[Thraktor]

As I expected (and wrote as much in the Wii U threads on a couple of occasions). Epic want to show off the engine on the highest-end hardware available, so it's going to be PCs first, PS4 and XBox3 second. Wii U will either get a few third-party UE4 ports down the line, or if there's sufficient demand Epic will do a version themselves. As Rein says, there's nothing technically preventing them from bringing the engine to Wii U, but it obviously makes sense to focus on higher-end hardware if they're selling it as a high-end engine.

[Stealth20k]

That gen wasn't close. At all. The PS2 obliterated the others.

That it did, and it was technically the weakest, it was all about exclusives.

Id much rather argue games, than consoles..

[tkscz]

Self-fulfilling prophecy. The 3rd party games sold terribly because there was nothing but tests and crap for the first two years on that end. It was too late by the time they actually came... and even then it was still half-assed.

Those first two years really sucked for the poor Wii. Makes you wonder if 3rd parties tried on Wii, would it be better in the core's eye?

[Hiltz]

Yes, he did. I'm sure one of our licensees will squeeze it down into the Wii I'm sure, meaning he is sure, our licensees, meaning not Epic, will squeeze it down, meaning butcher, to Wii. You can suggest he was wrong, but that is what he said.

Oh man. I was laughing when I read this, because it's true.

[2MF]

I'm no Nintendo basher, quite the contrary. But it is a fantasy to say these are positive quotes.

[linkboy]

That gen wasn't close. At all. The PS2 obliterated the others.

In power, not sales.

The PS2 was the weakest console of that gen, with the GC next and the Xbox being the most powerful.

However, unlike this gen, all 3 consoles were in the same ball park powerwise, there wasn't a Wii situation.

[AndrewDean84xX]

The odds of an UE4 game on the Wii U seem much higher than UE3 games on the Wii. The Wii just didn't have that "HD" tech to make the extra work needed worth the time.

I bet at some point, we will see UE4 games on the Wii U. But I would expect UE3 games for a while, on all platforms.

[cyberheater]

So basically. It's never going to happen.

[metalslimer]

Comparing the sitution with the Wii to the Wii U is completely disingenuous. Of course anyone who makes that argument knows that the situations are completely different, but still. I'm not sure that the fact Epic won't do the port themselves is completely good news here.

[donny2112]

So they won't code in Wii U support themselves but just give the SDK to a dev and expect them to port the engine to Wii U themselves... Don't know if there are many devs that would do that.

If there will be scalable settings for mobile phones, which would be well below Wii U, there will be a scalable setting for Wii U. It's not Epic's focus, though. It's not what they're selling their middleware on. Therefore, it's not going to be a priority for them. Nothing surprising there. This is just something to link to the next time someone tries to say that UE4 won't run on Wii U.

Of course there are people in this very thread saying that Wii U won't when the OP is a quote saying the opposite. *shrugs*

As I expected (and wrote as much in the Wii U threads on a couple of occasions). Epic want to show off the engine on the highest-end hardware available, so it's going to be PCs first, PS4 and XBox3 second. Wii U will either get a few third-party UE4 ports down the line, or if there's sufficient demand Epic will do a version themselves. As Rein says, there's nothing technically preventing them from bringing the engine to Wii U, but it obviously makes sense to focus on higher-end hardware if they're selling it as a high-end engine.

Yes, this. Good summary.

[BlackJace]

So basically. It's never going to happen.

This is why I question most of GAF's reading comprehension.

[StuBurns]

Oh man. I was laughing when I read this, because it's true.

To be fair, that was a different situation. Even if the disparity in platforms is similar this time around (and as far as I can tell from the various rumours, it's not), the cost of making exclusives for WiiU would be higher than Wii, making that less attractive, and the closer control interfaces makes porting much more attractive, so the demand for a truly cross platform engine, with every version officially supported could be significantly higher than last time. The day Epic lose a licensee to CryTek because they don't handle WiiU in house is the last time they don't handle WiiU in house.

[ASIS]

Self-fulfilling prophecy. The 3rd party games sold terribly because there was nothing but tests and crap for the first two years on that end. It was too late by the time they actually came... and even then it was still half-assed.

