EA: ‘Wii U feels like an offline experience right now’

When it comes to the long list of Wii U letdowns, third-party publisher Electronic Arts is primarily concerned with the system's lack of a true multiplayer experience. While EA has clarified they are still making games for the Wii U, there's a concern about the "lack of online engagement" with the Wii U — and this is particularly troubling for the publisher's sports titles. Neither Madden NFL 25 or FIFA 14 will be released for the Wii U this year.

"The lack of online engagement that we see on Wii U [is troubling]," EA's Peter Moore told Games Industry. "It's so integral to what we do. They're so small it's hardly worth running the servers. It seems like a box that's out of sync with the future of EA – which is one that gives a real social feel to our games. The Wii U feels like an offline experience right now."

Unfortunately for Nintendo, the Wii U has been on the receiving end of harsh criticism among third party publishers who are no longer willing to take such chances on the system.

"We were there with four games for them [at launch]," Moore concluded. "It's been a disappointment when you look at sell-through and, as a company, we have to be very judicious where we deploy our resources." As it stands, the Wii U is set to miss out on 15 Electronic Arts titles.

[GI.biz]