The Ghost Recon Online delay could hurt the Wii U

By: Musa Afridi

  |   September 10th, 2012   |  

Uncategorized

It may not be the biggest name that the Nintendo Wii U will be offering but Ghost Recon Online is an important one and Wishfree.com explains why.

Earlier on we covered the story of Ubisoft’s Ghost Recon Online being delayed but now it is time to take a look at how that could hurt the Wii U more than many people may think.

First of all, it would be wise to clarify that Ubisoft has stopped working on the development of the title for the Wii U altogether as it focuses on ensuring that the PC version of the game is up to standards. However, the scary bit, at least for Nintendo and prospective Wii U owners, is that the game may never make it on to Nintendo’s next-gen console.

The fact of the matter is that the two most important factors that will give the Wii U a strong launch period are the pricing and the games it has to offer. Nintendo seems to be confident that it will pleasantly surprise everyone on the pricing front but the content front is where the console is struggling.

Take for example the lineup that the manufacturer is boasting of at this point in time. The games that will appeal to non-Nintendo users and the more hardcore oriented gamers are Batman: Arkham City, Mass Effect 3 and Assassin’s Creed 3.

Out of those three games, two are already on the market and almost a year-old as well with Assassin’s Creed 3 also available on the existing current generation consoles as well.

The one game that stands out is ZombiU, but it does not seem enough for anyone to part with a significant lump of cash for that one game. Then there is Ghost Recon Online, the first free-to-play game of its type that is actually based on a popular franchise, familiar to console owners.

The game’s model and lack of barrier to entry for new gamers would have made it quite appealing to a number of non-PC gamers. It may not bring a whole lot of sales for the Wii U, but what it could do was allow casual gamers the chance to grow into more mainstream titles, all without having to leave the Wii U.

In essence, Ghost Recon Online would have formed the perfect bridge between core gamers and casual gamers and given the Wii U that something extra which most other consoles do not have at the moment.

At this point in time, the Wii U could do with every possible title it can get and the loss of a Ghost Recon game may not be the end of the world but it is a blow that Nintendo would not want to have taken.

Disclaimer: the views and opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the editorial policy of Wishfree.com.