Airtight Games Feels That Murdered: Soul Suspect "Doesn't Fit" On Wii U

To be fair to Brunner, maybe he's referring to the difficulty in porting games to Wii U that aren't natively built in the Wii U's architecture, which I can understand.

If not, he's kind of off the mark, considering multiplat games like Rayman Legends saw its definitive version on the Wii U.

And I'm not sure what he means by "and this just doesn't fit."

Another example of dev's being economical (excuse the pun) with the truth. The only reason to not bring it to Wii U is profit margins. Why can't they just say

"the user base is too small and we don't think we'll make enough money off of it to justify the cost of development"

That's fine, just say that instead of the confusing nonsense they often come out with.

This is why exclusive games are awesome ones while multinplatform sucks

I don't care about lamers.

This is a highly subjective comment.

Anyway its the developers choice if he wants to skip the Wii U for now, lets not beat him up about it as he may port it over at a later date if this game actually turns out good and sells well, this is their first major major if i'm not mistaken.

In any case as inaccurate as his comment is its a lot better then some of the of crap we heard last year.

in other words they couldn't think of any way to use the gamepad so they are not bothering

now I love the hamepad but developers don't many have said this, I really think it's holding the Wii U back they should just make the pro controller the main one and ship all Wii U's with one

it's a shame as the gamepad has lots of potential but the only people who seam to be able to do anything with it are Nintendo themselves

Brutally honest rebuttal is not how I would describe his comment . It's a repackaged version of the wierd stuff others devs say . As @Caviarmeths said , it would be much better and more honest to say "we won't make as much money on wiiu".

I'm guessing it's not a good fit for PS4 or Xbox one since it doesn't seem to be on those systems either.

How about giving answers that aren't idiotic next time, Matt? The truth is that Square didn't pay them to do a Wii U port and frankly given the faux cinematic trailer I can't say I feel like I'm missing out on anything.

Or more precisely, releasing a game on the Wii U takes effort beyond makng the resolution and FPS better. He isn't wrong about games on the Wii U need to be special with something extra, but at the same point exposes the weakness of certain games that rely on flashy graphics onother systems. It isn't good for Nintendo's bottom line, but it does point out that the vast majority of Wii U games are between pretty good and excellent.

This has 'boring linear interactive movie' written all over it... Maybe it won't fit Wii U because it doesn't look like it will be fun

He could have just said "because it won't sell".

Nonsense! Most Wii U gamers probably wouldn't even mind if new games lacked specific gamepad features. The Wii U just needs more games and at this rate we are getting nowhere. The honest answer would be if he said that they don't want to make a Wii U version because, considering the relatively small Wii U install base, that version of the game most likely wouldn't sell the numbers required to cover the costs of producing it. Why do publishers and studios keep coming up with these fake transparent reasons? Better yet, why doesn't Nintendo see this themselves? I hope that Nintendo's next console will be bit more traditional. I can't help but to reminisce about the SNES and it's huge amount of third party titles.

If the Wii U had paced the same as the Wii then absolutely every third party multi-plat developer would commit to it.

That seemed to be key for the Wii. For all its flaws it made up for it by having the largest consumer base. That would always entice and have developers consider the Wii but now with the Wii U not having that advantage we see that third party developers really have no reason to make games for the Wii U.

I mean they have to work with less resources, a different archetype, and a lack of or with poor support from Nintento. This is also in addition to the small consumer base that typically don't buy into these games.

@CaviarMeths Don't you remember Rayman Legends was a Wii U exclusive? So it was built around the Wii U. So its quality and success further proves his point. Legends took advantage of the Wii Us capabilities

It's not fair to say the only good games on WiiU are ones made specifically for it. There are good multiplatform games on it (eg Darksiders 2 and Sonic Racing). The ones that are boxed items and SELL well for it are exclusives (with the exception of the aforementioned sonic racing which sold very well).

All of this excuse garbage is going to get even more interesting as the year goes on and the Xbone is selling as well as the Wii U. Leaving only the PS4 (and PS3/360) as the only supposed "profitable" consoles left for 3rd parties.

Meanwhile, Warner Bros pumps out 4 new LEGO games on all systems and they make money.

Was this the same interview where he said that next gen was viable because it was 8 million consoles and Wii U wasn't because it was 5.6 million? The excuses are just a bit silly. I'd respect him if he could show me how badly AC4 or CoD Ghosts have sold and used that as the reason he didn't want to risk publishing. I am sure this game would have sold poorly but at the same time I know it would not have had a single advertisement.

He makes a fair point yet I can see how his point can be a bit strange.

