Epic Games Keen on Working with Nintendo Wii U Platform

Epic Games, the studio behind the massively popular Unreal Engine and responsible for franchises like Gears of War or Unreal Tournament, is quite interested in the recently announced Nintendo Wii U, especially since games already confirmed for it are using modified Unreal Engine technology.

Nintendo surprised plenty of fans with the announcement of the Wii U at last month's E3 2011 conference, and the platform has already gotten several large companies interested, including Electronic Arts, Ubisoft or Activision.

Epic Games is also among the large developers that are keen on experimenting with the new device, although an official commitment is still a bit far away, at least according to Epic president Mike Capps, who talked with Industry Gamers about the new console.

“We haven't made an official announcement about that platform. And while we loved the Wii, it just wasn't a fit to make a game that would go across Xbox 360, PS3 and the Wii. It just wasn't possible. So going forward, we're working with those folks and we're very interested in the Wii U," Capps said.

The Epic executive highlighted that the company would only support a platform officially after it's made a game for it, like it did with the iPhone, after releasing the successful Infinity Blade on the platform, using a modified Unreal Engine.

Still, this doesn't mean support isn't coming, as already games for the Wii U, like Gearbox Software's Aliens: Colonial Marines, are using the famous game engine.

"At the launch event at E3, some of the products that you saw running on Wii U were based on Unreal Engine technology. So that kind of gives you an idea of where we are in that space. You can certainly use our engine on that platform – it's a natural fit from a technology perspective," Capps added. "It opens up some doors that weren't open before on current generation consoles because it is going to be a powerful box."

The Nintendo Wii U is still a bit far away, as the new console will be released in the first half of 2012.