Rumors Swirl Around Nintendo Handing Out Free Wii U Dev Kits
posted Wednesday Apr 10, 2013 by Nicholas DiMeo
With buzz around the recently announced PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's long-awaited announcement of their NextBox, it's only right for Nintendo to squeeze their way back into the picture. There's some rumor going around about Nintendo handing out free developer kits for their Wii U to third-party studios in hopes that the studios will invest long-term in the Wii U platform.
Destructoid's Jonathan Holmes posted this Tweet that has everyone wondering if the rumors are true,
Hearing more and more stories of Nintendo giving developers free Wii U dev kits. I hope devs take advantage of that. Could lead to victories
Considering that a dev kit runs $5,000, it definitely could lead to victories from smaller studios who would otherwise not be able to get on the Wii U train. When asked about Wii U's future and if it's considered "next-gen," Holmes added,
I think of Wii U as next gen, and thought it's had a shaky start, it could very well end up getting the most support in the end
While the console is very popular among die-hards, the lack of a truly diverse library has led some to hold off on purchasing the Wii U. By removing a 5k price tag from the dev kit, it's very likely that we'll see a bunch of new games hit the market by the end of the year, as devs were initially given the kits in May 2012, just months before the Wii U's arrival in stores for the holiday season. If the rumors are true, this is a sure pick-me-up for Nintendo as a whole.
Should we read too much into this rumor, like we do with everything else as a gaming community? If true, what do you think this means for Nintendo's Wii U game library? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