Worst thing is, some third parties actually managed to score million sellers on the first two years of the Wii's life span.

[Phoenician_Viking]

Just release the damn specs Nintendo. All this pro and anti WiiU metal gymnastics stopped being funny a while ago.

[AndrewDean84xX]

I'm also curious if it would be difficult to scale a UE4 game to UE3.

[Hiltz]

The odds of an UE4 game on the Wii U seem much higher than UE3 games on the Wii. The Wii just didn't have that "HD" tech to make the extra work needed worth the time. I bet at some point, we will see UE4 games on the Wii U. But I would expect UE3 games for a while, on all platforms.

I recall Epic saying that Xbox 720 and PS4 may not necessarily start supporting UE4 games from the get-go. It may even take 2 years, but it all depends on the developer who has licensed UE4 and can pump out a game that utilizes it first.

[Silent_Ocarina]

Yes, he did. I'm sure one of our licensees will squeeze it down into the Wii I'm sure, meaning he is sure, our licensees, meaning not Epic, will squeeze it down, meaning butcher, to Wii. You can suggest he was wrong, but that is what he said.

In context, though, it sounds like Mark Rein simply said that in order to encourage Wii owners. Then again, it also sounds like I'm grasping at straws when I say that.

Nonetheless, in that aforementioned quote, he also said, "Unreal Engine 3 is designed for a high level shader architecture and the Wii doesn't have that. I mean, you know, it's just not what we've been aiming for, so it's not something we're looking to do or support." He doesn't say anything like that here. Edit: I'm talking about the architecture bit here.

Whether or not Unreal Engine 4 can run on Wii U, we still don't know if that ensures third party support. However, it certainly does increase the chances.

I will say that Rein's frequent championing of Unreal Engine 3 on Wii U is rather worrisome.

[ElTopo]

So basically. It's never going to happen.

More likely than Crystal Dynamics making a Wii U exclusive game that makes use of the consoles unique capabilities. I think they're keeping themselves the possibility to port games to Wii U should it be necessary (e.g. rising development costs and an insufficient install base of 720/PS4 or if Wii U becomes a huge success).

[BlackJace]

Just release the damn specs Nintendo. All this pro and anti WiiU metal gymnastics stopped being funny a while ago.

For once, I agree with you.

[metalslimer]

So basically. It's never going to happen.

Yeah your avatar really makes you credible source here.

[apana]

Looks like Wii U is more powerful than we thought. Also considering the fact that Epic said most developers will stick to UE3 for next gen, Wii U support looks strong as far as the less high profile games go. Next gen Batman or Bioshock will be a reach but I could see those games showing up on Wii U as down ports.

[nikatapi]

It seems very possible that WiiU will get UE4 ports, even toned down a lot, but it is a very different situation than the Wii and UE3.

If i'm not mistaken the Wii lacked the architectural features in order to support UE3, while WiiU probably has all the hardware features needed.

I guess the main factor is the raw power difference between the WiiU and the other consoles, and if it would be possible to keep the gameplay elements the same while toning down the graphics a notch.

[The Bookerman]

The Unreal Engine 4.0's selling point is that it's NEXT GEN. Of course they won't say UE 4.0 was made with Wii U in mind. That's not what they are trying to sell. Just the fact that it could be scaled back to Wii U's power level is a plus for Nintendo. Cause there was no way people would downscale UE 3 for the Wii. People used instead UE 2.5 Which was a hole different ballgame than UE3.

Basically it's gonna be a hole lot easier for people to port stuff from the other systems to Wii U, if they are using UE 4.0.

[9thwonder]

If this requires a 3rd party developer to do it then it won't happen. How big do you guys think the gap between wii u and next box/ps4 will be? I dont think it will be as big as is was with ps3/wii but u think the gap will be relatively large. The gap between the 3ds and vita would probably be my guess on how large the gap will be. I think the wii u will receive SOME ports for the first year or maybe 2. But after that when developers really start cranking out power houses (for an example I don't think battlefield 4/bad company 2 will be on wii u. I don't think crysis 4 or the next final fantasy will be on there either.) its really going to struggle. Eventually it'll be left in the dust by third parties. Not necessarily like wii was but kinda like gamecube/n64 was.

