Though the writing was on the wall for some time, Slightly Mad Studios has today confirmed what many a Wii U owner had feared: the console’s port of racing simulator Project Cars has officially been axed.
First picked up by NintendoLife, the outlet originally reported that Studio Head Ian Bell confirmed that the creative team within the studio couldn’t optimize the port for the Wii U, and that Project Cars is simply too much for Nintendo’s home console to handle. The cancellation was later confirmed by GameSpot, with Slightly Mad providing the following statement.
“Despite much perseverance on the Wii U version of Project Cars, we will no longer be actively pursuing development on it as the quality does not meet our own high standards nor our intended vision for the title on this platform,” Tudor explained.
“We eagerly look forward to any announcement of further hardware from Nintendo but right now Project Cars is simply too much for Wii U despite our very best efforts. Apologies to our Nintendo fans out there that have been waiting for further news on this but we have no desire to release a product that isn’t at the very least comparable with our highest-rated versions on other platforms. We optimistically look forward therefore to what the future may hold.”
While it’s disappointing to learn of Nintendo losing yet another potential third-party release, there may be reason to be hopeful for Project Cars future with the Japanese publisher. Even before today’s official announcement, Slightly Mad noted that the über-realistic simulator may forgo the Wii U altogether and instead launch for the yet-to-be-revealed Nintendo NX.
Though the fact that said hardware is still simmering in the bowels of development means that, even if Project Cars were to make the jump to the new-fangled system, it’ll be a long time before Nintendo fans can play the acclaimed title.
What do you make of the cancellation, though? Are you disappointed to note that Project Cars won’t be racing onto Wii U after all? Let us know below.
