Nintendo has always thrived on the strength of its first-party games, from Super Mario Bros. to the The Legend of Zelda, but a modern game console can’t survive without support from third-party developers. Worryingly, Nintendo doesn’t seem to be getting any this generation.
Michael Condry, co-founder of Sledgehammer Games, revealed on Twitter this week that Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare will not be coming to the Wii U. Not this fall, not ever. It was apparently Activision’s decision to focus on the PS4, Xbox One and PC releases instead, so yet another major third-party franchise will be skipping Nintendo’s home console this year.
Other third-party titles that we won’t be seeing on the Wii U: Far Cry 4, Assassin’s Creed Unity, Battlefield Hardline and (unsurprisingly) Grand Theft Auto V. What Wii U owners do have to look forward to is a sparse, but promising, first-party lineup that features Hyrule Warriors, Bayonetta 2 and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U…providing none of them are delayed.
This holiday season is going to be very telling for the future of the Wii U. Although each console has its exclusives, everyone is looking forward to the third-party titles listed above. Those are the game that are going to fly off the shelves in October, November and December, but none of them are releasing on Wii U. If Nintendo’s exclusives can’t carry the console, the company’s losses are bound to continue.
