Ever since it was announce for Nintendo’s flagship home console, the Wii U version of Project Cars was anything but a sure thing. Having been hit by delays of its own during development, the port has been conspicuously absent from The Big N’s hardware. Now, it appears developer Slightly Mad Studios may pull the Wii U version of the über-realistic racer altogether and hold off until the release of the inevitably more powerful NX.
That’s according to a post on Slightly Mad’s official forums, where the studio admitted that the processing power of the Wii U simply can’t handle Project Cars in optimal settings. Currently lagging behind at 23fps and 720p, Studio Boss Ian Bell revealed that one option that looks more and more likely is for the team to cut its losses and move all assets over to Nintendo’s as-yet-unreleased NX console.
“At the moment we’re running at about 23fps on the Wii U. Honestly, unless we really cut the looks back I think we’re looking to Nintendo’s next console.”
“We’re awaiting/hoping for more of a hardware announcement at E3…We could reach a fairly solid 30fps but it might take a hell of a lot of work. On the other hand, about halfway through us finishing, Nintendo might announce a new console (I have zero knowledge on this BTW but I’ve heard ‘rumours’). Our work might just be the best thing that ever hit that new console in the driving sim genre.”
All in all, Slightly Mad is stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to Project Cars‘ future on Nintendo platforms. Releasing a hamstrung version of the racer would be a blow to fans who have stuck by the racer since its formative days on Kickstarter, though those same backers aren’t likely to be too pleased if the title is placed on a shelf until the arrival of the Nintendo NX.
Much like Bell and Co., we’ll have to hedge our bets until E3 in a few weeks’ time before learning more about Project Cars.