Criterion Games refused Wii U F-Zero racer

Criterion Games turned down creating a new F-Zero racing series for the Wii U, a report in Nintendo Life has revealed.

The developer, best known for the Need for Speed franchise, was too busy on NFS Most Wanted, according to the report.

Nintendo had approached the developer 18 months before the Wii U was released in early 2011 and requested an E3 demo to show off that year.

Alex Ward, Criterion Games founder, confirmed the report and said the studio was in no position to divert resources to a new game for a new platform.

“The objective was to show off a playable vertical slice of the game at E3 which would give fans a taste of what the full release would entail. A quick turnaround was essential, but sadly Criterion was hard at work on bringing Need for Speed: Most Wanted to multiple platforms and therefore couldn't spare the resource at the time.”

F-Zero was a Japanese exclusive game last on the Game Boy Advance which launched in 2004.