An Elder Scrolls game on a Nintendo console isn’t impossible, says Bethesda, as long as it doesn’t take too much work to port it over.
Bethesda’s PR boss Peter Hines says that Skyrim could make its way to the Wii U, as long as the conditions are right. He says that Bethesda will potentially look at any platform, as long as it can accommodate the kind of games the studio makes.
However, Hines said that having a platform that could support a game like Skyrim was crucial, because the more work that Bethesda had to do, the less appealing porting the game became. “Making a game is an enormous process,” he said. “Just doing 360, PS3 and PC – I don’t think people understand the amount of work that goes into that. All of the localization you have to do … It’s a pretty huge undertaking.”
“You aren’t just supporting the Wii U; you’re supporting it in English, French, Italian, German and Spanish,” he added.
The Wii U should be able to hold its own in terms of raw power against the PS3 and Xbox 360, which is a point in its favor, as well as having capabilities that they lack, most notably the large touch screen built into its controller. There’s a lot that an Elder Scrolls game could do with that touch screen – it could make checking the map and fast travel a breeze – but as Hines says Bethesda has to feel like it’s worth it before it will invest time, money, and effort into bringing the game over.
The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim V comes out for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on November 11th.
Source: Official Nintendo Magazine
