TEMBO THE BADASS ELEPHANT, The Game Freak and Sega Collaboration, is Sadly Skipping Wii U

Meh, looks a bit like Alien Hominoid to me, and a little repetitive.

Maybe we will get a Wii U version later in the year with some extras.

Just betrayal. Total betrayal.

jaw drops

looks allright.. might get it need to see more/Try it tbh

Wait what? Game freak? Either something is going on or it was Sega who called the shots.

What is amazing is the excuse. The lead designer drew a poster and put Steam, PS, and Xbox logos on it and said it just stuck that way. Personally I am not going to be mad at the company, but they can admit their real reasoning for not wanting it to go to WiiU.

Great. Just. Freakin'. Great.

This game would look good with a 3D effect on 3DS, but we all now how competent GameFreak is with a 3D effect.

This is weird on multiple levels.

What the heck is this? They put a swear word in the title?!?! It's skipping Wii U?!?! I don't care about it one bit with a title like that, but I mean... Whut.

Just, just what is going on here?

This would easily sell enough on Wii U to justify porting costs. Baffling decision, even when limited to purely business considerations.

This is, scary.

@Swiket oh my god, this is serious?

It kinda reminds me of Metal Slug, because of the cartoony mayhem.

Now, how comes the protagonist of Harmoknight is called Tempo and this one is Tembo?

Why so low on the game everyone? Honestly, I like its visuals. Though I'll admit, the title isn't that great.

Isn't Gamefreak owned by Nintendo, or...?

they're #Anti-Nintendites I tells ya.

Skipping Nintendo you say... Right (Dr.Evil voice)

@Pixel-Perfect Nope. They're independent. They just have joint ownership of the Pokemon IP with Nintendo.

So...the reason this isn't on the Wii U is because of a poster?...What?

Heh, heh. Well GameFreak did make Pulseman on a sega genesis and a pokemon card game DID appear on iPhones so....

Though no 360 or ps3 support, darn it.

@Mystman12 Wha...? How much of a child are you? You don't care for a game (One made by Game Freak.) because it has a "Swear" word and it's not coming to your precious Wii U? Wow. Grow up.

Thanks @caviarmeths, I learned something today.

@Artwark Simply the obvious reason of it not being on Nintendo consoles, the fact that GameFreak is held up by the yearly huge success of Pokémon makes this choice rather odd.

Wow, shame on both companies. Nintendo has done so much for them, too -_-

Never thought I'd see the day where Gamefreak makes a game that dosen't arrive on Nintendo consoles...although I can imagine Nintendo themselves being the ones who didn't want it ported to the Wii U due to the name...or something.

Huh. That was a little... unexpected.

This is just ridiculous. How can Game Freak not be owned by Nintendo by now or at least see some kind of loyalty to get this game on the Wii U? What stupid reasons for not having it on the Wii U. I'm sick of seeing games go to other systems that would easily make money on the Wii U, or fit the console completely as this does. Ugh.

Names can be changed people. This is a bit surprising tbh. Seems more like a shaft. Last I looked Nintendo has made them millions and the games aren't really even that innovative. If you played one you pretty much played them all.

Once again, keep in mind that Gamefreak is not in any way owned by Nintendo.

Also lol at the "betrayal" comments. SEGA is publishing this, go nag the about a Wii U version.

@SethNintendo
There have been several of them, so far...

As for the whole "Game Freak is developing for other platforms", just look up Click Medic and Pulseman.

I would have downloaded this game if it were on a Nintendo system. Oh well.

It doesn't make sense to not bring it to the Wii U and/or 3DS. It's not like it's a huge game relying on the more powerful system's resources to run it???

Wat. Just wat. This is strange on so many levels.

Looks pretty neat. I may look into it in the future when it comes out. Still have a ways to go before my backlog clears up.

@Yorumi I literally could not agree more.

This is a damn shame.

The Wii U lacks 2D platformers and this game would fill an important niche!!!

Uuuuuuummnn... No, their reasoning is the worst part about it, a poster? A poster? facepalm no...

@AlexSora89 That was before Pokémon was huge, it didn't even exist when Pulseman came out!

This is one of those times when something just defies logic and you can't really offer a suitable explanation so i'll just say, meh.

@Yorumi Yeah, I completely agree that this is largely Nintendo's fault but I wouldn't say those kind of comments are exclusive to Nintendo fans. There was quite an outcry from Xbox and Playstation fans when Bayonetta 2 was announced as a Wii U exclusive. I think it's more of a general fan problem that shows predominantly in Nintendo fans because of the lack of third party support we as a fanbase receive.

The visual style reminds me a lot of Viewtiful Joe, which definitely makes me want to play it.

@MasterBlaster Well they do have tons of 2.5D platformers.

@Yorumi
I can see your point here, but it's kind of a vicious circle. All of us Nintendo fans are proud of Nintendo games, but then again there are people who would also want to play other titles as well on their Nintendo console without buying another one just for some non-Nintendo-exclusives (that is, multiplatform titles exclusive to non-Nintendo consoles). No one benefits from a narrow-minded "foxes and sour grapes" perspective (again, see @Damo's "we don't need GTA V" article), but then again people say Nintendo games are the only reason to get a Nintendo console... you can see how much of a vicious circle this is by checking out this very comment, as it's always the same thing over and over - non-Nintendo fans say they don't need Nintendo games, Nintendo fans say they don't need non-Nintendo games. Which is why third-party support, as you explained, doesn't come to Nintendo consoles at all (then again, there's also all the disgusting anti-Nintendo bias all over the gaming sites in the net, just check out some Gamespot and IGN reviews for the best Nintendo games in recent memory). It's... complicated, to say the least.

As for me, I'm settling with a WiiU and an Xbox 360 and I'm doing well so far.

This is really unbelievable and sad. Nintendo needs an answer here. And to think they just released a Sonic amiibo too. This really is a betrayal, but one that should wake Nintendo up if they have anyone left with any sense there, which is questionable these days, sadly.

This game needs to be on the Wii U and Nintendo needs to make it happen. If it has anything to do with the name of the game skipping the system, then Nintendo really does deserve it's fate. I don't think it does, and like has already been pointed out, this is something bigger and points to really bad things for Nintendo's future unfortunately. Wake up Nintendo!

Or... It could be because of a pre-planned poster. Obviously you guys are over thinking this.

