EA: Anything PS3/360 can do, Wii U can do... equally well

Months ago, major third-party developers such as Electronic Arts have received development kits for the Wii U from Nintendo. While obviously many of their discoveries are being kept under wraps (all the better to surprise consumers and competitors alike), enthusiastic early feedback from EA offers a positive first assessment of the console's tech – not to mention EA's confidence that it'll be able to make good things happen with the new machine. Not that the devs know everything yet.

Lead third-party developers such as Electronic Arts have received development kits for the Wii U from Nintendo. While obviously many of their discoveries are being kept under wraps (all the better to surprise consumers and competitors alike), enthusiastic early feedback from EA offers a positive first assessment of the console's tech – not to mention EA's confidence that it'll be able to make good things happen with the new machine. Not that the devs know everything yet...

Above: Hopes are high that the Wii U might manage games as sharp 'n' spiffy as Andrew Wilson's hair

Asked by Eurogamerwhether the dev kits give a good idea of the new system's potential, EA Sports VP Andrew Wilson cannily answered, “the short answer is yes; the long answer is not quite.” However, Wilson does have one speculation that, if it's borne out, will be welcome news for many: “I think we'll be able to do anything that we can do on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on the Wii U.”

From the purest technical standpoint – not taking into account the possibilities or challenges of the console's distinct control setup, a challenge Wilson says his team's eager to tackle – his hope is that the machine might surpass many of the offerings of Sony's or Microsoft's machines, though “again we're still in the early stages.” He says every new release of hardware or information from Nintendo improves devs' knowledge of Wii U's potential: “With our early research we had been very happy with the output of the box and we expect that that will only go up moving forward.”

Above: THQ's Darksiders II, slated for mid-2012, is listed as a Wii U launch title

The question of the machine's online framework is less of a known quantity, with Wilson echoing Reggie Fils-Aime's promise that third parties would be encouraged to drive the online experience of Wii U: “[Nintendo] have demonstrated an openness and willingness to work with us and work with developers that I think will only land us in a positive place.” However, this work is being done by “a series of people who are under very strict NDAs as you can imagine.” What does this assessment do for your hopes for the Wii U?

Jul 28, 2011