Reggie Fils-Aime says third parties are ‘very key part of our product pipeline’

Nintendo’s first party Wii U showing is improving all the time, but third parties continue to distance themselves from the console.

However, Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aime has insisted that third party support remains strong for the console, highlighting the indie development sector for particular praise.

"We’re seeing a tremendous indie community really supporting our platforms," Fils-Aime told IGN, as transcribed by CVG. "Not only Wii U but 3DS as well, and those games are doing exceptionally well.

From the developer’s standpoint having those games merchandised side-by-side with Mario, with legacy Zelda-type games, they love it because the traffic is there, the attention is there, and so those independent games are also going to be a very key part of our product pipeline.

"What you’re seeing more and more, Devil’s Third is a great example of it, is what we call second-party development. So, partnering with an established studio to bring some exclusive content to our platform. And then what you’re also seeing are the big third-parties creating games like Just Dance, the LEGO series.”

Ubisoft admitted this week that it was holding back a fully developed Wii U title until the machine improved its sales. Publishers like EA, Take-Two and Deep Silver, meanwhile, seem intent on now ignoring the machine altogether.