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[Steve Youngblood]

Good programmers will always figure out a way to make something work and that leads me to believe DICE's technical team is just fucking lazy and are lying through their teeth so they don't look like completely incompetent schmucks. Now they just look like a bunch of lying, lazy schmucks instead. Its really only natural for people to call them on their bullshit.

Good programmers command high salaries and will only do work that is expected to make money. The fact that their preliminary findings didn't yield great results may not indicate that it's impossible to get the engine up and running, but it also doesn't make them lazy liars for not thinking that putting more resources into it is worth it.

 

[Rajack]

No!

It is not always possible to make something work fast enough on a system!

They are computers, not fucking magic boxes!

Its definitely more than possible in this situation since the Wii U's CPU has more than its fair share of advantages over the 360 and PS3's CPUS such as Out of Order Execution and shorter instruction pipelines than the several generations old cpus in the 360 and PS3. Talented and creative programmers would have no problem getting Frostbite 2 or Frostbite 3 to run well on the Wii U. It just takes a decent understanding of the console's hardware. I sincerely doubt DICE had a firm grasp on the intricacies of the Wii U's hardware when they ran their tests.

 

[prwxv3]

What audience, did it die out?

The casual audience that buys games like Wii music

 

[lwilliams3]

Claiming that you know how the engine runs better than the people that made it is self entitlement, you do not know how the engine runs and thus have no right to claim they are lying!

I understand your reasoning here, but I can also understand how some would be skeptical that Frostbite 3 could not have been optimized for the Wii U while other companies have been able to get their current/next-gen engines to run on it.

In any case, it will be interesting to see what happens with this whole EA thing if the Wii U's sales improve. Would EA make a "Frostbite U" engine to make porting easier? Only time will tell..

 

[i-Lo]

Its definitely more than possible in this situation since the Wii U's CPU has more than its fair share of advantages over the 360 and PS3's CPUS such as Out of Order Execution and shorter instruction pipelines than the several generations old cpus in the 360 and PS3. Talented and creative programmers would have no problem getting Frostbite 2 or Frostbite 3 to run well on the Wii U. It just takes a decent understanding of the console's hardware. I sincerely doubt DICE had a firm grasp on the intricacies of the Wii U's hardware when they ran their tests.

This. They don't understand the system well enough to pass such a judgement in haste.

Oh well, it's EA's loss.

 

[Steve Youngblood]

Its definitely more than possible in this situation since the Wii U's CPU has more than its fair share of advantages over the 360 and PS3's CPUS such as Out of Order Execution and shorter instruction pipelines than the several generations old cpus in the 360 and PS3. Talented and creative programmers would have no problem getting Frostbite 2 or Frostbite 3 to run well on the Wii U. It just takes a decent understanding of the console's hardware. I sincerely doubt DICE had a firm grasp on the intricacies of the Wii U's hardware when they ran their tests.

Have you offered your services yet? I'm sure you could port it easily given your expertise.

 

[prwxv3]

Its definitely more than possible in this situation since the Wii U's CPU has more than its fair share of advantages over the 360 and PS3's CPUS such as Out of Order Execution and shorter instruction pipelines than the several generations old cpus in the 360 and PS3. Talented and creative programmers would have no problem getting Frostbite 2 or Frostbite 3 to run well on the Wii U. It just takes a decent understanding of the console's hardware. I sincerely doubt DICE had a firm grasp on the intricacies of the Wii U's hardware when they ran their tests.

you need to stop posting you are digging yourself a hole here.

 

[Poimandres]

Nobody here is suggesting that, stop parodying people who barely exist.

Well, I wouldn't say nobody here is saying that...

Translation: "Lazy port wasn't going to run perfectly so we gave up."

If EA gave a shit, it would run just fine on it.

Western console developer is lazy, news at 10.

And there was also your "interpretation" of their statement which kind of implies laziness.

We had no idea how to get anything out of the system so we didn't bother

 

[GetemMa]

FIFA was a shit port because Nintendo's online was a wreck to develop on.

Controller features were great, but no one gives a shit if there is no FUT.

