Wii U Edition

Wii U Edition
Author(s)	Mojang AB 4J Studios
Platform(s)
Written in	C++
Release date	Digital - eShop December 17, 2015 Retail Disc June 17, 2016
Rating(s)	(Online interactions not rated) PEGI: 7+ PEGI: 6+ (Portugal) ESRB: E10+ ACB: PG DEJUS: L (Livre) USK: 6 Russia: 6+ CERO: All
Size	1.16 GB
License	Proprietary
Source code	No
Other links	Nintendo eShop

Minecraft: Wii U Edition is the version of Minecraft developed by 4J Studios and Mojang AB for the Nintendo Wii U. It was announced on December 7, 2015, and released on December 17, 2015 for $29.99 on the Nintendo eShop. A retail disc version was released on June 17, 2016. This edition is bundled with seven add-on packs, and sixteen additional packs are also available as downloadable content. Exclusive content based on Nintendo properties is also available for the game: a mash-up pack based on the Super Mario franchise was released in May 2016, and more Nintendo-related content is expected to be added in the future.

Development

In late 2013, Mojang founder Markus Persson announced that there were no plans to port Minecraft to the Wii U, stating that he wasn't aware of any plans but agreed that "a Wii U version would make sense."

In June 2014, Shigeru Miyamoto and Shinya Takahashi were asked about porting Minecraft to the Wii U. Miyamoto stated:

“	I haven't played it myself, but I have heard quite a bit about it. I think he [Takahashi] knows more about it than I do. But I like that style of game, and I look at Mario Maker as being something in a similar vein.	„
	— Shigeru Miyamoto on porting Minecraft to the Wii U

Takahashi followed with his statement:

“	We've always thought internally that using the [Wii U] GamePad would probably make for a Minecraft that's very easy to play. And, of course, if we were to do something with Minecraft on the 3DS, similarly we would probably do it where it would be easier to play and could probably reach a lot of kids. What's interesting is that, in Japan, Minecraft is not popular in the way it is in the U.S. and Europe, so we've also thought that, if we were able to do a partnership like that, it might bring opportunity to help make Minecraft more popular in Japan.	„
	— Shinya Takahashi on porting Minecraft to the Wii U

In September 2014, Mojang's Daniel Kaplan reiterated that there were no plans to bring Minecraft to the Wii U because he claimed that the user base for the Wii U was "very small". This was not the case at the time of this post, as the Wii U was ahead of the Xbox One in terms of sales around the same time.

At Minecon 2015, Mojang's COO Vu Bui was also asked about porting Minecraft to the Wii U. Bui stated:

“	If I had my way, we’d be on everything. We want to continue to be available to all players, and that means being on new platforms because everyone uses something different. I’ve never heard a reason why we haven’t ended up on Wii U or 3DS. It just hasn’t happened yet.	„
	— Vu Bui on porting Minecraft to the Wii U

On November 11, 2015, PEGI accidentally leaked a rating for a Wii U edition of Minecraft. The leaked rating was removed six days later.

On December 7, 2015, the game was officially confirmed, and Mojang and Nintendo announced that a Wii U Edition of Minecraft would be released on December 17th, 2015.

On May 9, 2016, Nintendo and Mojang announced that there would be a special Super Mario-themed mash-up pack released for Minecraft: Wii U Edition on the 19th of May for free. Mojang also announced that a retail version of the game would be released on June 17, 2016.

Gameplay

The Wii U Edition features Off-TV Play, which allows the game to be played exclusively on the Wii U GamePad's screen. There is some limited touchscreen functionality, allowing players to select items on their hotbar, navigate through the Crafting menu, and more. When asked about whether the GamePad could be used as a second screen for full inventory management, Owen Jones stated that the feature will not be available at launch, but that it may be added in a future update. Mii characters can be used as the player's in-game username. In addition to the GamePad, the game is also playable with the Wii U Pro Controller or the Wii Classic Controller.

DLC

Minecraft: Wii U Edition comes with seven of the "most popular add-on packs" included for free with purchase of the game. This is the reason that the Wii U Edition is more expensive than all of the other versions of the Console Edition.

The following DLC is included in the Wii U Edition:

• Skin packs:
  • Battle & Beasts skin pack
  • Battle & Beasts 2 skin pack
• Texture packs:
  • Natural texture pack
  • City texture pack
  • Fantasy texture pack
• Mash-up packs:
  • Festive mash-up
  • Super Mario mash-up pack

Trivia

• The Wii U Edition (alongside the Nintendo Switch Edition) is the most expensive edition of Minecraft to date, at $29.99.
  • This is due to the game releasing with 6 add-on packs included.
    • All DLC included with the Wii U Edition are the same as the Xbox One Edition Holiday Pack, with the exception of the Halo Mash-up pack, which is exclusive to Xbox platforms.
  • This is ahead of the Java Edition of Minecraft by just $3.04.
• The PlayStation 3 Edition was released exactly two years earlier, on December 17th, 2013.
• The Nintendo eShop does not have a free demo for Minecraft, unlike the PlayStation and Xbox.
• The Wii U Edition does not have the exclusive features of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 editions, lacking the additional world sizes and Amplified world types as well as lower render distance just like the Nintendo Switch version.