Nintendo may have created the Wii U Pro controller at the behest of third-party publishers, according to an industry analyst.
Speaking at the Develop conference in Brighton, England, Gamecritics pundit and industry analyst Michael Pachter claims to have been told that Activision told Nintendo that they wouldn't bring Call of Duty to the Wii U unless they provided a "conventional controller" for the platform.
"Activision never said anything to me," said Pachter. "But I know that [for] big games like Call Of Duty they said, 'No, we're not putting it on there if you don't give us a conventional controller'. So they gave in."
Announced during the Wii U Pro controller during a Nintendo Direct video stream right before the beginning of E3. The Pro controller features a button structure and general design greatly reminiscent of the Xbox 360 gamepad.
Pachter, who has been vocal about his concerns regarding Nintendo's upcoming platform for a long time now, called the Wii U "a solution in search of a problem". Pachter believes that the success of the Wii was lucky, and that lightning won't strike a second time with the Wii U.
The Wii U Pro controller will clearly make it easier for publishers to port games over to the Wii U, even if they don't plan to optimize their games for the platform. The question is: Will Nintendo's decision to bring the Wii U closer to conventional platforms keep it in the console race, or simply give developers an easy excuse not to take advantage of what their platform has to offer?
Do you think Nintendo made the Wii U Pro controller just for Call of Duty? Tell us what you think about it in the comments and on Twitter!
[Via Edge]