@Yorumi

Great post and you're right the fan base has become a problem and this needs to be said more often. In my opinion, most of the fan base has devolved into little more than brand fascists and are very hostile and unwelcoming to outsiders, who enjoy gaming on multiple platforms. It's actually one of Nintendo's biggest problems these days.

I mean, this is bizarre... and kind of baffling, but I'm not choked up about it. If it's any good, I'll just get it on PC.

This isn't the first time Game Freak was involved in a game made for other platforms. Game Freak and Nintendo mutually own the copyright to the Pokemon games, but thats really all they have together.
The reactions to this are hilarious to me!
I'll keep a close eye on this one, and if its good, i'll get it on Steam.

@Swiket I wasn't gonna say anything, but that's just incomprehensible. Is this guy fo real?

@Yorumi @Chicagoway You know, I'm glad to know that they are logical people in in the Nintendo fanbase.

Well sega has been incapable of creating anything other than a sub par platformer in years. I am sure it is in Nintendos best intrest in distancing itself from game freak on their amhem um bizarre collabration and obligatory use of the word BADASS... Game Freak games that arenrt pokemon are just bizzare. Harmo knight... remember that...no, I almost forgot myself but all well. Cant blame them for trying tho and hppe it suceeds. I hope the teams work brings some life back to sega platforming.

Kind of bummed just out of principle. But since they announced today that Unchated 4 is being delayed a year, my upgrading my ps3 to a ps4 is now waiting another year as well. So this loss of a sale to me atleast. Plenty of other great games this year on Wii U anyways.

I'd be upset, if it looked like something I'd love. It doesn't.

Still wouldn't mind getting it, but I'm certainly not losing any sleep over this.

@ColdingLight Actually, I don't need to "grow up." I just have stricter convictions and moral standards because of my faith and personality, and I'd rather not play a game with a lot of swearing in it, much less in the title. As for the Wii U thing, I'm not upset it's not coming to my "precious Wii U" (I don't even have a Wii U yet), I mentioned the Wii U soley because I was just surprised it's being made by Game Freak and SEGA (Two companies that are pretty close to Nintendo) and isn't coming to Wii U. I guess I didn't make that clear enough. Finally, regardless of the name or platform, I still wouldn't care about the game, as it just doesn't look like something I'd be interested in anyways. Putting the swear word in the name basically just made me less interested in it than I would have been in the first place.

Don't get me wrong, it looks fun/cute/etc... but I'm a little underwhelmed, I think or I'd hope that these two companies could have mustered up something a little more epic!

I"M LAUGHING OMG THIS IS TOO FUNNY

If anyone complaining about this not coming to Wii U hasn't bought any non Nintendo games for the Wii U, you are part of the problem.

Why is everyone losing their minds? You don't own game freak. They don't owe you anything. They have made plenty Nintendo exclusive games and the one time they don't it's a betrayal? Grow up.

And this is why sales figures matter, for all those that moan when some of us show an interest. People don't make games based on loyalty. There are no friends and enemies in the game industry. People don't skip Wii U versions of their game because they hate Nintendo, and they don't make Wii U versions because they love Nintendo. They're all businesses and the all exist to make money. This probably WOULD have made money on Wii U, and maybe it will even show up one day, but for the time spent making a Wii U version, they could instead make a version that can go on PS4, Xbone and PC, and they'll get far more in return for that time than if they'd just gone with the Wii U.

I just hope this turns out better than HarmoKnight. That was a huge disappointment for me.

Eh, considering the developers it'll probably come to Wii U next year with a lower budget.

The more I think of it, the more I wonder if this was pitched to Nintendo and it passed on it.

It seems really strange that a small company that owes its existence to Nintendo and has not released a game that did not appear on a Nintendo platform in 15 years would up and develop something for PC/PS4/XB1.

Either that or Sega hired them to do work for it. If the latter seems strange, remember that Bandi Namco does a lot of work on Nintendo first-party games.

This is why Sega is dying, you don't just make a game then completely skip a console that is 100% about gaming. Who would buy this game on the other systems, those audience there care too much about their shooters and online multiplayer they're not gonna buy this especially a mediocre platform game that is release for platform that are not popular for platforming titles. You already lost San Francisco Sega, don't lose Los Angeles too.

Many people doesn't even know that Game Freak is an independent company, so they can do whatever they want.

As for the Pokemon games, it's very obvious that Pokemon is a Nintendo exclusive under a contract. I won't be surprised if a Pokemon game appears in a different device, in fact, it already happened! The Pokemon Trading Card game is available on the iPad! A non Nintendo device.

Besides, this isn't the first time Game Freak developed a game that wasn't on a Nintendo device.

@MasterBlaster Heh heh heh...

Anyways, I'll check this out when I manage to get on Steam someday if I get the time to enjoy it.

Looks, anything but BADASS to me.

Was hoping for a new Pulseman, but this is okay, I guess.
I can get this game anyway because I game on PC too.

I think it looks like a Wario Land game, complete with the tackle and buttstomp (Warios signature moves) and the graphics even reminds me of Wario Land Shake it!

The Elephant is even fat like Wario! Coincidence?

Didn't Sega also get Next Level Games to put Captain America on other consoles?

@Yorumi

I just have a feeling that either NIntendo passed on this or its Sega's IP.

Back stabbing your business partner causes you a lot of problems, especially in Japan (Nintendo's actions resulted in Sony's entry into gaming).

This appears to be a tech-based move more than anything else to me.

This isn't really a game I think I'd like, but still it's a bit worrying. Pokemon is a huge thing to me, and it always has been. I don't want to have to buy another console if by a slim chance this means Game Freak is moving away from Nintendo. Honestly, none of the other consoles on the market appeal to me. I might miss out on an exclusive or two, but I can get 95% of what's on the PS4/Xbone on Steam.

This probably doesn't mean anything but the reveal of a seemingly mediocre platformer, but if it does, I'll be very sad.

Holy crap, this is almost as disappointing as it is HILARIOUS. Ha!

Oh man, one of Nintendo's strongest allies is making a game for everyone but Nintendo. It's pretty damn funny.

I guess they have a point, though. Nintendo fans have, by and large, spent generations showing developers that "if it ain't Mario, Zelda, or Pokemon, we don't care and you won't get sales," and I think Sega and Game Freak realize this. Hell, Punch-Out and Sin & Punishment didn't even sell all that well, and those were two of the best Wii games. But, neither were MZP games, so why would anyone care?

