Epic Games VP: “I’d be shocked if Wii U doesn’t do well”

mark rein

Epic Games vice president Mark Rein has expressed that he would be shocked if the Wii U didn’t do well, stating that parents trust Nintendo and would be keen to upgrade from their Wii consoles.

“I like the Wii U. I think E3 will be a big eye-opener for people,” Rein predicted to Eurogamer during the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco last week. “I played Batman: Arkham City on the Wii U and they are doing some really cool stuff with the controller. Do you remember the Zelda demo they had on it? Would you not buy a Wii U just to play that? Of course you would. That’s what Nintendo is all about. Their hardware is the software delivery service for their great content. That Zelda demo was gorgeous and we can do even more than that with Unreal Engine 3. I think it will do great”.

He further added that Nintendo’s unrivalled brand recognition and much adored IP will see the console fly off the shelves, although believes that it should’ve hit retail sooner.

“It’s a great brand that a lot of parents really trust and they’re probably ready to buy their kids an HD Wii that does that much more than just being an HD Wii”, he explained. “I’d love it if they’d done it last year, but I’m excited for them to do it this year. I’d be shocked if it doesn’t do well.

“Did you play that Battle Mii game? Two players would play with a Wii Remote and Nunchuk and one would play with the Wii U controller? I would buy a Wii U to play that game in a heartbeat. And I hope people make those kind of games with our technology. I think we’ve yet to really see what the Wii U can do and I think at E3 this year they’re going to shock us”.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata suggested earlier this year that Nintendo would turn to third party studios for assistance with high-end projects that were too demanding upon its resources. Could Epic Games be such a candidate, or would they develop a new IP for Wii U?

“If I had 10 development teams I’d make a game for every single platform and make that the special game for that platform”, Rein responded. “If you’re the special game on that platform you do really, really well. Gears was one of the special ones on Xbox 360. Infinity Blade is a special game on the iPhone and iPad. Shadow Complex was a special game on Xbox Live Arcade. But we don’t have 10 development teams so it’s just a matter of picking and choosing what we do and doing the best thing we can for the idea that we have”.

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