14 DAY TRIAL // The development team at Techland working on Dead Island: Riptide says that the new game will not be launched on the Wii U at the moment because the engine would have to be rebuilt from the ground up to use the features of the new console.
Alexander Toplansky, the creative producer on the series, tells DigitalSpy that, “One of the opportunities we had for Riptide was to continue the development of the engine, and really improve it and make a lot of refinements. The things that are required to bring something to a new platform, you need to either really get to be integrating it deep into the engine, or you’ve got to a port.”
The reasons the developer gives can be read as a sign that Dead Island: Riptide could make the move to the Wii U later during its life cycle, when the engine is adapted to use the GamePad and its touch screen.
Toplansky adds, “Neither one of those was a satisfactory outcome for us, so we decided to do what we got platform-wise and just make sure that we can deliver the best experience we can.”
When the Wii U was first announced, Nintendo explained that it would seek to attract hardcore action titles to the platform in order to widen its player base.
The new hardware offers enough computing power for modern titles and introduces new gameplay opportunities via the GamePad.
The new Riptide is designed to take players to a new island, introducing a new set of environments with unique enemies.
A new character is also introduced, with skills and abilities designed to appeal to veterans.
Dead Island: Riptide will be out on the PC, the PlayStation 3 from Sony and the Xbox 360 from Microsoft on April 23 in North America and three days later in Europe.