The online has nothing to do with the physics engine which was completely upgraded in FIFA 13 on PS360. The whole game felt different on those consoles.

for WiiU they took FIFA12, slapped some controller features on it, upgraded the rosters and called it a day.l

Expecting people not to hear about this stuff and to also wait 3 months for the WiiU version that isn't current is beyond unrealistic.

 

[Lonely1]

I understand your reasoning here, but I can also understand how some would be skeptical that Frostbite 3 could not have been optimized for the Wii U while other companies have been able to get their current/next-gen engines to run on it.

In any case, it will be interesting to see what happens with this whole EA thing if the Wii U's sales improve. Would EA make a "Frostbite U" engine to make porting easier? Only time will tell..

A bag of money like Sony with Gabe might do the trick!

 

[dream]

So that tweet shamed them into reversing their decision and putting Frostbite and the new Star Wars game on Wii U, right? Is that why people are celebrating the tweet?

 

[MikeDip]

I love this jpg so hard

I read this comment as "gif" and watched a static image of a WiiU behind a rainy window for over 3 minutes waiting for something to happen.

 

[BlackJace]

Well, I wouldn't say nobody here is saying that...







And there was also your "interpretation" of their statement which kind of implies laziness.

EA really doesn't give a shit about the Wii U, though. How does my comment imply an allegation of laziness?

 

[Dcube]

Something happened between Nintendo and EA clearly, I just wish we could isolate the truth.

 

[Huff]

Its definitely more than possible in this situation since the Wii U's CPU has more than its fair share of advantages over the 360 and PS3's CPUS such as Out of Order Execution and shorter instruction pipelines than the several generations old cpus in the 360 and PS3. Talented and creative programmers would have no problem getting Frostbite 2 or Frostbite 3 to run well on the Wii U. It just takes a decent understanding of the console's hardware. I sincerely doubt DICE had a firm grasp on the intricacies of the Wii U's hardware when they ran their tests.

Can I ask what experience you have in making videogames?

I'm assuming none

 

[Scum]

I'm just waiting for the inevitable, "We have no plans to bring FIFA to the WiiU." any day now.

 

[cloudyy]

The casual audience that buys games like Wii music

What about the other 90 millions non casual audience that didn't buy Wii music?

 

[lwilliams3]

A bag of money like Sony with Gabe might do the trick!

Lol, true. On a more serious note, Iwata is now CEO of NOA, so perhaps he will now directly deal with that situation.

 

[Arc Christelle]

NaCl pls

 

[jmizzal]

The EA boss told him dont try

 

[oneils]

No it's just become the narrative that is played up by people who cannot understand why a company would not want to support a system that is selling worse than the Gamecube.

To my knowledge, nobody knows. EA were advertising an "unprecedented partnership" and some rumors were going around saying that Nintendo were going to be using Origin. Then that didn't happen and the partnership mysteriously broke down.

Then the Wii U didn't sell all that well and that broken down relationship normally comes up in threads about it.

Thanks guys, haven't really been following all of the nintendo discussion around here.

If the sales figure someone mentioned up-thread are real (3.5M consoles sold), then I think we have a pretty good bet as to why the relationship broke down.

They have 4 games on Wii U and it is probably safe to say they lost money on them. Anyone have Wii U sales figures for Fifa 13, Madden 13, Mass Effect 3, and NFS:MW on Wii U? That would probably tell the whole story right there.

 

[Hiltz]

I wonder if their mostly basing these comments on early dev kits like the developer of Metro: Last Light's excuse than lack of financial incentive and opportunity cost. Crytek's engine can handle the Wii U and its CEO even said, "It actually runs beautifully." In addition, he said later on that the reason Crysis 3 didn't come out for Wii U was due to publisher issue involving EA not being able to work things out with Nintendo.

 

[Poimandres]

EA really doesn't give a shit about the Wii U, though. How does my comment imply an allegation of laziness?

Give a shit = Put in effort
Don't give a shit = Don't put in effort = laziness

Well, that was my thought process anyway. Sorry if I was mistaken, as indeed you did not make a direct allusion to laziness.