Like the first commentator said, if he's talking about the system's architecture then that's reasonable; anything else is... eeeehhhh an excuse

Well, better than no excuse at all, I suppose.

@Lance168
There are several multi-platform games that are good like GTA, Dragon Age, and Mass Effect

@Lance168 Yes. Even the exclusives are awesome... (A whole amount of sarcasm)

It doesn't help Brunners case when he copies a Gamecube game

@BKNoah
So you are ok being lied to.

I find his excuse pretty backwards logic. A game does not necessarily need to be built from the ground up for the system to be good. ACIV, ME3, and Sonic All Stars Racing Transformed are good examples of this. My other problem is what exactly does not fit? The controls? the story? the gameplay? The install base argument is rubbish anyway if that logic were true 3DS would be getting support left and right

Notice how he does not mention sales, he talks about quality. So he is technically bashing all multiplatforms made right. And of course his company is not up to that task either.

Worst. Excuse. Ever.

@CaviarMeths Not the best example as Rayman was originally built for the Wii U.

This standpoint is so unfair though. What he should be saying is the only good Wii U games that use the gamepad in some way are built ground up for the console. DKC:TF doesn't use the gamepad in anyway and could run fine on other consoles! The entire point of the pro controller is so devs can make normal PS/XB type games for it too.

If the Wii U selling well,it would obviously be a different matter, but hey that's the way it goes.

He obviously never played Deus Ex. Lazy donkey person
_{Please watch the profanity — TBD}

At this current moment in time, the Wii U has a larger install base than the PS4 and One.

If he's referring to the 7th generation, then I can understand, but not the 8th if this has to do with sales.

As for the game "not fitting", I wish he'd elaborate.

@MAB It seems I wasn't the only one reminded of that classic...

That seems to be a pretty obvious answer. Of course a game is going to work better when it's made especially for that system. Heck, I'd be surprised if a half-arsed port would work better than the original version.

I think everyone here already knows the real truth about why some games "don't fit" on the Wii U: Because developers don't care to make the effort to make it fit!

To answer the posed question, no, he doesn't have a point. And no, you don't need a game to use the GamePad's unique features to be a great game. Sounds to me like this developer is trying to justify possible laziness (or incapability) from his side, because he is unwilling or unable of coming up with a unique way of utilizing the GamePad. That, and he seems to have a misconception about the Wii U, giving off an impression that to him, the GamePad was specifically made as a mandatory inclusion -as a means to play some touchy / slidy games a-la smartphones, not noting the fact that there is a fully fledged console behind all them GamePad features, as the article clearly states.

And you know, looking at this trailer, I gotta say, it looks interesting ..for a movie. So why not make a decent film out of it? It has all the elements, and could end up being a great paranormal / fantasy / mystery / thriller movie. I dunno, I kinda get reminded more of a move trailer than a video game trailer in this one tbh..

@micronean Yep, work ethic has really fallen in recent times (thus quality as well). Especially in this industry.

I think he is right. Not worth having unless it is the primary target.

@Wolfgabe Sonic Racing Transformed is an example of it done badly. (If the mobile versions can do 60fps with some detail removed that is what they WIi U version should have been like.)

Sega could definitely have done it as well. (See F-Zero GX - 4 Player split screen and no slowdown - perfect framerate).

They're probably doing the right thing to be honest, i mean the thing would probably sell 50k tops.

@MAB man, I really wish Nintendo would resurrect this IP! (Geist)

That game looks interesting.

@kyuubikid213 Might want to check the figures before posting man.........the ps4 outsold the Wii u's lifetime sales in around a week. And that's without certain countries at launch. The xbone isn't far behind either!!
On the matter in hand, this guy's a chump, poor excuse. In MY opinion, most games made exclusively not for Wii u are poo. Just an opinion, not a valid reason to not release software on a platform!!

Dumbest comment

And still, my fav games on the U at the moment are Black Flag, Deus Ex and Castlestorm...

"The Wii U is fast becoming a console which only has first or second-party Nintendo retail games to rely on,"

I wish Wii U had some 1st and 2nd party titles to rely on. In March and April all I see are 3rd party independents on the eShop and Lego Hobbit, Spiderman and another Cabelas hunting game at retail. And MK8 isn't due until May 30 so basically 3 months - about 100 days - w/o a 1st or 2nd party game. So unless Activision became a 1st or 2nd party company to Nintendo I dont see ANY 1st or 2nd party support.

W/ friends like Nintendo who needs enemies?

Even if the Wii U had the same power as PS4, devs/ publishers would still come up with excuses not to develop for it.

