You might have heard today's big news: the next Call of Duty is called Ghosts, and it's coming to current- and next-generation platforms this fall. To be specific: according to publisher Activision, the game is coming to Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and "next generation platforms."
It's safe to say that means the next PlayStation and the next Xbox (as we'll see the game for the first time alongside the next Xbox on May 21). But what about the Wii U? Nintendo's newest console has always operated in that weird grey area between "current-gen" and "next-gen," and Activision won't say whether Wii U owners will be able to get their hands on the next Call of Duty, even though they got the last one.
Right now, you can pre-order Call of Duty: Ghosts at GameStop or Amazon for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. No PS4 and no Wii U. The PS4 thing makes sense, as that machine isn't out yet. But if the game is coming to Wii U, why hasn't Activision said anything yet?
We reached out to both Activision and Nintendo to ask whether the game is coming to Wii U. Neither party would comment.
Weird, don't you think? I can think of two possible explanations:
1) Thanks to a partnership with Microsoft, Activision is waiting til the new Xbox reveal on May 21—when they'll show off Call of Duty: Ghosts for the first time—before they admit that yes, the game is coming to PS4 and Wii U too. Maybe the terms of this deal require Activision to stay quiet about those other "next-gen" platforms for now.
2) Activision is waiting to see whether the under-performing Wii U can pick up steam over the next few months before they commit resources to bringing another Call of Duty over.
Or maybe the game isn't coming to Wii U at all. That sure would be a bad sign for Nintendo's new console, especially considering the promises made by Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime, who was high on third-party support for the system when he spoke to Kotaku last year.
"And the best part is that now with HD capabilities and a strong online system, third parties are gonna bring their best content to the Wii U," he said. "Because those were two key barriers that if I'm creating the latest Call of Duty experience and I'm looking to bring it to the Wii a year ago, in an SD format without a robust online experience, they made the decision not to do that."
Worth noting: Infinity Ward, the studio behind Ghosts, has not traditionally supported Nintendo platforms. The Wii ports of Modern Warfare games were handled by Treyarch, which is also the studio that developed last year's Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Black Ops II came to Wii U last November.
So far, third-party support for the Wii U has been rather inconsistent. Hopefully something changes soon—it'd be a real shame if the next Call of Duty skips Nintendo's newest console too.
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