 

[Chinpoko_Master]

Something happened between Nintendo and EA clearly, I just wish we could isolate the truth.

There's nothing that "happened" between Nintendo and EA. The truth is likely that EA saw the Wii U hardware and third-party software sales and bailed the fuck out.

 

[Rajack]

Can I ask what experience you have in making videogames?

I'm assuming none

I have extensive experience making games using C4 Engine and Unity.

 

[DragonSworne]

I read this comment as "gif" and watched a static image of a WiiU behind a rainy window for over 3 minutes waiting for something to happen.

Make the duration 12 years and you'll finally feel what it's like to be a Nintendo fan.

 

[Schnozberry]

This. They don't understand the system well enough to pass such a judgement in haste.

Oh well, it's EA's loss.

More likely that the ROI they forecasted wasn't worth the effort to optimize for the platform.

I doubt they wouldn't be able to get a handle on the hardware.

 

[Huff]

I have extensive experience making games using C4 Engine and Unity.

I'm an astronaut

 

[Zoramon089]

Make the duration 12 years and you'll finally feel what it's like to be a Nintendo fan.

What does that even mean?

 

[frankie_baby]

Something happened between Nintendo and EA clearly, I just wish we could isolate the truth.

another theory i've got is that maybe sony and ms offered to allow them to block used games and nintendo wouldn't

 

[USC-fan]

Something happened between Nintendo and EA clearly, I just wish we could isolate the truth.

Released games...

EA developed games:
FIFA 13
Madden 13
Mass Effect 3
Need For Speed Most Wanted U - one of the best ports on the system

Nintendo developed games:
New Super Mario Bros. U
Nintendo Land

Spoiler

Games just didn't sell well.

 

[TheD]

Its definitely more than possible in this situation since the Wii U's CPU has more than its fair share of advantages over the 360 and PS3's CPUS such as Out of Order Execution and shorter instruction pipelines than the several generations old cpus in the 360 and PS3. Talented and creative programmers would have no problem getting Frostbite 2 or Frostbite 3 to run well on the Wii U. It just takes a decent understanding of the console's hardware. I sincerely doubt DICE had a firm grasp on the intricacies of the Wii U's hardware when they ran their tests.

No, you do not know where the problem is.

The WiiU also has a bunch of disadvantages, much slower clock speed, lack of SIMD performance, lack of memory bandwidth ect.

You have no idea what it would take to get the engine running on the WiiU!

 

[tkscz]

Here is something I'm wondering, how long did they test the WiiU? The hardware isn't the same as the PS3/360, REGARDLESS OF HOW MUCH GAF THINKS IT IS, and an engine not built around flexibility to something like the WiiU would need time and money to run correctly without giving up too much. So, how long did it take them to make the claim that it just couldn't run it?

 

[Steve Youngblood]

another theory i've got is that maybe sony and ms offered to allow them to block used games and nintendo wouldn't

That's a terrific theory.

 

[frankie_baby]

There's nothing that "happened" between Nintendo and EA. The truth is likely that EA saw the Wii U hardware and third-party software sales and bailed the fuck out.

i doubt sales would have had much impact on plans for 2013 titles as they'd have been worked on well before launch

 

[Schnozberry]

No, you do not know where the problem is.

The WiiU also has a bunch of disadvantages, much slower clock speed, lack of SIMD performance, lack of memory bandwidth ect.

You have no idea what it would take to get the engine running on the WiiU!

The memory subsystem is actually pretty complex and not really bandwidth starved. The problem is the complexity and not the speed.

 

[antonz]

Released games...

EA developed games:
FIFA 13
Madden 13
Mass Effect 3
Need For Speed Most Wanted U - one of the best ports on the system

Nintendo developed games:
New Super Mario Bros. U
Nintendo Land

Spoiler

Games just didn't sell well.

I really don't know how you have managed to stay on these forums. Your nothing but a troll inmost Nintendo threads.

 

[i-Lo]

I have extensive experience making games using C4 Engine and Unity.

Aww yeaa.. you go dude! Tell'em.

More likely that the ROI they forecasted wasn't worth the effort to optimize for the platform.

