Why Isn't The Wii U Getting Third Party Support? How Can It Gain Third Party Support?

[Barozi]

awesomeabe1998 said:

UltimateUnknown said:
Probably because the game will not sell enough to make up the money that it cost to port it, or the profits will not be high enough to justify porting the game. Latter is more likely the reason.

Rayman had exclusive content which allowed it to sell well on Wii U because it was better on Wii U and not gimped. According to VGchartz the Wii U version accounted for 31% of all sales.

Rayman Legends sold that well on WiiU because it used to be an exclusive before, which means that people already bought a WiiU during launch in order to play Rayman Legends a few months later (obviously it got delayed then).
Now assuming one owns either PS3 or 360 and a WiiU, people would obviously buy the WiiU version since that was the justification (or one of many) for even getting the console.


Answering your original question. It's just not worth the time. You need a team and several months of time to get a port done. For the big publishers it's not good enough to break even or even make some tiny profit. They get far more money in the long run by letting that team work with others on a bigger project, so that this project gets better and/or finished earlier.

The way WiiU could gain more third party games is similar to what MS and Sony are doing here and there. If the publishers don't think its worth it, pay them a certain amount or go to the devs (if they own the IP) and be their publisher by paying for the dev costs, distribution and marketing. That's how the WiiU got LEGO City Undercover, Sonic The Lost World, Sonic Boom, The Wonderful 101 and Bayonetta 2.