Electronic Arts is ready to start throwing some serious support behind Nintendo’s popular Wii console. After revealing that the company lost $641 million last quarter, CEO John Riccitiello said EA will “rival Nintendo on their own platform.” A pretty bold statement considering that Nintendo’s first-party software accounts for a sizable chunk of the Wii’s total game sales.
Also, I hear that if you openly challenge Nintendo, Shigeru Miyamoto sends an army of samurai cyborgs to your home to enslave your family. That, or he smiles at you as he shuffles through his sack of gold coins.
“Nintendo is the leader; they’re getting half our emphasis in terms of title counts,” said Riccitiello according to a Gamasutra report.
In addition to a new tennis game and multiple new “MySims” titles, EA plans to publish Wii versions of some of its “core intellectual properties.”
“A good example of this is Dead Space,” Riccitiello said during EA’s Q3 conference call. “We are bringing a Wii title to market this year, and it is absolutely going to be the quality and fear factor that you’ve got on the PS3/ Xbox 360 and PC SKU this past year.”
The EA boss didn’t reveal any specifics, but I doubt the company will replace the Necromorphs and guns with bunnies and rainbows.
While the Wii does have family-friendly image, violence-laden titles such as “Manhunt 2″ and “No More Heroes” are available for the console. SEGA will publish “MadWorld” and “The House of the Dead: Overkill” for the Wii within the next few months.
This is great news for Wii owners who have been clamoring for better third-party support. “Dead Space” was one of my favorite games of 2008 and I highly recommend the game to anybody who hasn’t played it yet. Though, you might want to holster your expectations until EA releases some screenshots or in-game footage. The Wii Remote’s pointer functionality should provide an effective way to dismember the hideous aliens, but let’s hope that the game’s visuals don’t take a significant hit. Though, many found the shooter’s sound and atmosphere to be its most impressive aspects.
Sources: Gamasutra, Seeking Alpha
I think many of these games will help the overall
ratings of the Wii console. It will be nice to see some of these games.
YESSS!! This is going to be awesome.
RE4 was awesome on Wii with the pointer controls, so Dead Space should be good too.
Miyamoto isn’t actually rich, by the way. He insists on a normal workman’s wages.
@ BoxOfFun
It was a joke.
@ Havok Saunders
A joke making fun of Miyamoto’s riches. Which don’t exist.