Bethesda Softworks VP PR & Marketing Pete Hines recently stated on an episode of GameTrailers’ Bonus Round (transcribed by Gimme Gimme Games) that, “The time for convincing publishers and developers to support Wii U has long past. The box is out.
“You have to do what Sony and Microsoft have been doing with us for a long time and it’s not that every time we met with them we got all the answers we wanted. But they involved us very early on, and talking to folks like Bethesda and Gearbox, they say ‘here’s what we’re doing, here’s what we’re planning, here’s how we think it’s going to work’ to hear what we thought – from our tech guys and from an experience standpoint.”
However, as most platform manufacturers “spend an unbelievable amount of time upfront” with developers and publishers to get their input on how a console should best meet their needs, Hines didn’t find Nintendo’s approach very endearing. Especially considering the amount of effort that Microsoft and Sony put in.
“If you’re just going sort off deciding ‘we’re going to make a box and this is how it works and you should make games for it.’ Well, no. No is my answer. I’m going to focus on other ones that better support what it is we’re trying to do. So you’ve gotta spend more time trying to reach out to those folks before you even make the box, when you’re still designing and thinking about how it’s going to work.”
Bethesda earlier stated that it is not developing games for the Wii U, and that there are no plans for the same.