Eh whatever. This is the bed that has unfortunately been made for Nintendo platforms by their fans. A bummer, to be sure to the few Nintendo fans that would've cared, but at least I'll be able to get it on the PS4. Because it looks pretty rad.

Seriously, though. Pretty damn funny. Not for Nintendo, but step away from fandom/fanboyism for a second, and if you saw this with Sony or Microsoft or whatever, there'd be some laughter. It's such an absurd scenario--it's like Rare and somebody else making a game together during the N64 days, and putting it on the Playstation instead of the N64. Just wow. A hilarious bummer.

Not only is it baffling but I bet this has hurt/ofended quite a bit in Nintendo's HQ, and for good reason.

@Yorumi

You're absolutely right--and we can see it here, on this site all the time. The vast bulk of Nintendo fans seem to range from total disinterest in anything not Mario-Zelda-Pokemon, to being outright hostile to 3rd party developers when they have to dump the company because the audience didn't support them.

Core Nintendo fans simply buy games differently than, literally, every other gamer out there.

This is a (hilarious) bummer for the Wii U, but honestly, I can understand why Sega and Game Freak would skip the console. The low install base is only part of it--the audience that doesn't care about different games is the bigger problem.

@mystman12 Wait, you don't own a Wii U? What the... You kinda implied you had one. I mean, that's like saying: "Oh, Street Fighter 5 isn't coming to Xbox One? I'm not buying it. Even though I don't own a Xbox One."? I mean, why would you say something like that? It's just kind of a dumb thing to say. Also, You've basically said You have moral standards and don't care for swearing that much right? There's something a bit ironic about that considering your avatar gif is part of the original DK rap which has the lyrics: "Is one Hell of a guy" and HELL some people (I assume you being one of them.) believe is a swear.

And lastly, you said you: I don't need to "grow up." because X and Y and yet your gif of DK seems to be having a temper tantrum. I don't know, that just sounds funny and ironic to me.

lmao

@TruenoGT

Yeah, and Nintendo fans don't buy games from the latter (those working out of their homes).

@retro_player_22

Your comment is almost as hilariously absurd as this news. This game likely has a better chance of sales on non-Nintendo consoles than the Wii U, and not just because of sheer numbers over the Wii U, but those audiences buy way more than you have ever bothered to understand.

If your statement is accurate, then it's equally accurate to say that the only thing people like on Nintendo systems is platformers for the kiddies.

@SetupDisk

Exactly right.

It seems that everyone has forgotten the multiple Pokemon spin-offs that were released on the SEGA Pico, and not Nintendo systems... what's the big deal with this in particular? It's not even an IP tied to Nintendo.

@Markiemania95

Nintendo fans have a habit of taking every corporate decision that takes a game elsewhere as some kind of personal attack against them (as Nintendo fans) or against Nintendo. That's the problem. Game Freak has a strong history with Nintendo, so the worst Nintendo fans will see this as some sort of deliberately malevolent action. Like when EA, Take Two, and Ubisoft abandoned ship because no one bought their games.

A year ago the complaints about nothing but platformers being on Nintendo systems was the internet whine. Now people are losing their minds about an indie level platformer skipping Wii U and 3DS.

My guess is Sega and GameFreak see an opportunity to give a solid 2D platformer to customer basis that are lacking. Game looks like it has promise but I already have a ton of games similar in nature on my Wii U so they wouldnt sell it to me and I'm sure I'm not alone in having enough 2D platformers to play right now.

Not to mention if you make it for PC, XB1, or PS4 you pretty much made it for the other 2 so you might as well port it to all 3 platforms.

@mystman12

Your comment is also as hilarious as this article. Swear words upset you? That means you basically can't play anything rated E10 or higher.

For instance, I discovered that "empanada" is a totally acceptable word for an E10 rated game.

They're just words. Geez.

Edit: the word I put here was edited by a mod or something. Can't put an E10-rated word on an article for a game likely to be rated E10 or Teen. There is an endless stream of hilarious absurdity here.

@gaby_gabito

Nintendo uses the company as a Pokemon factory. After a decade and a half of that, I'd jump at the opportunity to do anything differently.

While sour grapes are certainly not so sweet to the tastebuds, the apparent lack of anything unique or innovative shown in that trailer leaves few tears to be shed for this trite pachyderm's absence from what should be its obvious home system.

Wow after dealing with the cluster mushroom that is happening in the NFL and now this.

I can't blame him for their choice but come out front with us instead of making a half ass excuse

After all nintendo did for gamefreak, this is how you repay them? WOW just wow. Go back making pokemon games >_>

This certainly is confusing. I'm deeply saddened by this as this is a game I would very much like to play, especially as it takes from Harmoknight in the visuals department. I won't however be shelling out for an Xbone or PS4 for it, I guess I'd rather be disappointed than bankrupt.

@Ryno - All it looks like to me are those Rambi levels from DK. I'd be more than surprised if this didn't start out as a rhino but they changed it out of fear.

But 100 comments and nobody mentioned Rambi so maybe its just me?

How the hell is the comment section full of "because the fans don't buy games" comments, especially since the companies involved have achieved good sales? Or the insinuations about why GF did it, that have more to do with some wishful thinking. GF is apparently 3rd party, so they can basically do what they want.
I guess some just have to jump on every opportunity to call out the "fan boys".

@rjejr
Now that you say it, it really does look Rambi-like.

@BetweenTheTrees - You're comment is extra funny b/c of the No Man's Sky avatar on a Nintendo specific site

I know you aren't a troll, but it kind of makes it read that way.

I guess this just shows that GameFreak isn't owned by the big N and "played" 2nd party, but only for Pokemon. Not since Pulseman have GameFreak and Sega been near each other. Very interesting indeed, I'll look forward to seeing where this goes in the future...

Cute. I might buy it in a PS4 sale... someday.

It is cute reminds of of DKC a little. This screams nintendo

@liljmoore

I have a feeling that no excuse would ever be acceptable to the deeply, strangely offended Nintendo fans.

Would you prefer if they just laid it all out and said, "Nintendo fans don't buy anything that isn't Mario, Zelda, or Pokemon so we and Sega felt this was the best way to reach a large audience for the cost of development."

I'm sure many here would still find reason to be pissed, regardless of the reason.