I doubt they wouldn't be able to get a handle on the hardware.

Perhaps squeezing something worthy out of WiiU would have cost more than its worth. So, in any event, their heart wasn't in it.

Nonetheless, people buy nintendo system for first party titles. No one's going to miss a few small third party titles.

 

[frankie_baby]

That's a terrific theory.

we'll have to see once the orbango twins come out but it could make sense

 

[H_Prestige]

I wonder when the myth of "hardware power has nothing to do with third party support" will end. So much evidence but I still see people plug their ears and go "lalalala can't hear you".

People who keep touting that line are engaging in some hilarious circular reasoning just to avoid admitting that the hardware is fundamentally too weak to get widespread adoption.

"It's not power, third parties are not putting games on it because not enough people are buying the system!"

"So why aren't people buying the system?"

"Because it has no games, DUH"

"Why doesn't it have any games?"

"BECAUSE SALES ARE TOO LOW FOR THIRD PARTIES TO PUT GAMES ON THE SYSTEM TRY TO KEEP UP"

 

[prwxv3]

That's a terrific theory.

I love those theories that state that third parties are bailing because nintendo cares about the consumer. Especially when you consider Nintendo's account system.

 

[Schnozberry]

Here is something I'm wondering, how long did they test the WiiU? The hardware isn't the same as the PS3/360, REGARDLESS OF HOW MUCH GAF THINKS IT IS, and an engine not built around flexibility to something like the WiiU would need time and money to run correctly without giving up too much. So, how long did it take them to make the claim that it just couldn't run it?

A more interesting question is when did they test it? The Wii U got a clock bump and extensive API improvements in the middle of 2012. They have made even more improvements since launch.

 

[TheD]

The memory subsystem is actually pretty complex and not really bandwidth starved. The problem is the complexity and not the speed.

It has half the main memory bandwidth of the 360 and 1/4 of the PS3.

 

[tkscz]

I'm an astronaut

One of these can be proven.

It has half the main memory bandwidth of the 360 and 1/4 of the PS3.

I see you haven't been paying attention to recent WiiU hardware findings. You might want to check out the WiiU GPU thread. Here's a little tidbit, there is RAM in the GPU that makes up for the latency of the main RAM.

 

[Rajack]

One of these can be proven.

and the other cannot.

 

[frankie_baby]

I love those theories that state that third parties are bailing because nintendo cares about the consumer. Especially when you consider Nintendo's account system.

i dont think nintendo's account system was designed to be anti consumer they just kind of got it a bit wrong, but any kind of refusal to go along with 'no used games' doesn't have to be pro consumer either could simply be a business decision as blocking used games wil not go down well especially in japan

 

[Steve Youngblood]

we'll have to see once the orbango twins come out but it could make sense

Do you think that 360/PS3 support is going to be as poor as Wii U support is currently as soon as those new platforms release?

 

[DeuceGamer]

Thanks guys, haven't really been following all of the nintendo discussion around here.

If the sales figure someone mentioned up-thread are real (3.5M consoles sold), then I think we have a pretty good bet as to why the relationship broke down.

They have 4 games on Wii U and it is probably safe to say they lost money on them. Anyone have Wii U sales figures for Fifa 13, Madden 13, Mass Effect 3, and NFS:MW on Wii U? That would probably tell the whole story right there.

Sales probably are contributing significantly to some of EA's decisions regarding games on Wii U but the games they releasd were mostly late ports, gimped versions, or released in same time frame as compilations with multiple games at same price point. I don't think that adds up to an unprecedented partnership that both were touting.

That said nobody seems to know the truth of what happened to that unprecedented partnership and it seems we may never know the full details. For all we know Nintendo could be blamed for the fallout.

 

[frankie_baby]

Do you think that 360/PS3 support is going to be as poor as Wii U support is currently as soon as those new platforms release?

no as they have the pull of the huge userbase

 

[prag16]

Lol yeah, that's it.

No, the Wii U CPU is shit and can't handle FB2. Get over it.

Thanks for the sophisticated analysis. I think many of you are just trolling at this point.