In keeping with a disturbing new trend in third-party software development on Nintendo’s home console, Ubisoft has confirmed that the Wii U port of Splinter Cell: Blacklist will not feature the offline cooperative play mode found in the other versions of the game.
Ubisoft producer Liu Jun revealed the disappointing news during a Nintendo Life interview, saying:
“In order to ship at the same time as the other consoles, we unfortunately weren’t able to delve into this [offline co-op play] feature. But we think Nintendo gamers will be really excited to get the game at the same time as other consoles.”
The confirmation of the missing Splinter Cell: Blacklist Wii U feature follows last week’s news that Warner Bros. is not developing Batman: Arkham Origins‘ online multiplayer mode for the Wii U. While the reasoning behind the two decisions is different (Ubisoft is citing a lack of time, while Warner Bros. blamed the low number of online Wii U players), this is not a good sign for third-party support on Nintendo’s latest console.
It is not hard to understand the motivation behind these business decisions, but it really feels as if these publishers are setting themselves up for disappointment. After all, why would any consumer who owns multiple consoles choose to buy the incomplete Wii U version?
At any rate, Nintendo Wii U owners can at least take comfort in the fact that Splinter Cell: Blacklist is still on the way to their console — this could have easily turned into another EA situation.