Install base or support = chicken or the egg
Electronic Arts has been back and forth, and back again as to the specifics on where it stands on supporting the Wii U. The general message is clear though, “we’re just not that into you.” According to EA Sports boss man Andrew Wilson, the company’s stance on the issue can not be changed by anything less than a larger Wii U install base. Speaking specifically about EA’s sports line up Wilson says, “We had a strong offering on Wii U at launch. The platform hasn’t had the take-up. Our games hasn’t had the take-up we’d have liked. So at this moment we are not focused there.”
Expanding, he says, “Now [Nintendo] could do a range of things that might change that situation, and we’d never count them out. And should there be a sizable gamer base there in the future, we would build games for Wii U. But for us it’s less about building for a platform, and more about building for a group of gamers on a platform where they are. And sports gamers weren’t there.”
Wilson hits some fair points, to be sure. Sports gamers by and large aren’t on Wii U, at least, not in any serious capacity. I do have to question his idea of a strong line up though. While EA did deliver games like Mass Effect 3, FIFA 13, and Madden 13 at launch, you can hardly write off a console after only giving it one fair shake. Not to mention, all of these titles were released months before on Xbox 360 and PS3, so it’s hardly a surprise that Wii U early adopters weren’t flocking to titles they’ve had months to play if ever they were interested.
EA Sports’ Andrew Wilson on coming back to Wii U, giving up on Facebook and not ‘messing up’ PS4 or Xbox One [The Market For Computer & Video Games via NeoGAF]
