The Havok physics engine is coming to the Wii U, and it will offer exclusive features that no other console has. The Havok engine is widely used in games, ranging from Half Life 2, Portal, BioShock, and even Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. Havok has an agreement with Nintendo that allows all developers to access its software and tools to make games, but the Havok physics engine will be even better on the Wii U.
Speaking to NintendoWorldReport, Havok’s Dave Gargan said
“Wii U has its own unique features, and its own challenges. When we come across any new particular platform, we optimize specifically for the advantages that those platforms offer over other platforms — the Wii U has specific advantages that no other platform has.”
Gargan added that Havok on Wii U is just the first step in the partnership between the company and Nintendo. Havok will be bringing their entire software portfolio to the Wii U platform, including the Vision Engine, which has many of Havok’s technologies integrated into it. The Vision Engine is tailored for games with dynamic environments and lots of destructibility, lots of AI, etc.
The obvious advantages the Wii U has over other console is that it will be much more powerful than current consoles (and 20X more powerful than the Wii). The other obvious advantage is the new Wii U controller, which gives developers all sorts of possibilities to create unique gameplay mechanics. The Havok Wii U version will likely be part of the Wii U dev kit that all developers receive, which also includes other software libraries, tools, and APIs made by Nintendo and third party software firms.
Havok is owned by Intel and has had a long partnership with Nintendo, with countless Wii and GameCube games using the physics engine. Even some of Nintendo’s first party titles like Super Smash Bros and Super Mario Galaxy use the Havok technology.
