Skyrim on the Wii U might happen, one day

Elder Scrolls veteran Pete Hines says its a definite possibility.

Bethesda’s Vice President of Marketing, Pete Hines, said that a Wii U version of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a distinct possibility, in an interview with ONM UK. “Well look at any platform that will support that games were trying to make, but thats the key thing – the console has to support the game as it is designed.”

While such a focus on design above all else is a PR tactic that dates back to John Romero’s infamous Daikatana, the literal implications of such a statement are pretty interesting. Are there issues translating Skyrim over to the Wii U’s controls? Unlikely, given the similarities between the screen featuring controller and contemporary schemes. Will the Wii U support the hard drive installs that Skyrim will inevitably require, will Nintendo’s online be conducive to the extensive patching seemingly required by every Bethesda title? DLC?

Aside from any possible design hurdles, Hines was careful to outline the difficulty in porting a game across to a new platform, programming aside. “Just doing 360, PS3 and PC – I dont think people understand the amount of work that goes into that. All of the localisation you have to do… all of the testing you have to do… on every platform in every language… Its a pretty huge undertaking.“

It is still interesting think about how well the Wii U’s touchscreen would fit Bethesda’s RPGs though. Having a nice touch screen interface to access to the menu at any time? Have a constant copy of the map open, questlog or spellbook? That might be pretty rad.

Skyrim’s out on the 11th of the 11th of 2011, on platforms that don’t include the Wii U. But we can hope.

Source: Official Nintendo Magazine UK