3 - and that was OK, because the people who bought the Wii weren't interested in realism and authenticity, preferring instead accessibility and light-hearted games. The Dreamcast lost out because Sega had built themselves up as the console for EA sports games - the Wii U has made no such promises, and has no such precedent to keep. It didn't have the hardcore sports titles to begin with - so perhaps they won't be missed quite as much as everyone fears.
The Wii U may have got Fifa 13, but it won't be getting next years game...
When the Wii U first emerged, EA couldn't stop singing it's praises, pledging an "unprecedented partnership" with Nintendo - support which lasted just four months, and for just three games (four if you include the US-only Madden game). EA themselves have found themselves in a spot of financial trouble, and are seemingly cutting back on anything that's not guaranteed to turn a profit. With so few people having picked up a Wii U so far, there just aren't that many people around to buy the games in the first place. Focussing their attentions elsewhere, it seems EA are instead planning on gearing up for the next consoles from both Sony and Microsoft - including some kind of rumoured exclusivity agreement for the next Xbox and an exclusive showing of the new first person shooter from their new studio, Respawn Entertainment, which has taken several high-up staff from Call of Duty studio Infinity Ward.
While it's a bit early to be sounding the death knell for the Wii U - after all, Nintendo have plenty of money in the bank from the mega successes that were the DS and Wii to keep them afloat for a while, it's nevertheless a bit concerning that companies are starting to drop out so early on. With big hitters like Mario Kart, Smash Bros. and a new 3D Mario platformer due soon, things may start looking up, and perhaps EA may coming running back - but only time will tell. Either way, it's clear Nintendo need to buck their ideas up, and start connecting with the right people, in the right way, with the right games.