The 'Debbie Downer' contingent on this site never ceases to amaze me. Log into here daily just to post about how idiotic you think Nintendo is as a company and how their fans are awful. Just log off, dudes. I promise that nothing is forcing you to post here and that nobody will miss your pissing and moaning if you leave.

@rjejr It's not just you. The trailer also reminded me of Rambi from DKC.

@Rin-go Every NL article about a game not coming to the Wii U is full of those idiots. It's getting to the point where those elitist comments are more common than the "fanboys".

@Stu13

Did you log in just to post something without reading? Because none of the comments here seem to be saying anything along the lines of "Nintendo being idiotic."

Nintendo is still parent and owner of The Pokémon Company; Pokémon will remain console exclusive to Nintendo, I'm sure.

I am surprised that this game didn't come to Wii U, but I don't think it's as big of a deal as what people are making it out to be. It's not like Pokemon Z is being released for the Playstation Vita. I imagine that Sega was the dominant roll in choosing the consoles that this title would be released on.

@Yorumi Really not hard to pick up on when its pretty consistently the same half-dozen or so people.

@ColdingLight Well, like I said before, I mentioned the Wii U not because I don't have one, but because I'm just surprised it's not coming considering who's developing it. Besides, this game is coming to PC as well, so if I did want it, I'd just get it for my computer.

As for the avatar... Really? You think because one swear word slipped past Nintendo of America's localization team into the end of a two minute long song that people usually skip anyways would ruin an entire game (And it's reputation) for me? C'mon I'm not that sensitive. I'll play a game with a few swear words in it if I want to play the game bad enough (Though that doesn't mean I approve or anything, and I'd always rather not have swearing if possible); Although, I'm not going to play a game where I feel uncomfortable just saying it's name, which would be the case here. Also, my avatar is just a funny DK64 ROM corruption I found. I always thought it looked more like he was tap dancing, but I guess it could work either way. Come to think of it though, it may be time for me to get a new avatar. I've had this one for a while...

I don't care if this is a multiplat game, but if Game Freak is developing the least one could hope is to see it in a Nintendo system. F*** Sega

@Yorumi Except, y'know, I didn't mention anyone specifically. Not at all my fault if you read my comment and assumed that you were 'that guy'.

Sad to hear, but ultimately this was SEGA's decision as publisher and possibly Nintendo's if they passed on it (which we have no way of knowing). I am honestly more interested in The Magic Circle coming to Wii U than this (I'm not holding my breath).

@rjejr Noticed the Rambi similarity, too.

I don't think this game warrants as much hullabaloo as is happening here, though. It looks like it might be a fun little thing. I do find the reasoning behind what platforms they are supporting to be strange, but maybe they aren't interested in optimizing the performance too much (like they might have to for the Wii U) and just wanted to focus on a quick, fun to develop game. Maybe it's a team of younger programmers at Game Freak who have familiarity with a tool or pipeline that doesn't involve Wii U. It does strain plausibility that it was the sketch of a poster that directed their actions. It was probably more of a conversation starter.

Thanks Sega...

@rjejr - my 1st thought was that it seemed Donkey Kong Country like but I was trying to figure out why. Apparently I had repressed the memories of the animal helper levels

I wouldn't be surprised if we see it come to Wii u sooner or later.

In all honesty, Nintendo fans are the worst and this article and the comment section proves it

It doesnt specifically say they are reuling out Wii U but I do agree the way he worded that statement was pretty poor

@ZurrrrBlattTron All fanboys are terrible people are pissed because this game is not coming to Nintendo systems when it feels like it should be and they gave a pretty piss poor reason why

Lmaoooo!

I'm sorry. I just can't keep sugar coating my hatred for the Wii U anymore. This is the most pathetic console Nintendo has ever produced. Virtual Boy where are you?

@Wolfgabe

The difference between Nintendo fanboys and fanboys for, say, Sony, MS, or Valve is that those other fanboys actually buy 3rd party games, and don't get personally offended if a developer/publisher takes their games elsewhere because they actually want sales.

Nintendo fans/fanboys simply buy games differently than literally every other gaming consumer. They support first party to a detrimental degree, ignore 3rd parties and indies, and then get personally offended when said 3rd parties and indies are forced to take their business elsewhere.

All fanboys are annoying, but Nintendo fanboys are an extra special kind of of annoying.

@aaronsullivan

I think the "reasoning" given out was more a tongue-in-cheek comment and it is clearly not an official statement representing either company.

As noted, what's most likely is that Sega simply didn't want to spend the money having to make a Wii U specific version when the odds of it selling reasonable numbers are pretty low.

I'm surprised none of the angry fans have bothered to look at the bright side--this means Game Freak will have hands-on time and understanding with hardware made by someone other than Nintendo. They may be able to bring healthy suggestions to Nintendo for not only improving the Wii U, but ensuring the next console isn't such a horrible misstep.

I can totally see Game Freak enjoying aspects of XBO and PS4 that Nintendo doesn't offer, and they may carry enough sway to guide the development of the next console.

Game Freak hasn't release anything for the WiiU, and that's weird, no pkmn games on WiiU, it seems like they just want to work with 3ds, and their new apps for mobile scare me that they want to make Pokemon multiplataform, thank God, Nintendo owns a third... I know money is important, but you can't just neglect the fans that have been feeding you the last 19 years

@Quorthon What about the outcry of frustration from Bayonetta 2's Nintendo-exclusive release, for example?

Concerning your statement about Nintendo faithful not supporting 3rd parties or indies: is that statement based in actual sales numbers data or personal disdain for preferences of Nintendo fans over other gamers or possibly both?

@Yorumi

A reversal in the fanbases? Perhaps. Regardless, this is precisely how things have been for a while, and the problem still remains. When even Nintendo fans are just using the machines as just "Nintendoboxes" instead of full-blown game consoles, it may be time for Nintendo to throw in the towel on that front.

Nintendo is stuck in this unenviable position and I have trouble seeing how they could get out of it. Their core fans don't buy third party, they routinely fail to make hardware that appeals to developers or general gaming consumers, and if they don't spend an inordinate amount of their time appealing to just the core, they don't make any money, but in doing so, they aren't doing anything to appeal to anyone else.

I think this all started during the N64 era, when Nintendo made it's first really bad decisions and drove off the majority of casual and non-fan gamer. This created the first "entrenched" Nintendo fanboys, if you will--I was one of them at the time, but even I eventually bought a PS1. This was the first time a group of gamers started getting truly, personally offended by games missing their console and where this adverserial relationship with 3rd parties got its start.

