The popular skateboarding game for PS Vita and Steam (PC) platforms is now coming to Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. Yes, you heard correctly: OlliOlli will be the first ever third party game to be Cross-compatible with both systems. Even Nintendo has only done this with a couple of titles, so it’s really cool to see a third party game available to everyone that owns at least one of Nintendo’s newest systems. But why don’t other companies take advantage of cross-compatibility?
Well, it’s easy. The Wii U and 3DS, though arguably comparable graphics-wise, are two completely different systems. This means that a third party company may not have enough money (or may just not want) to develop their game for both consoles. Just look at Smash Brothers. Though the game-play is generally the same, the games are quite different, ranging from different stages and game modes to suitably fit the right system. If you’re developing a complex game that will seemingly only work on one system, it’s probably best to leave it there. Just take Splatoons, for example. You could argue that it would work on the 3DS, and maybe it would, but in my opinion it will work so much better on the Wii U than it ever would for the 3DS.
For OlliOlli, however, this is no problem. The game-play is very simplistic: you are a skateboarder, and you must do tricks and stuff to earn points. There are objectives per level that you can complete to earn stars. A game such as this would work on any system (as proven with Vita and PC), and it’s nice to see a third-party dev giving this a shot. If it goes well, maybe more developers will start putting out cross-compatible games in the future!