I really hate developers who don't have the balls to be honest. More and more we know that the system can handle what developers throw at it, and there are really good ports on the system. I wouldn't have a problem with this is they would just be honest. You want to make money. You don't think you'll recover your costs. I get that. But this b.s. is just insulting.

@Kyloctopus Percy's Perdicament is not polished, but the gameplay is fun. So don't knock it. It's not going to be a GOTY nominee by any means, but the levels are enjoyable and the publishers plan updates with fixes and more levels.

Folks, they only showed cut scenes in that trailer. So looks like a great movie... what do you think the gameplay is like? Yeah, probably not all that exciting.

I might watch the youtube video of of the cutscenes spliced together, get the same amount of enjoyment as PS/Xbox owners, and won't pay $60.... or wait a month and pay 20.

@kyuubikid213 Actually I think the PS4 may have passed Wii U total sales or will soon.

Geez ppl here just love to complain, any article like this gets 100s of comments but actual game announcements and reviews struggle to hit 100.

@Falchion Not sure if Rayman Legends counts as a success it just about sold over 100k last time I checked which is a shame as the game is great.

A game like that isn't worth the risk of spending resources to port it to the Wii U. Wise decision by the developer.

Lots of sour grapes in the comments. You don't want the game anyway, fine... but I think it looks interesting. Will it be good? None of us know yet - but it's unfortunate that I won't even have the option to play when it does get released.

Regarding the developer statement, I agree that they should just be more direct. The Wii U install base isn't large, and doesn't tend to support M-rated games very well. This isn't about "good games on Wii U", it's about profit and they are probably right that the development effort might not be justified.

He should have just been completely honest and said a game like this has a history of not selling well at all on Nintendo platforms, and it would be even worse on the Wii U with its tiny installed base - which was eclipsed by PS4 in sales both in North America and worldwide this week after having a year's head start.

Hmmm. Something tells me that this game will be a interactive movie made of quicktime events and button sequences like Heavy Rain...yeah, the Wii U doesn't need those sorts of games.

@Jazzer94 I meant crtical success, especially on wii u. Tons of critics say how its a great game and wii u is the best version. I am also pretty sure it sold over 200k on wii u alone

@FullbringIchigo Ubisoft knows how to use it better than Nintendo imo. Rayman Legends and ZombiU are two games that really show what the gamepad can do.

sigh Where's Project Zero/Fatal Frame U - that game would be awesome to play on the Wii U with the Gamepad used as a camera. Only time will tell.

@JosieC84 Totally agreed! The Wii U is doing just fine without third party games. Who needs 'em??

Its a shame it has gone this way with 3rd parties on wii u, i think it's a really great console but nintendo dropped the ball by making it too hard to port to for lazy devs. It would take up too much time and resources which companies just wont put into a machine with such a low install base

@Klimbatize The Wii U is doing just fine without third party games. Who needs 'em??
propbably everyone that didn't buy a Wii U actually...

@seronja Glad you got my point.

Something is wrong here. That was one of the worse excuses I have ever heard. Brutality honest is, "third party games don't sell so we are not bringing it over." This crap excuse is just crap. The best games on wii u barely use the pad in great ways. Rayman used it good but was brought to other systems. And the wii u gamepad has all the buttons so any excuse pass it won't sell is crap. Remember that.

@siavm It is the truth. The only time it has worked well was when the Wii U was the primary or original target. (Deus Ex / Rayman Legends etc). If it is not going to be then it is not worth having because the results end up rubbish.

@CaviarMeths The thing is though Rayman Legends was originally developed exclusively for the Wii U (so the focus was on the console itself) and then ported to the other consoles. He's still correct in that sense because he's saying that "good wii u games" are ones that were originally developed with it in mind.

A better example would be a port that ended up being really good but did not have the Wii U has the main development platform.

If Nintendo shows them a big fat cheque, they'll go "Wii U is definitely the platform to go for [Add more Flowery Wrods]," Oh well I'm not even surprised anymore by this point.

Come on PS4 come out with games already so I can justify buying you!!

This "Murdered: Soul Suspect" game looks dull. Seems like one of these "gritty" games that takes itself way too seriously. Honestly, it kinda looks like a LESS interesting "Beyond Two Souls" rip-off.

I think this Brunner guy sounds like he's making excuses for something he doesn't need to make excuses for. We know the Phoenix Wright series does well on Nintendo platforms and the controller excuse is laughably weak, so really the guy just comes off as kind of a jerk.

