Uniting devs on Wii U

Earlier this week Nintendo delivered a presentation on the Web Framework service, outlining how it can enable developers to easily port HTML5 and Javascript games. That was the first of two sessions, and there's now been an equivalent to outline the benefits and ease of using the Unity engine on Wii U development.

It was explained how the Wii U-specific build and Unity dev-tools are integrated with the hardware instinctively for use, while already being optimised for features such as DX10 level graphics and deferred rendering. The key point is that developers can easily access the Wii U's tools through the Unity framework, including hardware such as the GamePad and its second screen, the inner-facing camera, microphone and Wii-generation controllers. There's also a plugin to allow access to Miiverse, while a repository is planned to house various plugins such as voice chat, Friend Lists and user accounts.

Wooden Sen'Sey, recently announced for the Wii U eShop, utilises Unity and was playable at the company's booth. Impressively, a representative reportedly stated that developer Upper Byte had the game up and running on the Wii U after just a couple of days with a dev-kit, emphasizing how easy it could be for games developed in Unity to be ported to Nintendo's system.

The prevalence of Unity on the Wii U is already helping to attract some developers to the eShop. As the tools continue to be iterated towards a final stage, it can potentially bring a lot more games to the platform.

[source polygon.com]