E3 2011: Wii U 'demands creativity and thought', THQ 'love' it

By Andy Robinson for computerandvideogames.com

Wii U's new user interface "demands creativity and thought" from game creators, and UFC and Darksiders house THQ "love" it, CEO Brian Farrell said in an E3 analyst meeting this morning.

Speaking to assembled investors in LA, Farrell made clear that the new platform won't cause an increase in development costs at all, because THQ studios have already done much of the ground work on PS3 and Xbox 360.

"One of the reasons we love that as a platform is we've already created technical engines to make those games work, we have all the HD art assets and now it's [about] creating a user interface, which demands creativity and thought - it's not the expensive part of the game development process," he said.

"So in terms of developing for the Wii U, it's a tremendous opportunity which we think has good leverage for our investment dollars. We don't see development costs increasing for the foreseeable future."

At Nintendo's E3 press conference yesterday, THQ announced that Darksiders 2 will be a launch title for the new platform, which is due to arrive in 2012.

If you haven't already, read our in-depth hands-on with Wii U.