Nintendo has been trying to enlist third-party publishers to support the upcoming Wii U console with "hardcore" games. At least one major publisher is sitting on the sidelines for now, though: Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of Rockstar Games.
Take-Two does intend to release family-oriented and sports games for the Wii U. However, the publisher's portfolio of core franchises, which includes BioShock, Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead, won't be arriving on Nintendo's new box anytime soon.
"We haven't announced anything," Take-Two Chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick told Gamasutra. "I'm skeptical."
Courting third-party publishers is more challenging for Nintendo than other console manufacturers. They've always billed themselves as the family friendly gaming company and as such their older hardware hasn't had many mature games. Nintendo has to convince software companies that the Wii U will break from tradition and appeal to those core gamers. I don't blame publishers for being skeptical, especially when you consider the fact that the next Xbox and PlayStation might arrive a mere year after the Wii U.
That being said, Nintendo has managed to attract some big core franchises to the Wii U. Mass Effect 3, Assassin's Creed 3 and Darksiders 2 will all be arriving on the consoles on or around launch time. Nintendo has nabbed a handful of exclusives as well, including Ubisoft's zombie action gameZombiU and sand-box title Lego City Undercover.
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