@SanderEvers And Mario, Link or Samus will not go to those platforms either. This is referring to a MULTI-platform game coming to the previous and current console by the competition but not the Wii U console.

This is News, good or bad, news is still news and NintendoLife should report it to us as such

I love this, by him using this logic, This game is not a good game. What a moron. lol

@unrandomsam monster hunter 3 was made for the wii. And ported to the 3ds. And a year later to wii u and 3ds for the rest of the world. Game was not made for the wii u original but they got it to work good. Meaning even if a game is not original made for the system it can be changed like re4 on wii. Don't tell me that is not the best way to play that game. They can make it work but they see no profit in doing so. So like I said crap excuse. Also deus ex was released on multiple systems before the wii u and after the wii u. Square did it with that game why not this one?

This guy should say I make crap take it to Nintendo and see what they think.The people who make the best games on the planet and turn only game company.If it was I..i wouldn't call you back neither so make something good with your own foundation to build upon and I'm sure you'll see success wether u might want it next day or in long run

@Falchion I don't think so the game sold terribly on all platforms that is why Ubisoft ported it to PS4 and Xbox One I'm fairly certain Wii U sales had yet to pass 200k and that was the leading platform sales wise a great shame indeed.

@CaviarMeths And I'm not sure what he means by "and this just doesn't fit."

I think he is politely saying that the subject matter of their game doesn't fit their perception of the demographic of the Nintendo console due to its rating maybe?
Which is a shame as Deus Ex was a more mature rated game and is a really great game to play.

It's possible that he could mostly be speaking about the Wii U audience. Why would he waste so much time and money porting the game to Wii U's architecture when he's most likely not going to see a return on it?

As long as we have developers like AE Games creating fantastic software like Mad Men Football for the Wii-U, I'm fine with all other third parties jumping ship.

@Ernest_The_Crab

I think NFS Most Wanted would be a better example. Even if it was a late port.

It seems to me the real reason a lot of devs don't want to bother with the Wii U is because:

1) The console is not deemed a commercial or financial success.

2) They can't be bothered trying to incorporate the Game Pad into how the game plays.

As a Wii U owner who plays a lot of games using the Wii U Pro Controller - I don't see why devs don't just whack a map, pause screen or - heck - even just a logo on the GamePad if they can't be bothered working it into the gameplay.

Or, as some other comments have said before me, just be honest and say "This console is considered a flop and we don't want to gamble money on it!" I'd have a lot more respect than some wishy washy excuse about how the game "doesn't fit".

@jshcamisado Why didn't Retro do anything on the gamepad with Donkey Kong Country. (I think doing so involves some compromise they didn't want to make).

@unrandomsam This is the point though! I would rather see a game exist on the Wii U without any real utilisation of the GamePad if that is one of the things that is majorly putting developers off. DK:TF is still a fantastic game without the GamePad really featuring. If the GamePad is a nightmare for developers to work with, then come out and say it. If it is not a nightmare to work with but developers just don't want to have to work with it, then say that.

I think the GamePad is great and some of the games that I have played that use the GamePad really well have been a joy! (Rayman Legends comes to mind straight off the bat) But if it doesn't work for a game, then it doesn't work and omitting it from the gameplay mechanics is not a problem in my books.

I'm glad to see Deus ex has been mentioned a few times as a counter-example to his excuse. Deus Ex, a game originally released just 4 months after the Wii U was announced, designed for completely different platforms, is considered one of the best games on the system today despite not having been originally designed for the Wii U. Sure the fact that it was released two years prior, never given a firm release date before being unceremoniously delayed, and being ported to other platforms to be sold for nearly half the price of the Wii U version MIGHT have affected awareness and sales -__- but that doesn't detract from the fact that Deus Ex was an amazing game made even better by intelligent implementation of the Wii U's unique features.

@jshcamisado

Where did the developer say anything about the gamepad though? He essentially said games that are exclusives/programmed for the Wii-U are the best ones so far, and that the third party ports aren't that good (games that weren't designed for it).

Since this guy hasn't made this game from the ground up for the Wii-U, he says he's not going to release it on the console. That's it.

You, the author, and a few other posters here seem to have taken something away from his words (that he doesn't like the gamepad/doesn't want to use the gamepad) that weren't even said.

@darklinkinfinite

It's one of the best games for the Wii-U? Really?

How well did it sell? Because that's all companies care about.

If the game is great and sells poorly, it's a failure. Which provides evidence to other third party developers that its not worth investing time and money into releasing quality software on the Wii-U if it won't sell well.

