Ubisoft has traditionally been one of the biggest supporters of Nintendo’s new hardware, launching multiple games on both the 3DS and Wii U, and it appears that the company will remain just as bullish when the NX is released next year.
CEO Yves Guillemot called the NX a “fantastic machine” and “really Nintendo” during a presentation attended by GameSpot, and that the company is particularly interested in “disruptions” in the gaming space.
“When [consumers] change machines, they consider that it is better to try what has been done for that machine,” Guillemot says. “This gives us the opportunity to totally change an IP that we have done before, or to create new experiences and new IPs.”
This means that the Just Dance game already announced for the NX is not the only game the company is working on for the system. Guillemot did not give any specific details about the types of games to expect from Ubisoft on the console, but suggested that projects similar to ZombiU, which made heavy use of Wii-U specific features, give a good idea of how it plans to handle the NX.
Guillemot also reiterated the importance of Ubisoft remaining an independent company as media giant Vivendi continues its “hostile takeover” plan that already saw the acquisition of Gameloft, formerly led by Guillemot’s brother.
“A game like ZombiU — an original game for the unproven Wii U — seems like a prime example of the kind of thing it was only able to do because it was an independent company,” Guillemot adds.
Ubisoft gave significant software support to the Wii U when it first launched in 2012, but the console’s slow sales caused the company to completely abandon development for it. A party game for the system, which completed development over two years ago, has still not been released as Ubisoft has been waited for Wii U sales to increase. Perhaps it can finally see the light of day on the NX.
The Nintendo NX hits stores in March 2017.