I have never been able to find solid numbers on the sales of Bayonetta 2 outside of notes that it did poorly in Japan. It didn't really spend much, if any, time in top seller lists. For that matter, I still expect rather dismal sales of Codename STEAM, Splatoon, Xenoblade Chronicles X, and Devil's Third. XCX probably has the best hopes of some good sales now, but given the size and scope of that game, I have a hard time believing it will be profitable.

tfw people realize Game Freak is its own thing.

It's pretty sad the publishers don't see this game making sense on Wii U, if anything, I'd think the audience would be there or 3DS. Crazy stuff.

Shell City? https://youtu.be/l9Uj8sVYnRQ?t=45s

When one of Nintendo's closest partners snubs their Platform, it's a problem.

I... uhm.. I don't know. I can't help but feel a little bit betrayed, even with the knowledge that GameFreak isn't fully part of Nintendo.

I don't even wanna play Pokémon anymore for a while. Thanks, GameFreak.

@Quorthon What you fail to realize is that we are talking about a dev that has had a very close relationship with Nintendo for many years so its understandable some people would feel betrayed and the reasoning the guy put is just stupid and piss poor no matter how you try to spin it

@Gauchorino

See my note to Yorumi on Bayo 2's sales.

Per the other, it's based on reality and sales data. The core Nintendo fanboys like to pretend it's some kind of fantasy scenario where 3rd parties feel they can't compete against "Nintendo's awesomeness," but the reality is that no matter what, they're always having to fight to find a way to appeal to a fanbase with extraordinarily specific tastes--Mario, Zelda, Pokemon come first, then anything with the Nintendo logo on the front, and then maybe anything else, but not usually.

A player with an Xbox is just as likely to buy Halo or Gears of War as they are pretty much any third party game. The same is true of Sony with their franchises. Both MS and Sony have the added bonus of creating hardware that developers want to utilize, and that can handle modern expectations, so it doesn't require extra expense to develop on there.

It's a bad combination--Nintendo has made unattractive (to developers and publishers) hardware that makes porting games unnecessarily difficult, and on top of that, it's selling poorly and almost exclusively to an audience that has a history of not supporting third parties. The GameCube was an excellent illustration of this--the console had sales roughly in-line with the original Xbox, but multiplatform games always sold noticeably worse on the Cube than the Xbox.

Nintendo fans have tried to cast blame to devs and publishers for "lazy ports," but to do so ignores that every new console gets last-gen ports, and that several Wii U ports were improved, upgraded, or enhanced editions of the games with exclusive features. Mass Effect 3, Arkham City, Injustice, Deus Ex, etc--these weren't lazy ports. Yet they didn't sell--but these same kinds of last-gen ports do sell on MS or Sony consoles.

I really don't care what Nintendo fans play, I'm only pointing out that when they're ignoring indie and 3rd party games, they are part of the problem with the Wii U, and a major component in its struggles. The other part of that is Nintendo making hardware that was never had much of a chance to begin with as porting 3rd party games would now be unnecessarily difficult because it can't use major modern engines--like Unreal 4. When Nintendo finally has to stop making hardware, it will be a combination of these reasons--because Nintendo cannot do it alone.

The people who are calling this betrayal. rolls eyes

The game looks crazy interesting and the teaser didn't reveal anything perceiving to a sonic x pokemon crossover (which, knowing both fanbases, would be flat-out horrifying).

I'm happy to see GF experimenting; they're not going to leave nintendo anytime soon.

@Wolfgabe

No, actually, I'm not "failing" to understand that at all. Indeed, my first post noted this very fact as to why I find this entire situation so hilarious.

But still, you have no reason to feel "betrayed." No one does. Game Freak is not Nintendo's property, and they are free to work with whomever they want, on whichever platform they want.

No doubt, had the Wii U sold better, and 3rd party games been treated better, the game would still be notably coming to the platform. Maybe it still will. Later.

Trollish in here today.

This doesn't bother me in the slightest, but does raise an interesting question.

What if Game Freak made a game on a non-Nintendo platform, and it became a successful series? Would they tone down development on Nintendo platforms? What if they sold the rights of Pokemon to Nintendo and became a true 3rd party developer (not a likely situation but still possible if Pokemon stops selling.)

Either way, Nintendo needs to take a good hard look at the Wii U situation and start acting to gain the 3rd parties back. I believe they will make another home console but if they are as complacent with that console as they are with the Wii U, then they might as well give up on home console hardware altogether.

As for this game, i'll maybe get it in a Steam sale.

@Quorthon This situation isn't hilarious at all. A little shocking/surprising maybe, but hilarious? No. Game Freak is an independent company that is completely allowed to develop for other platforms. Same goes for Sakurai and his company Sora Ltd. This is different from Rare in the N64 days, who were contractually obliged to develop exclusively for Nintendo. Game Freak and Sora aren't under this contract.

Also, Game Freak's experience with other platforms will have no effect on Nintendo's next home console anyway - they develop exclusively for their handhelds if developing for Nintendo.

Interesting to see that this game isn't coming to the 3DS. Not sure if that's a technical reason or not.

Only reason this news is surprising is that Game Freak has developed exclusively for Nintendo handhelds ever since Pokemon became a thing. Pulseman and other games that were on other platforms came before Pokemon.

Now, the news today that was very disappointing, hilarious, and depressing at the same time is Uncharted 4 being delayed to Spring 2016. It's disappointing because I was looking forward to it this year as a PS4 owner. What's hilarious about it is that this means Sony has virtually no major AAA exclusives for the PS4 this holiday for the second year in a row. Sure, exclusives like Hellblade, Until Dawn, and Tearaway Unfolded are coming, but we'll likely see all three before the end of September. The depressing realization about this is that the PS4 will undoubtedly sell more than the XB1 and Wii U over the holiday anyways, despite those two platforms having more major exclusives. People have bought this system based on brand loyalty, hype, and marketing alone so far. I won't be making this same mistake again.

To those who are saying GF is experimenting or trying something new, what is stopping them from experimenting, that is, developing on the Wii U or N3DS? The excuse they gave doesn't help at all. Install base? Nope. If this game came to Wii U, it would sell managably because 1) Game Freak is a pratically a household Nintendo name, and 2) This is arguably a game that fits Nintendo consoles. Besides, this doesn't look like the typical AAA game, so whatever the Wii U version sells should justify the costs of porting or whatever.