@JohnRedcorn But why would the game "not fit"? The Wii U is a games console is it not? It plays games in HD just like any other console. Why would the game "not fit" when other third party ports have performed valiantly and have been regarded as some of the best on the console to date.

Part of programming for the Wii U is surely finding a way to implement its main selling point i.e bringing in the GamePad. I'm just speculating based on the fact that a developer has come out with a very weak excuse as to why a game wouldn't fit.

It won't have been made from the ground up for all the consoles that it will be available for, so when would that ever stop a developer?

I am not disputing that they shouldn't bother putting it on the Wii U if it is not financially viable. My main argument exists around the idea that they should have the balls to say it in the press.

@Jazzer94 Rayman Legends has sold about 300k on Wii U. It's okay considering the install base.

Another third party developer not supporting Wii U. Lame... but I agree at least this is the least terrible excuse I've heard.

It doesn't fit because the Wii U is for Nintendo games, and this isn't a Nintendo game. that's it. I'll get it for my PS4 because it does look decent.

Don't care for it anyway, so it's no loss to me. Wouldn't even buy it for my PS4 either.

@JohnRedcorn The game has gotten consistently high reviews and has been compared to RE4 Wii Edition where an already excellent game is made even better by the implementation of the console's unique features and is currently on Kotaku's list of the 12 best Wii U games.

How did it sell? I'm pretty sure it sold horribly for reasons I already mentioned in my previous post. Square basically sabotaged the Wii U release and I don't doubt that Square or any other 3rd party will take it as evidence that the Wii U market can't support their game, regardless of whether it is a valid example or not.

I wish the trailer would at least give a hint about what type of game this is anyway...a shooter? stealth? survival horror? This guys should be making movies if they care so little about actual gameplay

Real reason it won't come to the Wii U: Because I as well as most of the userbase won't buy it anyway.

Jesus, stop with the BS and just be honest.

Just another game not coming to wiiU, funny how people as soon as they hear a game is not coming to the platform say that they didn't want it anyways.... Wii U will not be getting any third parties, and fanboys will keep saying that they don't care, since they do not know any better....

@PrincessSugoi @ivanmata

Good point. 98% of the people whining in the comments would never have bought the game, yet 'feel' like the developer is obligated to release it on the Wii-U anyway.

@Everyone
Yes, I realize my mistake and that Rayman Legends was built natively on the Wii U. My inbox overfloweth with notifications.

@ToniK Well I stand corrected 300k is still quite a low amount for the best version but hey its better than 100k.

okay watching the trailer for this game it reminds me that its a cop show on cbs,where A dead cop trying to find his killer and must use his new powers to find the truth and plot twist is his long lost brother looking for revenge.But really
this is the game looks annoying and the story looks like its going to be weak.

That's too bad, never heard of this game till now. It looks ok, I may check it out if it turns out alright.

PSBOX heads also said we were missing out by not getting Thief... Look how that turned out

"In all honesty, all the Wii U games I've ever played, the only good ones are the ones that are made specifically for [the Wii U]. And this just doesn't fit."

I read that as their game is going to be bad. It doesn't surprise me as most of the multiplats that have skipped the Wii U have been rather mediocre (for example, most recently Thief).

Hopefully Ghost Trick will be a DS game that gets onto the Wii U, as that is probably 100x better than Murdered Soul will be.

Darksiders. Dark Souls, Beyond Two Souls. Murdered Soul Suspect...

These names are getting too stale, I propose this one for the next:
"Brooding, pretentious, interactive story with sloppy physics and many bugs"

Then maybe we can move on to the next big FPS: "ShootWarFight Battle VI"

READ!
If you guys want this (Murdered:Soul Suspect) on your Wii U, sign this petition:
https://www.tinyurl.com/odo2kdc
If we get enough people to sign it we will succeed!
Spread the word!

I can't believe Square Enix is going to shoot themselves in the foot AGAIN with this crap. Look, SE, Final Fantasy XIV brought your finances back in the black because you developed what the fans WANTED. Barely anyone wants XIII anymore, and Kane & Lynch, Hitman: Absolution and Thief FLOPPED. Stop backing stupid projects like this and taking all these unnecessary risks. Just make XIV available on Mac, Wii U and XBO and let EVERYONE play TOGETHER on the SAME SERVERS at the SAME TIME. Give us Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts III for God's sake! The ONLY NEW IP that has a REMOTE chance of EVER PANNING OUT for you is Sleeping Dogs. That's it!

It's a shame this isn't coming to Wii U, it looked like a grittier version of Ghost Trick which was a fantastic experience.

Arkham city was fantastic on the wii u, whats he talking about?