Not coming to Wii U

The Wii U version of Need for Speed: Most Wanted is arguably the definitive version, adding in new features which are exclusive to Nintendo's console. However, it didn't sell as well as expected — which seems to be a key reason why we're not getting Need for Speed: Rivals.

The Sixth Axis has been speaking to Ghost Games Creative Director Craig Sullivan about the title, and why it's skipping Wii U:

Honestly, it’s not the kind of stuff that I like talking about in detail, that much. We did a load of extra work on the Wii U version, and we had a lot of guys working on that stuff, you know?

It didn’t really sell that many, in terms of the Wii U market. I would love for it to have, because we put so much effort into that, trust me. I’d love for it to be way bigger than it was, and the same for the Vita.

[Rivals] is going onto new hardware, and you have to work out where you focus your efforts. The 200 people working on this game are only capable of making so much, and doing so many different versions of the game, so we had to go with where we think the biggest audience will be for the game, and that’s where we are.

While you could argue that third party publishers need to support the Wii U to encourage sales and turn the situation around, it's hard to see how they can justify the additional development costs when titles like Most Wanted fail to retail in significant numbers. Having said that, the Wii U port came many months after the PS3 and 360 versions — so the weak sales perhaps shouldn't have been all that surprising.

Were you hoping to see the latest Need for Speed entry on your Wii U? Let us know your thoughts by posting a comment.

[source thesixthaxis.com]