Gearbox CEO: ‘Aliens: Colonial Marines’ Has ‘More To Offer’ On Wii U

The closer we get to Fall — and, for that matter, E3 2012 — the more we hear about Wii U. Nintendo has remained tight-lipped about what games it has in development for its next console, but a number of third-party titles are known quantities.

As such, the picture that is emerging of the Wii U is, for now, largely being shaped by members of the development community. Add Gearbox’s Randy Pitchford to that list, and put him squarely in the “pro-Wii U” column. According to Pitchford, his studio’s upcoming game Aliens: Colonial Marines may be at its best on Nintendo’s new hardware.

Nintendo’s Reggie Fils-Aime memorably promised that his company would be revealing Wii U details throughout the year, specifically stating that fans wouldn’t “have to wait until E3″ for official news on the system. Needless to say, Nintendo hasn’t exactly come through on that front — so far, at least. Instead, we’ve had to rely on the opinions of developers who have worked with the system. From Team Ninja‘s Fumihiko Yasuda and Yosuke Hayashi, we learn that Wii U is “easy to develop for.” Marvin Donald, Game Director on Darksiders II, estimates that the Wii U hardware is “on par” with current-gen consoles.

Now Randy Pitchford has chimed in, and while he doesn’t offer any appraisal of the Wii U’s innate power (or lack thereof), he’s clearly jazzed about the opportunities afforded by its tablet controller. In an interview with The Verge covering the history of Gearbox Software, Pitchford enthuses about the Wii U version of Aliens: Colonial Marines.

“The Wii U version has so much more to offer … no other platform can do what the Wii U do. If you love [Xbox] 360 games, you are not used to being in a world where you have this new interface. But once you get used to that, you imagine the possibilities; there are some opportunities that are just not possible on any platform that does not have that device.”

“I don’t want to give spoilers away on some of things we are thinking of or things we have actually implemented already, but a lot of cool opportunities with that device that are going to make a very unique and compelling experience on that platform. We have given a lot of attention. I think it will not be too long [before] Nintendo opens up their kimono a little bit more about that platform and where it is going, we will be there right with them talking about how Aliens is using it.”

Aliens: Colonial Marines suffered a delay that has pushed its release date all the way back to Fall of this year. The game is still expected to hit current-gen consoles first, but unlike the situation with Darksiders II — which, as a Wii U launch title, could conceivably arrive five months after appearing on competitor’s consoles — there might not be much lag between Aliens: Colonial Marines’ release on PS3, Xbox and PC and its debut on Wii U.

With the Nintendo Network (presumably) in place for online multiplayer, and Pitchford’s clear enthusiasm for Wii U’s tablet controller, could Aliens: Colonial Marines be the first multiplatform game that is worth waiting to play on Wii U? What do you think?

Aliens: Colonial Marines is expected to release this Fall for PS3, Xbox 360, PC and Wii U.

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Source: The Verge