Blizzard says StarCraft 2 might be possible on Wii U

In one of the most tantalizing comments we've read in quite a while, Blizzard was quoted today as saying StarCraft 2 "might work" on Nintendo's Wii U console. Of course, we're not extrapolating that to mean SC2 is currently in development for Wii U, or even that it ever will be. However, it's fun brain candy.

According to Kotaku, the game's lead designer said that it might be a good fit, given the right circumstances. Essentially, he means that the control possibilities are interesting, and there might be something to work with in a game like StarCraft 2. Apparently, Blizzard has entertained presentations from several companies about how to make SC2 work on their console. Including one anecdote about a Sony employee who demoed Move for them, and how it might play SC2 (though the dev said it was terrible for a beginner, and only worked with tons of practice.)

Will SC2 ever come out for the Wii U? Probably not. That said, it's a fun brain experiment. How would you design a StarCraft game on a Wii U tablet. Blizzard said that the touch screen is a pretty useful analogue for a mouse, but there's no replacement for the keyboard on a Wii U.

Which means that high-level play is essentially out of the question, as keyboard hotkeys are mandatory in any level of play above insultingly-rudimentary.

"So [a console StarCraft] would have to be just an awesome experience. As an alternative, we'd have to redesign the game for that UI which could be something we can do down the road, but that wouldn't be a port anymore," Browder said. "That would be a much more serious endeavor with lots of design time and lots of work poured into it."

The fear, we imagine, is with another brand-damaging experiment like StarCraft 64. That said, a new version of StarCraft 2, or a single-player only Wii U RTS in the StarCraft universe is wonderful brain candy indeed.

Andrew Groen

Andrew is a freelance video game journalist, writing for sites like Wired and GamesRadar. Andrew has also written a book called EMPIRES OF EVE: A History of the Great Wars of EVE Online.