How Saints Row IV Means Bad News For Nintendo

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Steve Anderson
The Video Store Guy
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How Saints Row IV Means Bad News For Nintendo

Anyone who's been following the progress of the Wii U over the course of the last few months since it's been released is likely quite aware there are some big problems on that front. But a new chunk of bad news has come into frame thanks to the release of a big new game this summer...everywhere but Wii U.

Now, for those who don't already know, Saints Row IV will be coming this August; more specifically, it will hit August 23 worldwide, but August 20 in the United States. But it won't be hitting the Wii U, and at last report, neither will Dead Island: Riptide. And this is extraordinarily bad news for a system that did not need more bad news.

Saints Row IV and Dead Island: Riptide are going to be two of the biggest games to hit this year, and given that this year is likely to be a launch year for two new game systems--the PlayStation 4, which we've already seen (sort of) and the new Xbox, which hasn't yet made its appearance--that's saying something. But for these games not to make their way to the Wii U is a blow to the system.

Essentially, the reason they're not coming relates to a stance the games' publisher, Deep Silver, is taking in terms of what systems to support. While Deep Silver already supports the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3, and the PC, it doesn't yet support Wii U. Thus, Deep Silver is reportedly focusing its efforts on tweaking the gameplay and the like on system it isn't currently working with. That's not to say it won't, just that it isn't, and now didn't reportedly look like a good time to make that change.

The Wii U is still suffering from a comparative drought as far as games go. Sure, the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 aren't getting much either right now but that's more a function of upcoming new launches than anything else. But the Wii U is a next-generation release...and it's not even getting ports of current generation software.

This is extremely bad news; if Nintendo's not getting current ports, what chance do they have of getting the stuff that hits for the other next-gen consoles?

This could just be a temporary aberration. It's entirely possible that things may change the farther in we go. But for right now, the return of the Third Street Saints may mean bad news  for a whole lot more than Steelport's shopkeepers. It may mean bad news for Nintendo, and the Wii U.
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