Yesterday we learned that Electronic Arts will be the primary publisher of Star Wars games over the next several years, with Disney holding onto rights for a few specific categories (mobile, social, etc.) And though it wasn't immediately apparent, it's looking like the new deal could be bad news for Wii U owners.
EA has already revealed that games it produces under the Star Wars franchise will run on its Frostbite 3 engine — also set to serve as the foundation for other next-gen projects like Battlefield 4 and the next Mass Effect game. Unfortunately, last month DICE said Nintendo's own "next-gen" console isn't currently supported by Frostbite 3. "We don't want to back down from what we see as our low-spec machines," Battlefield executive producer Patrick Bach said at the time, referring to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
The new Star Wars games we at @ea_dice & @visceralgames will make will all be built with Frostbite 3: ea.com/news/ea-and-di… (of course!)
— Johan Andersson (@repi) May 6, 2013
Recent tweets from Frostbite technical director Johan Andersson aren't any more encouraging. "FB3 has never been running on WiiU," he said, responding to a gamer upset over the long odds facing a Wii U Star Wars title. "We did some tests with not too promising results with FB2 & chose not to go down that path," he said. As such, Wii U owners intent on playing through the "entirely original" stories being planned may need a second console beneath the TV this fall. EA hasn't yet formally dismissed the possibility of bringing Frostbite 3 to Nintendo's customers in some capacity, however; avoiding the Wii U entirely could leave quite a bit of money on the table.
We've reached out to both EA and Nintendo for clarification on the matter and will update this story accordingly when we hear back.