Bethesda No Games in Development Wii U

If there's one thing this year filled with studio closures, bankruptcy auctions, and developer departures has taught us it's to be flexible. While there are still first party developers out there (Naughty Dog, 343 Industries) that flourish under a one-console system, most companies find greater success in ubiquity.

Bethesda Softworks, for example, has been able to take their wildly popular Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises and bring to the console and PC masses. However, there is one console that Bethesda appears to be neglecting: the Wii U.

That isn't to say Bethesda is purposefully avoiding Wii U development, they just have nothing announced in development. At the same time, this shouldn't come as a shock because Bethesda's Pete Hines can't even remember the last time the developer shipped a game on a Nintendo console.

"We have nothing announced in development for Wii U. It's not something that we've done anything for previously. I don't even remember the last time we've done a Nintendo title. We don't have anything now. Whether or not we would in the future is TBD. As for why, I guess I'd rather not go into that."

Hines is smart to avoid the why of his company's lack of Wii U support as the next-gen console war has only just begun. Yes, at the moment Wii U sales are slumping, but if they pick up who's to say Bethesda won't want to start looking into the console.

Nintendo fans shouldn't feel too put-off by Hines comments either, as the VP of Marketing highlights that his company also doesn't "have Facebook stuff" and they "don't have mobile stuff." If the opportunity presented itself, though, Bethesda might change their tune:

"We don't have Facebook stuff. We don't have mobile stuff. We feel like we really know who we are and we know what we're good at. That's not to say that we wouldn't do an iPhone game or an XBLA thing, but it would have to be at a certain time where it would feel right coming from us. If we're not going to do that, then we're just not going to bother. Those are cool markets and people are doing really well [in it], but that's just not what we do."

For now, Bethesda is putting the focus on three of their upcoming titles: The Elder Scrolls Online, The Evil Within, and Wolfenstein: The New Order. Of the three, Elder Scrolls Online appears to be getting the most attention in the next-gen market, with the title now being confirmed for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

Do you think Bethesda should be developing titles for the Wii U? What Bethesda franchise could benefit from the Wii U tablet controller?

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Source: Eurogamer