And no, I'm not 'defending' anyone. If the game is good, I'll play it on PC.

Not really interested in it, but I do find it odd that it's not on Wii U. Hey though, if we can get a Pokemon game on Wii U, I really wouldn't care. Pokemon Rumble aside, there is nothing. Maybe we'll get a Pokemon Mystery Dungeon on Wii U

Sorry folks but this decision is personal and was a successful attempt to embarrass Nintendo. The port costs in no way justify skipping the Wii U. These companies throw money away on games with a lot less chance of success than this. Game Freak is trying to diverge from Nintendo and skipping their platforms altogether with this sends a clear message and that message is not good.

Now I don't know what Nintendo has done to warrant this kind of hostility, but you would have to be willfully blind not to see it in this particular situation. I don't know what Nintendo needs to do but it's obvious they have to do something.

Why are people getting so worked up about the title, just a lttle reminder that Bombing Bastards was ok'ed by Nintendo.

This is just accentuating Nintendo's odd situation. Eithey they make a system with nothing that sets it apart (thus making it easy to develop for) like PS4 and Xbox One. Or they keep making systems with different specs/accessories which alienates 3rd-party devs who are just looking for easy ports and easy cash (especially ones growing desperate in the game industry like Capcom, Sega, etc.).

To each their own, but I think Nintendo needs to stick to their guns...while evolving and expanding/buying more studios (Xenoblade and Splatoon are GREAT steps in the right direction). I already have a gaming PC, so I refuse to buy unispired, luke-warm consoles like PS4/XB1. If Nintendo goes that direction I may just stick only to PC.

You won't last 10 seconds past the county line.

@Chicagoway Except Game Freak develops for Nintendo's handhelds, which are successful. Nintendo's issues with their home console line have nothing to do with Game Freak. I'm sorry, but your comment is conspiracy theory level stuff.

This situation is just Sega having good business sense as far as the Wii U goes. The 3DS? Probably a technical issue.

@retro_player_22
Agreed 100%. They're barking up the wrong tree if they think they're gonna see a greater return on either of those two consoles rather than Wii U. That fanbase doesn't care about games like this, but Nintendo fans make blockbusters out of a good digital release (see Shovel Knight). And fans would have bought it just cause it's GameFreak.

Oh well. It's a missed opportunity on their part but whatever. I'm not gonna sit and pout over missing a low budget platformer about an elephant (especially when I own an Xbox One and PS4 anyways), although, this seems more appealing than most AAA games nowadays.

A 2D action game skipping a Nintendo system always baffles me. Happened with the recent Strider game and it happened here as well.

Double confusing because it's Game Freak. Every one of their games is playable on a Nintendo system somewhere.

Oh well, not much to be done about it.

@abbyhitter not very.

@Chicagoway enough of the paranoia.

Gamefreak and Sega? We know it will end up as nothing more than cannon fodder.

Sega burned their bridges with the disastrous Sonic games on Wii U. Apart from the excellent Sonic Racing developed by their British wing.

The Japanese Sega are nothing but a joke that need to be destroyed. The only company capable of returning Sonic to glory is Nintendo Tokyo.

I gotta admit, that looks pretty damn fun. I'll probably grab it on PS4 when it comes out.

The Wiiu can't even get this game?Ha!Oh Wiiu you terrible terrible system.

Too bad - at first I didn't care but watching the trailer convinced me the game would be worth trying. Looks much better than Harmoknight, not as interesting as Drill Dozer.

Too bad it's skipping Nintendo platforms. I'll buy via Steam someday when it sells for less than a buck.

@IceClimbers

I really don't think it's a business decision. A close business partner that is struggling like Nintendo should be able to expect a low budget game like this thrown their way, especially since it's coming to other consoles. This system is starving for games. It has a ready made audience being a Game Freak game already. In fact, the decision makes no sense on a business level, just like Capcom releasing RE Revelations 2 on everything but Nintendo systems when the original was only on Nintendo systems. The message is starting to look pretty clear to me.

If you want to accept that kind of insulting excuse as to why the game isn't coming to the Wii U that's your decision, but please don't label my post conspiracy when the companies themselves don't offer up a believable or rational explanation themselves.

@JaxonH
"And fans would have bought it just cause it's GameFreak."
EXACTLY.

@Chicagoway A conspiracy theory?Really?Oh my god Nintendo fans can come up with the most funniest things,when a game doesn't come for their sad pathetic system.

@VeeFlamesNL
Hey it's true. Once a developer has earned respect with a fanbase, those gamers will support them in pretty much any endeavor they undertake. I buy games all the time that I didn't know if I would like, all because I loved the developer behind it and liked their other games.

@midnafanboy
With all due respect, don't you think it's a little disrespectful to come to a Nintendo fan site and tell everyone here their favorite gaming console is a sad, pathetic system? Really, that's uncalled for. If you don't like the system that's fine, but please respect the fact that most of us do, and we come here to share stories and excitement of games we play on that system. The least a person can do is bite their tongue.

@midnafanboy

Dude if you want to insult somebody at least write a sentence in English. Ok?

@Chicagoway Please, Game Freak has no reason to be hostile towards Nintendo. I don't feel this is a personal attack on Nintendo at all. Sega is likely the one who made the decision anyway. I do apologize for going as far as labeling your post as conspiracy. That was out of line on my part.

This news piss me off to no extent. Not just because I only own Nintendo systems because that my own fault, but the reasoning for skipping the Wii U. I don't care if Nintendo fans "don't care about 3rd parties" (nice way of stereotyping Quorthon) it still a bullcrap reason, I guess I will just have to borrow my brother Xbone for this one.

I'll most likely get it on PS4, but it's a shame it isn't coming to Wii U too. Hopefully it will in the future!
Looks really great though!

@Mystman12 So wait, you don't entirely mind playing a game with a handful of swear words but you DO mind playing a game with a swear word in its title? (which admittedly, is a pretty light swear word.) Lolwut? Does... That even make sense to you? Lol. I've got to admit, I've never heard of someone who does that. (Until now I guess.) That's pretty contradicting. Also, you're not that sensitive? You honestly could've fooled me.

