Topic: eShop Ports

How hard is it really to port a game? Just wondering because since we're not getting the newest FarCry,Crysis or BioShock any time soon maybe they could port over the older ones. They could put in some Gamepad features but nothing to extreme. I would definitely buy 'em.

Not as hard as creating a game but still hard. I would imagine it is mostly testing and fixing which is a double edge sword. Every fix you put in has the potential to break at least one other thing.

EDIT: That is also why ports don't normally look as good. It is easier to lower specs so a system can run it the way it was already programmed then to re-program it to try to optimize it.

The majority of Wii U owners (I'm assuming) aren't going to go out and buy re-heated games from the last 5 years. So there's no profit in porting them.

@Phatosaurus Not retail release,eShop release. Just put 'em out on eShop. I don't see the need to release these older games @ retail. I just think it would awesome to have 'em available. Giving people who didn't play these games before the opportunity. If some Wii U owners don't want to play 'em they don't have to, I just think it wouldn't hurt. More games the better.

I'd guess that the difference in Wii U architecture makes it more work than you'd think. After all, there is evidence of frame rate and asset loading problems in some of the PS360 ports.

Even the 360 and PS3 have different architecture but devlopers know how to build games for these systems with the limitations. Developers don't know the Wii U's limitations yet

I think they'd be market for games that never made it to Europe like Excitebots, Mario Super Sluggers and NPC Chibi Robo. They may have to intrgrate gamepad features and make the visuals don't look washed out in HD perhaps.

Also games like Muramasa, Kirby's Epic Yarn, Wario Land Shgake Dimension and Boy and his Blob that appeared on eth Wii may be re-bought as HD eShop games as they'd look particularly lush if upgraded to hd and gamepad