EA is rumored to be pushing hard to make Origin the exclusive online platform for the upcoming Nintendo Wii U.
This is a rumor from an anonymous and therefore entirely unverifiable source so take it for what it’s worth, but the word on the street is that Electronic Arts is in talks with Nintendo about bringing Origin, its fledgling digital-distribution-slash-DRM service, to the Wii U, the in-the-works successor to the Nintendo Wii. EA is looking for a way to muscle Origin into the console market, so the story goes, while Nintendo sees “an opportunity to rebuild relationships with Western gamers because they feel that only a massive western company such as EA understands what is needed to make an online service attractive to western gamers.”
Valve is also reportedly interested in making Steam available on the Wii U, but the source claims that EA is “aggressively persuading Nintendo to go Origin exclusive with Wii U’s online so they can gain a competitive advantage over Steam.”
It’s an interesting idea if nothing else, and it’s lent a certain amount of credence by none other than EA’s Chief Operating Officer Peter Moore, who voice some pretty serious enthusiasm for Nintendo’s next box back in October. “There are no indications that there’s anything that feels like it’s off target,” he said. “Our teams are working on it around the world. Our key franchises will be there. We’ve made that commitment to Nintendo.”
I guess we’ll see just how deep that commitment actually goes.