And lastly about the avatar, I'm just some guy over the internet. You do what you want. But I will say if you're going to tell people "I am grown up" I wouldn't have a DK gif having a temper tantrum. That's just contradicting to what you're saying. It's like saying a manchild who says he isn't a child while wearing a Sesame Street T-shirt. It's like.... Wha....

@Chicagoway Nice come back for that comment about you saying,the reason the game isn't coming is because it's personal?Come on business comes first,it's not their fault they didn't release the game knowing it would'ave sold like crap on the Wiiu.But seriously personal?Really?Then i guess everyone that left the Wiiu,wasn't for poor sales it was because it was personal.Wow

Hm. I'm kind of bored of 2D platformers. I feel like the market is saturated with them, from both AAA studios and indie developers. I'll pass.

Traitors. You filthy Traitors.

Looks like a cheaper version of Donkey Kong. Yeah, whatever, you can have that, PS and Xbox owners. We already have something better.

@ColdingLight Since when was it appropriate to judge a person by a avatar, if you apply that logic I would think most of you would be neets.

Also LOL at all the anti-Nintendo people that came out of the woodwork. There is far more of them here than the actual Nintendo fanboys they are antagonizing.

Jesus, all I'm hearing are cries of betrayal just because one game isn't on the Wii U!

It makes more business sense to develop a game for PS4/Xbox One/PC because they're closer in terms of specs, rather than also trying to develop the game for the PS3, 360, and Wii U. I suppose that PS3 and 360 owners should also feel betrayed because of this?

I'll definitely buy this for my Xbox One or PS4 (if I have one by then). Calm down, guys.

...Although the poster ''excuse'' is pretty hilarious.

@Resh Yep, unfortunately NL's become a haven for trolls recently. The comment section used to be decent long ago, but now I barely bother reading them.

>gamefreak develops several games for nintendo, even if it's mostly pokemon
>gamefreak releases one game on non-nintendo platforms
>"betrayal"

@SparkOfSpirit Some of them aren't trolls but people with a superiority complex that puts them on par with the fanboys they decry. Honestly if you get rid of all your biases you'll see how bad (and amusing) it really is.

@midnafanboy

Just give it rest. You know nothing of gaming if you don't know how weird and parallel universe it is to have a Game Freak game NOT releasing on a Nintendo system period and them saying that lame bs about a poster. Lol. The last collaboration between Sega and Game Freak was 21 years ago! Whatever Sega and Game Freak. And like I said, people are blind if they can't see what a huge insult this is while Nintendo is releasing Sonic Amiibos and Sega is skipping their system on a game that could obviously run on it just fine. Write whatever comeback you want I'm done responding to your posts.

@Chicagoway So you're not replying to me anymore?Why? Because it's personal? Ha! Have fun with your Wiiu old sport!

This is fairly upsetting... :/

Its funny watching everyone have a meltdown over this!
Gamefreak are going where the money is, and I dont really blame them. Im sure if many of you had your way, GF would be locked in a dungeon making Pokémon remakes until the end of time.
Another thing, why hasnt Nintendo bought out GF completely? Their penny pinching BS is reslly starting to bite them on the ass, and i hate to say it but they have it coming!
Pokken Tournament for PS4/Xbox One anybody? Mwhahahaha!

So, this is a game made by Game Freak, the team behind Pokémon and Harmoknight. The director for Harmoknight is even directing this game. Both are considered great quality games by most Nintendo fans.

This, which looks like a promising title, is skipping Wii U, and people are like "fine, I don't want it anyway, looks like crap".

Good job, guys.

@Ichiban Pokken Tournament for PS4/Xbox One anybody?" Ha! Some men just want to watch the world burn!And in this case the fanbase.

No Wii U version? They must not want my money...

No Nintendo version - no buy.

Unless I can see a legitimate reason for a game skipping the Wii U/3DS then I skip it too.

Who cares? It's not like this is some big blockbuster title we're missing out on, which Wii U owners should be well used to by now. I get that it's collaboration with GameFreak, but lets not forget that GameFreak does not mean Nintendo.

BETRAYAL!!!

Just joking GameFreak and Sega probably have business reasons for doing this. It seems very unlikely that these ccompanies made this decision just to insult Nintendo.

@Ichiban Remakes? They've only made 3 Pokemon remakes since 2004. As far as "going where the money is", that's on the 3DS. That being said, the PS4 seems intent on sprinting to catch up to the 3DS's install base. Only 30 million to go. Wouldn't be surprised if it catches up by the end of June 2016.

Shame given that the style of world and characters seems much more suited to Nintendo than its 'mature' competitors. Maybe we'll get it time but....

shrugs

As somebody who owns the PS4 and X1 but not a Wii U, I don't think it looks like you guys are missing out on anything great. Never been a huge fan of Game Freak's games anyway (I do respect the company though) but I'd think it could do more than this with the home consoles. Maybe it's cooking up something different for Wii U only that is actually worthy of the studio's name and reputation.

I don't know why but this decision to abandon the Wii U by both Sega and Game Freak is wrong. Not that it matters that the Nintendo consoles because I don't think this game will be successful. Sega's track record as of late with good games hasn't been to appealing. Still though it seems wrong of these companies to ignore Nintendo fans because of the history they share.

Announcing Generation VII: "Pokémon: Gore Version and Sex Version", coming only to PS4 and XBox 1!

Surprised? The Wii U only has a little more than 2 years left in its 5 year life span. Sega stuck around longer than most other publishers. Expect the Wii U to wind down. A few more big AAA first party titles and its over.

@IceClimbers

I disagree. It's pretty hilarious. Largely because of the fallout--the Nintendo fanboys going ballistic and hurling the "betrayal" nonsense at a talented developer.

Uncharted 4 being delayed is a bit of a bummer, but it's not like there's a shortage of games coming to the PS4--again, it has far more exclusives than the XBO, Wii U, 3DS, or Vita. It can watch one high profile title slip for a while and it will hurt nothing. Game delays aren't really hilarious--they're a necessary part of game development--unless you also found the Watch Dogs for Wii U delay also hilarious. And by the way, you're forgetting arguably one of the hottest games of the year will likely still be there to fill some space on the PS4--No Man's Sky is slated for a fall release, and is a Sony console exclusive.

Frankly, given Game Freak's close working relationship, I highly doubt that Nintendo didn't know about this project before Sega picked it up. It was probably a case of Game Freak pitching the game to Nintendo, Nintendo passing on publishing, and Game Freak then talking with Sega. And if Nintendo didn't believe in the project, then why even bother with putting it on the Wii U? There's no way any of this was done without Nintendo knowing ahead of time.

