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It's tempting, in light of the system's declining role in the market and modest userbase, to be rather fearful around third-party Wii U projects. With Yooka-Laylee moving into 2017 it'd be understandable to feel twitchy; yet thankfully this is a Playtonic Games title, with the studio being founded and led by Rare alumni with a clear respect for Nintendo hardware. In fact, the Wii U version is in very safe hands indeed.

In the mini-glut of news around the game it's been noticeable that UK publisher Team17 is now involved, and it's also pitching in with some development. Team17 is actually developing the PS4 and Xbox One versions, with Playtonic tackling the PC and Wii U versions internally. There are practical reasons behind that, as it's easier to develop - and therefore port externally - for PS4 and Xbox One through Unity, but also reflects the fact that Playtonic is committed to delivering a quality Wii U iteration to backers and fans.

MCV got the breakdown from writer Andy Robinson and Technical art director Mark Stevenson on why this decision was taken.

Robinson: We naturally have so many backers who opted for Wii U. Because of the size of the team, we couldn't take on all the consoles. You can imagine from a developer stand-point, that porting from PC to PS4 and Xbox One is slightly more straightforward than porting to Wii U.

I also think it feels right playing it on a Nintendo system to some people.

But the other versions will be fantastic as well.

Stevenson: We wanted to make sure that Wii U gets the right attention. There is a lot of nostalgia around Banjo, Banjo heralds from Rare's Nintendo's days, and we are all massive Nintendo fans as well.

Are you hyped about this one coming in early 2017? Let us know in the comments.

Also of interest:

[source mcvuk.com]