Madden NFL 25 not releasing on Wii U

EA Sports won’t be releasing a Madden game on Wii U this year, the company has confirmed. 2013 marks a major anniversary for the franchise, with this year’s series release set to launch 25 years after John Madden Football debuted in 1988. But developer EA Tiburon’s latest game, Madden NFL 25, will only be released on Xbox 360 and PS3 this summer.

According to Nintendo World Report, the decision will mark the first time the annual series has skipped Nintendo platforms entirely since 1991. Last year, a version of Madden NFL 13 was released on both Wii and Wii U. EA Sports told the site in a statement: "We will not be releasing a Wii U version of Madden NFL in 2013. However, we have a strong partnership with Nintendo and will continue to evaluate opportunities for delivering additional Madden NFL products for Nintendo fans in the future."

While EA has released multiple Wii U games since the console launched last November, including ports of Mass Effect 3 and Need for Speed: Most Wanted, recent multiplatform releases including Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14, Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel, Crysis 3 and Dead Space 3 have all skipped the console. A Wii U version of Battlefield 4 isn’t on the cards either, while the recently announced FIFA 14 hasn’t been confirmed for the platform.