NFS Rivals slips past Wii U and Vita thanks to poor sales

Previous release doesn't justify work of port, says Criterion creative director

The Wii U and PlayStation Vita will miss out on another EA title thanks to poor sales, as Criterion creative director Craig Sullivan revealed that Need for Speed Rivals won't arrive on either platform.

EA said in May that it didn't have any titles in development for Nintendo's new console – a position it has since softened – and it's next generation Frostbite 3 engine hasn't been ported to either the Wii U or Sony's PS Vita.

"[Need For Speed Most Wanted] didn't really sell that many, in terms of the Wii U market," Sullivan told The Sixth Axis.

"We did a load of extra work on the Wii U version, and we had a lot of guys working on that stuff, you know?"

The news that Ghost Game's latest installment of one of EA's most popular franchises sounds like the AAA situation isn't improving for either platform.

"[Rivals] is going onto new hardware, and you have to work out where you focus your efforts," said Sullivan.

"The 200 people working on this game are only capable of making so much, and doing so many different versions of the game, so we had to go with where we think the biggest audience will be for the game."

Though the Vita hasn't done terribly well in attracting major third parties, a number of indie developers have seized on the platform as their own private playground.

As EA lets yet another major release slip by, consumers that shelled out for the handheld are more likely to pay for the smaller games that might have gone unnoticed in the shadow of triple-A marketing.

http://www.develop-online.net/news/n...-sales/0184810