Will Nintendo fans support Call of Duty: Ghosts on the Wii U?

It’s no secret that when Call of Duty: Black Ops II was first announced on the Nintendo Wii U, there was a lot of celebration from Nintendo fans who were hoping to play the first HD version of a COD game on a Nintendo platform. I too, as someone who has supported Nintendo since I was a kid, was happy to see the game get some love and when I had the chance to go hands-on with it, came away pretty impressed with how the game looked and performed. The game also had some additional features, thanks to the GamePad, that to me, made it the ultimate edition of the game.

When Black Ops II launched, I reviewed the Wii U version and was very satisfied with how it turned out. Sadly, despite so much clamoring for a Wii U version, Nintendo fans simply didn’t turn out in droves to pick up the game, which was an absolute shame. Rumors that the game has sold under 500,000 since the game’s release on the console are aplenty, while Activision themselves have not released actual sales numbers. So what exactly is going on?

Nintendo fans want more third party support, as does the publisher itself, but when the Wii U gets ports or launch-day versions of third party titles, Wii U owners are simply not showing their own support. You can cry about wanting third party games on your console, but if you’re not going to go out and buy them, or buy those same games on another platform instead, then how can you expect publishers to spend time and money into a Wii U game if it won’t sell.

Take Ubisoft’s decision to delay Rayman Origins, which was originally a Wii U exclusive, and its subsequent decision to release it on the Xbox 360 and PS3 as well. While Nintendo fans cried foul, it’s not difficult to understand why Ubisoft made this decision. The fact is that Ubisoft has supported Nintendo consoles for a long time now, especially the Nintendo Wii. But the Wii U isn’t selling that much and by comparison, third party titles are doing worse. Publishers need to make money on the games they sell, bottom line.

So with Activision’s announcement that Call of Duty: Ghosts is also coming to the Wii U this fall, there is once again, happiness from Nintendo fans about the confirmation. But will Nintendo fans play it? Go take a quick peek at how many people are online playing Black Ops II on the Wii U. Go ahead I’ll wait. It’s not much, I’ll tell you that. Heck, even during launch week, you’d be lucky to find 5,000 playing online at one time, compared to the hundreds of thousands you’d see on the PS3 or Xbox 360. The point of this is that there should be excitement about COD: Ghosts coming to the Wii U, but if Nintendo fans want more of this type of stuff, they’ll need to show some support. First party games sell like hotcakes and it’s time to see third party games get the same kind of love, if fans want more of them during this new console generation.