[Hiltz]

To be fair, that was a different situation. Even if the disparity in platforms is similar this time around (and as far as I can tell from the various rumours, it's not), the cost of making exclusives for WiiU would be higher than Wii, making that less attractive, and the closer control interfaces makes porting much more attractive, so the demand for a truly cross platform engine, with every version officially supported could be significantly higher than last time. The day Epic lose a licensee to CryTek because they don't handle WiiU in house is the last time they don't handle WiiU in house.

Oh, I completely agree that it was a different situation. You're right. In hindsight, I was just amused by reflecting on the reality of how things went down for Wii with third-parties. I mean, the way you "translated" Mark Rein's statement was just funny is all.

[Anth0ny]

This isn't good news if the Wii U ports of Call of Duty 20 look like dogshit compared to the PS4/720 versions.

[metalslimer]

If this requires a 3rd party developer to do it then it won't happen. How big do you guys think the gap between wii u and next box/ps4 will be? I dont think it will be as big as is was with ps3/wii but u think the gap will be relatively large. The gap between the 3ds and vita would probably be my guess on how large the gap will be. I think the wii u will receive SOME ports for the first year or maybe 2. But after that when developers really start cranking out power houses (for an example I don't think battlefield 4/bad company 2 will be on wii u. I don't think crysis 4 or the next final fantasy will be on there either.) its really going to struggle. Eventually it'll be left in the dust by third parties. Not necessarily like wii was but kinda like gamecube/n64 was.

For western 3rd parties I expect the Wii U to struggle hard. I suspect the real support will come from Japanese 3rd parties who Nintendo has a real relationship with.

[AndrewDean84xX]

Didn't the 360 and PS3 launch, both using UE2.5 before UE3?

[shinobi602]

Looks like Wii U is more powerful than we thought.

How so? I don't think many here said the Wii U won't be able to run UE4 at all. It'll just be heavily downgraded.

[StuBurns]

Didn't the 360 and PS3 launch, both using UE2.5 before UE3?

UE3 wasn't finished when 360 launched, PS3 had a launch title.

EDIT: My mistake, PS3 didn't have till the following June.

[Canis lupus]

This isn't good news if the Wii U ports of Call of Duty 20 look like dogshit compared to the PS4/720 versions.

It'll still use the old Quake engine so...

[BlackJace]

How so? I don't think many here said the Wii U won't be able to run UE4 at all. It'll just be heavily downgraded.

Where the hell have you been?!

That's all people were assuming.

[velvet_nitemare]

For western 3rd parties I expect the Wii U to struggle hard. I suspect the real support will come from Japanese 3rd parties who Nintendo has a real relationship with.

For most Japanese devs, UE isn't as much of a big deal i would think.

[AndrewDean84xX]

How so? I don't think many here said the Wii U won't be able to run UE4 at all. It'll just be heavily downgraded.

Like the way the next xbox and playstation will be downgraded from the PC?

I see it like this:

Wii U: Low
XB/PS: Medium
PC: High/Max

[royalan]

Where the hell have you been?! That's all people were assuming.

I haven't seen many instances of that, either.

I think most people knew that UE4 would be possible on Wii U in SOME form. The real question was would Wii U be able to handle the complete engine as-is, or will it have to be gimped. That question was just answered.

[shinobi602]

Where the hell have you been?! That's all people were assuming.

I...know? That's what I said.

His post made it sound as if many were saying Wii U won't run UE4 in any way.

[chertipros]

How so? I don't think many here said the Wii U won't be able to run UE4 at all. It'll just be heavily downgraded.

You seem to be forgetting the Geoff Keighley wii u unreal engine thread. lots of pessimism in there

[pants]

Looks like Wii U is more powerful than we thought. Also considering the fact that Epic said most developers will stick to UE3 for next gen, Wii U support looks strong as far as the less high profile games go. Next gen Batman or Bioshock will be a reach but I could see those games showing up on Wii U as down ports.

