Nintendo remains confident that once system seller games like Super Smash Bros. are released later this year, that third party publishers will return to the Wii U as a platform. Over the course of the last few years we’ve seen support from Electronic Arts dry up to nothing, while Ubisoft continually scaled back production of Wii U titles, with only Just Dance and Watch Dogs on the horizon.
Nintendo of America Senior Director of Communication Charlie Scibetta explained that the 1.2 million sales of Mario Kart 8 definitely helped sales of the Wii U and he expects to see a similar lift in interest for the Wii U when Super Smash Bros. debuts later this year.
“We want the same thing that the third parties want, which is to grow the installed base. We’re confident that if we can do that by driving the installed base through first-party software, like Mario Kart 8, like Super Smash Bros., then the third-party developers will follow because then they’ll see there’s a large enough installed base that it’s worth their investment to bring their games to our platform. So it’s our job to grow that installed base to make it more attractive for them to come to our platform.
Nintendo finally acknowledges that the low install base for the Wii U is one of the primary reasons why third party publishers like EA and Ubisoft have slowly dropped the Wii U from their catalog of developed platforms.
[via Ars Technica]
