Wii U falls behind in Irrational’s dev plans

One of the industry’s most revered studios has no current strategy to build Wii U games, according to statements from its development chief.

Irrational Games boss Ken Levine said his team, which is responsible for both BioShock and the trailblazing BioShock Infinite project, will not presently turn its attentions to Wii U.

“Just to be clear, there are no plans,” Levine told IGN.

“I’m not saying it can’t happen, but we have no plans to do any games for that platform.”

Current triple-A project cycle trends suggest a standard Wii U game would need around two years to be completed, though a port of existing games may be less complicated.

With BioShock Infinite due 2012, it could mean Wii U customers will have to wait several years for Irrational’s first game for the platform – if indeed one arrives at all.

In his interview with IGN, Levine still praised Nintendo’s console as well as PlayStation Vita – Sony’s next generation handheld system.

“The fact that the Wii U has got two [analogue] sticks… I feel it’s like… It’s a great year for the core coming back and saying, okay, have your touch screens, have your motion control, we’ll try to make that work, and if you can pull that off it’ll be really good.”

Irrational Games’ primary focus is the BioShock Infinite project, though the studio has a separate team building a PS Vita title.