id Software is not jumping on the Wii U bandwagon

We probably won't be seeing this on the Wii U any time soon.

Developers have been coming out in droves to show support for the Wii U, major franchises such as Tekken, Assassin’s Creed, Darksiders, Battlefield are coming to the console but not everyone is happy.

id Software, the studio responsible for the upcoming game Rage for PS3/360/PC, remains cautious about the Wii U and have pretty much ruled out the idea of having their software on the platform.

While speaking to Eurogamer, Tim Willits, creative director for id Software claimed that the Wii U would not have the right audience for one of their first person shooting titles and that id software should “keep their toes where they know best”. He also spoke about the difficulties of being successful on a Nintendo platform.

“The Nintendo market is a tough market for us to get into. A lot of first party games, a lot of licensed games – those are the ones that have done the best on that platform. I’d love it if we can get a hardcore FPS community going and build on it, but it’s tough.”

This is not the first time and probably won’t be the last time that third parties have complained about how tough it is to be successful on Nintendo platforms when pitted against first party games such as Zelda and Mario. However I believe that Nintendo have been taking steps to make sure that third parties are successful on their platforms. The lack of Zelda and Mario at launch helped third party games like Super Street Fighter be successful.

So what do you think? Do you believe that id Software’s concerns are warranted?

We can deliver all the latest Wii U news straight to your inbox every morning. Want in?

Comments, Reactions, and General Hooliganism

  1. zxride64

    It is understandable why they are cautious about developing for the wii u but they should try to work with nintendo if possible.

  2. wiiu hell yeah i wiill!

    i new he would say this his a nintendo hater and id have never supported consoles

    it took sega all the sand in the desert to get quake 3 on dreamcast id hate nintendo and tried to say that nintendo games should be on computers not consoles look into id’s history they are anti nintendo obsessed

    he makes out dated games and wiiu innovation scares him

    silly pc fanboy

  3. SteveDOF

    I think this is a dumb comment, based on predjudices about the Wii. There are already enough third party devs on board to make sure this machine will sell, perhaps not in Wii numbers, but big enough to make this a worthwhile market for most publishers. Add to that the fact that it seems very, very easy to port to and any publisher who ignores it is daft.

    I’m betting that within a year of launch ID announce something for the Wii U, even if only ports.

  4. ryan giggs

    anti-nintendo american pc os developer statment he said the same about gamecube wii DS 3DS ETC

    id software started out in there forst days with a obsession to bring to pc nes snes like games and even tried to convince nintendo home computers were the future not consoles and mario needed to be on pc they even spent years getting it up amd running on pc they hated the arcade and console bussiness and wantedvgames to be computer IBM pc windows only and tried to kill the idea of licence fees for 3rd partys on nintendos nrogeos whatever

    the reason ms xbox excapeed this anti console thinking was 1 there american and 2 they can suck ms for CASH

    wii and ds has destroyed that way and put xbox anf ps3 into billions of losses…

    the industry has 2 choices join who has defeated you (if you cannot beat them join them) or keep fighting and die

    looks like nintendo broke epics back and id are being stubben

    fight nintendo you only loose

  5. chinomanila

    I have a feeling that when they see the true power of the system, They’ll be on it like flies on a piece of ham.

  6. George Tirebiter

    I’m not surprised that some developers still need to be won over post-Wii, as many gamers still need to be won over as well.

    At the same time, Nintendo has accepted the challenge. We’ll see how well they handle it, but I believe they’ll achieve at least a notable portion of their goal even if they don’t capture developers like id. It would be great if every current developer backed the new system, but it’s just not a realistic expectation. Still, it’s remarkable how much support they’ve already garnered.

  7. Guest

    With this comment, he convinced me never to by id games. Why the hell is he in the game business if he fears competition? And does this “hardcore FPS” crap he spilled mean that Nintendo is a casual company that doesn’t make serious games in his eyes? Alright, man, you just made a new enemy. Thinking that you won’t regret this statement is awfully optimistic.

  8. Jmaster720

    hes kinda right. but it doesn’t hurt to try

  9. Biohazard

    Nintendo and id Software had a checkered history.

  10. Jikayaki

    This is the same catch 22 thinking that have kept 3d party developers from gaining success on Nintendo’s platforms. The reason mature 3d party games don’t do well on Nintendo consoles is that 3d party developers don’t actively try and gain an audience on the console for those sort of games from the beginning. Many mature games have been successful on Nintendo consoles often more at the beginning of a generation simply because the lack of content hasn’t yet driven that market elsewhere.

    Nintendo is literally shooting themselves in the foot and bending backward for 3d party developers giving room for their software to shine before releasing first party software. The only thing Nintendo could do that they haven’t yet to help create a market for mature games is release their own first party mature game.

  11. Oldergamer

    See? Even developers can be narrow of vision and lazy of development.

    That said, Nintendo has more faith in many 3rd party developers than I do. That’s not commentary on the viability of the Wii-U so much as on the lack of imagination and forward vision of 3rd party developers driven by the clamouring of their fan base who claim they want change and inovation, and then scurry away bleating in fear and derision when something new actually shows up.

    Spoiled children, they just want more of the same because it’s familiar, and safe. Mr Willits is just a small minded man who has more in common with the elitist snobbery of Sony and it’s elitist mindset fanbase than in true visionary innovation and development.

  12. I personally don’t give beans about id Software. I’ve never liked their mindless games. As for me, they won’t be missed. Besides, most of their niche lies with the PC gaming market anyways. They’re not missing much with console gaming, and really, I’m not missing anything with them not making games for Wii U.