Well, okay, every Duke Nukem Forever delays were kind of hilarious.

@ColdingLight Hey, I never once actually said "I am grown up"! In fact, I'm not! (I'm 17) When I am however, that doesn't mean my personal convictions and standards are just suddenly going to change, and that doesn't mean I won't get a kick out of silly avatars either. When I am grown up, well, I'll probably always sort of be a kid at heart. Which I honestly don't see any problem with.

So, perhaps the best way to sum up this argument is by saying this: If you think me not playing a game with a swear word in the title and having a DK temper tantrum avatar (Although, I'm telling ya, he's tap dancing! ) is childish, well, then I'm childish, and I'm proud!

/please end argument now

@Quorthon Ok, the fallout part from fanboys is admittedly funny. That's honestly the funny part of Uncharted's delay. It's the game that Sony fanboys were clinging to as the game was supposed to be the biggest one for the PS4 this year. What this does mean is that Sony starts off 2016 with a bang - Uncharted 4 and Street Fighter V.

I totally forgot about No Man's Sky. That game's promises remind me of Spore a little bit. I'd hope the game doesn't meet that fate though. If the game ends up a disappointment it'll look bad after the recent string of them (Titanfall, Watch Dogs, Destiny, The Order 1886, etc).

This is the dumbest excuse in the history of dumb excuses.

@Resh LOL, true. Some of them also seem particularly obsessive, posting like 20 or 30 comments in the thread
Personally, I don't see the big deal here. So Nintendo is going to miss out on a small scale...... 2D platformer !. What a bummer... Wii U really needs these games badly, especially lame clones of Rambi LOL.

You're REALLY pissing me off Sega!! First with ignoring the wii u vc with all those classics you're sitting on and now this & you're general lack of wii u support at all!!
I miss those Genesis days when sega kicked ass!! Good thing my wii u is parked right between my ps4 and my xone!!😜

I'm voting with my wallet for games like this. I can understand titles that the wiiu can't run well or is cost prohibitive on the dev to maintain the online experience since unlike the others nintendo doesn't charge for online so im sure they pass costs onto the dev, but games like this? Yeah I don't get a choice on all of the platforms? They don't get my money.

So Rambi got its own game from the looks of it? Looks pretty nice though. I still hope it hits Wii u someday. I thought that Gamefreak was a Nintendo studio, but it looks like they can do what they want.

Hmm... meh, no big loss from what I see here, Xbone and PS4 can have their sub-par platformer. I'll be busy over here on my Wii U and 3DS XL having fun.

@Grumblevolcano That worries me......if GameFreak decides to make Pokemon Multiplat, then Nintendo could be in serious trouble........

@Artwark Pokemon is a Nintendo IP. It can't go multiplatform unless Nintendo goes multiplatform. Yet the main series games that Game Freak develops are on the handhelds, which are odd-defying levels of successful.

I'm more surprised that GameFreak finally made a game that isn't Pokemon. Sucks that it's not coming to the Wii U, but whatever, Xbox One it is then. Maybe there's still hope for Sega and GameFreak to make a Pulseman 2.

@CaviarMeths @Ichiban @Artwark

Nintendo owns the majority of the pokemon IP, they could actually stop game freak from producing it if they so wished. This is also why you have not seen pokemon on anything but Nintendo/ arcades. It'll never see the release on Xbox or Playstation, Nintendo will never allow it.

I'm just glad Nintendo got their mitts on the Pokemon brand when they did. It pretty much saved them back in the day, keeping Nintendo relevant in an age when the N64 was being slaughtered by the PlayStation and giving the GameBoy a second wind. I remember reading in a magazine back in the 90s that stated, for that year (I forget which) that Pokemon accounted for about 45% of their whole companies profits. Insane.
I'm rambling on a bit here, but in regards to this story, it's hard not to feel a little betrayed. The excuse about the poster is really lame.

@IceClimbers Wasn't there a Pokemon app on the smartphone once and didn't Nintendo say that game freak isn't someone they don't own yet?

@Quorthon You talk like I was interest in this game, I'm simply saying this would had help Sega more had they also release this game for Wii U and 3DS as well. Limiting themselves away from platforms mean not all audience will get the chance to experience it and thus Sega won't benefit anything from it. The thing about Sega games is that they don't sell well, even when they release their games on multiple platforms, financial burden always find their way to them.

Remember that unlike Nintendo, Sega had released more games on other platforms than any out there both as a first and third party, there's literally SMS games, Genesis games, Sonic games, Vectorman, Streets of Rage, Altered Beast, Golden Axe, Virtua Fighter, Dreamcast games, etc., on almost every platforms out there, this includes every consoles (Dreamcast, PS2, PS3, PS4, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One, GameCube, Wii, Wii U), handhelds (NeoGeo Pocket Color, Game.com, Game Gear, N-Gage, GBA, DS, 3DS), PC, OnLive, Ouya, mobile, smartphones, LCD games, etc.

There's literally no platform without a Sega game yet all these Sega games doesn't profit anything for Sega, Sega pretty much gave all of these away (even go as far as including over 40 old games for Xbox 360 and PS3 in an ultimate collection) and still if you check back a few weeks ago, Sega here in NA is now in financial woe. They are having constant layoffs, lots of employees lost their jobs, and Sega closed down a few of its old locations. You would think that for a company that had games everywhere that the money will benefit them but nah, the thing about Sega is that just because they released games everywhere doesn't mean people will buy it. Though there are many people who want Sega to release games for those consoles, those same people doesn't buy them. My brother want Sega to released the Ultimate Collection for Xbox 360 and Sega did, but did my brother ever buy it, heck no. He got those on emulator on his smartphone already, he ain't gonna bother getting the collection and his Xbox 360 broke already so even if he did buy it he won't be able to play it anyways.

@ikki5 That is completely true, Nintendo is the only barrier between GameFreak and Pokémon being on all platforms except Nintendo consoles.

Even if it was on the wiiU I would still buy the ps4 version. Nothing personal, I just stopped buying games for the wiiU (except for smash bros).

Wow, there's so many Xbox fanboys in this page.

1 word: lol

Also, why do you guys insist on posting articles about games NOT coming to Wii U? Seems like an odd choice.