Not really, I'm sure Mark can say the exact same for 360 or PS3. I think it's foolish to make that conclusion on this statement.

[shinobi602]

Like the way the next xbox and playstation will be downgraded from the PC?

Nah, I definitely think a bigger gap than that.

[BlackJace]

You seem to be forgetting the Geoff Keighley wii u unreal engine thread. lots of pessimism in there

I...know? That's what I said.

What chertipros is refering to is exactly the type of "lol Wii U can't run UE4, not next gen" that was rampant.
That thread was a shitfest.

[ASIS]

Where the hell have you been?! That's all people were assuming.

People were assuming that UE4 will only be used in scalable form. Pretty much like how phones use it. In other words, Wii U can't run UE4 without a great deal of compromises, compromises that don't have to be made for the PS4 and next Xbox.

[shinobi602]

How big do you guys think the gap between wii u and next box/ps4 will be? I dont think it will be as big as is was with ps3/wii but u think the gap will be relatively large. The gap between the 3ds and vita would probably be my guess on how large the gap will be.

That is a pretty significant gap...

[mrklaw]

If Mark Rein had to ever to admit to anything of his being on a Nintendo console his head would fall off or something. It's like he's offended at very thought of it.

Especially the odd comment about mobile phones. There is no way mobile phones will be anywhere near as powerful as WiiU in the next couple of years, so that whole statement sounds odd.


I'm buying a WiiU but also a PS4 or Durango. Realistically I expect after PS4/Durango launch that all of my Multiplatform titles will not be bought on WiiU. But I hope they get enough PS3/360 titles with improvements that I can hold off buying a gaming PC for 12 months

[metalslimer]

That is a pretty significant gap...

I think the gap will be slightly smaller than that, still very noticable for 3rd party games should they port them, but competent ports should be possible.

[KageMaru]

In no way am I trolling, but I don't think the quote in the OP is good news. It's very similar to a line they gave for UE3 on the Wii. I can see a third party porting the engine or UE4 game if the Wii-U proves to be a hot seller for third party software, but if it's not, I wouldn't hold my breath.

If there will be scalable settings for mobile phones, which would be well below Wii U, there will be a scalable setting for Wii U.

UE3 is also scalable down to mobile phones, which used to be around Wii level hardware, but that never helped the Wii with the engine.

[Pharros]

As I expected (and wrote as much in the Wii U threads on a couple of occasions). Epic want to show off the engine on the highest-end hardware available, so it's going to be PCs first, PS4 and XBox3 second. Wii U will either get a few third-party UE4 ports down the line, or if there's sufficient demand Epic will do a version themselves. As Rein says, there's nothing technically preventing them from bringing the engine to Wii U, but it obviously makes sense to focus on higher-end hardware if they're selling it as a high-end engine.

From a business prospective this makes perfect sense as well. I for one hope that we see a good few ports or even ground up UE4 titles for Wii U but it will all come down to profitability for the developers/publishers. I also do not see how people are taking this negatively.

[PopcornMegaphone]

So can we blame "lazy developers" when the WiiU doesn't get a UE4 game?

Honestly, this news doesn't bother or surprise me. I plan to buy all next gen systems.

[BlackJace]

If someone could find that Geoff thread, that'd be nice :)

[DaSorcerer7]

BlackNMild2k vindicated.

Some people earlier in this thread wanted to know why this has to turn into a debate on whether UE4 is or isn't coming to Wii U... that's because it is rumored to be coming to Wii U. Other want to argue about how it's not gonna happen and why are people "begging" for it to happen. Maybe because it's rumored to have already happened. and I really just wanted to chime in with a quote from the anonymous dev that told us about UE4 being up and running on Wii U in the first place after he saw this bit of news. So I don't blame people for wanting to take a "wait and see" or "believe it when I see it" approach, but this isn't just coming from nowhere. It's coming from a dev who says that he has seen it first hand.

[chertipros]

If someone could find that Geoff thread, that'd be nice :)

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=475868

Wow its worse than i remember from the time i was lurking