Minecraft will be coming to the Wii U from December 17, priced at $29.99 in the Nintendo Store. Although the Wii U hasn’t been the most popular of Nintendo’s consoles, it has sold over 11 million units. It is often perceived as being a more family-friendly platform than the Sony PlayStation or Xbox One, making it a good match for sandbox building and crafting title Minecraft.
The game’s feature set on Wii U will be virtually identical to its existing console ports. Mojang says it will be updating the game with free new features regularly in line with how it treats other platforms. Players will receive the Battle & Beasts, Battle & Beasts 2, Natural Texture, City Texture, Fantasy Texture and Festive Mash-up texture packs with their purchase.
A selection of extra downloadable skin packs will be available from launch, letting players dress their character up in a custom design without having to edit the graphics themselves. The initial range includes festive, Simpsons, Doctor Who, Star Wars, Skyrim, Cartoon, Greek and Halloween skins, as well as a selection of the most popular themes released on other consoles to date. Nintendo says it is “working with Mojang” to create new content for the future.
The Wii U edition of the game will support the console’s off-TV play feature, letting owners keep playing using the controller’s display while somebody else is using the TV. There doesn’t appear to be anything else Nintendo-specific at this time.
Up to eight players will be able to build together within the game’s blocky world. The port has been developed by 4J Studios and Microsoft Studios but is published by original creator Mojang AB. The company said the release is “exciting news” for Nintendo fans who have so far missed out on Minecraft. More details on the port will be released closer to its launch in a couple of weeks.
Microsoft has brought Minecraft to a few new platforms since it acquired Mojang last year. A version of the game has been built for Windows Phone and Windows 10 devices and the title has been extensively used in the demonstrations of its HoloLens holographic headset. The company has even involved the game in projects designed to get children coding, helped by Minecraft’s open feel and built-in electrical circuit simulation that can be achieved with redstone dust.
