If you own a Wii U, I hope you weren't planning on playing a lot — or any — future EA games on it. That's because 15 of EA's next titles will very likely not be playable on Nintendo's new(ish) console. Games such as Mass Effect 4, Dragon Age 3, Battlefield 4, and several future Star Wars games, will all be built using DICE's Frostbite 3 engine. The only (big) problem is the Wii U is incompatible with the engine.
"FB3 has never been running on Wii U," DICE technical director Johan Andersson explained when asked why DICE and EA are no longer exploring Frostbite 3 on Wii U. "We did some tests with not too promising results with FB2 & chose not to go down that path."
Unfortunately for Wii U owners, new Star Wars games made at DICE and Visceral Games — as a result of EA's licensing deal with Disney — will all be built with Frostbite 3. Other games that are currently in development at EA using Frostbite Engine 3 including Battlefield 4, Mass Effect 4, Dragon Age 3, Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel, ​and Need For Speed 2013. Ultimately, this is another blow for Nintendo which is not only finding it difficult to attract developers/publishers, but also struggling to sell units as a result of the lack of games.
It's an easy-to-understand problem, that isn't as easily fixed. Publishers want an installed user base before they spend money on the system, which the Wii U doesn't have yet. Nintendo wants more third party developed games, which it doesn't have but desperately needs so that the system will appeal to more consumers. The problem is figuring out which one comes first? It's the old chicken or egg puzzle, I suppose.
[NeoGAF]
