Ubisoft now "fully focused" on Watch Dogs for Wii U

With the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PC versions of Watch Dogs closing in on their May 27 release date, Ubisoft is shifting its focus to the Wii U version, creative director Jonathan Morin said in a new interview. Not that Ubisoft's wasn't giving the Wii U version attention before, but now that the other versions are nearly here, Ubisoft is able to "fully" focus on making the Wii U version the best it can possibly be, Morin said.

"Right now [the Wii U version is] currently being done, but I'm not directly involved. We wanted to finish all the platforms that we are currently shipping," Morin told Red Bull. "We needed those guys to get [the shipping versions] finished, and the good news now is that they're all fully focused on the Wii U version, making sure it gets the attention it deserves to make it the best version it can be."

There's no word yet on when specifically Watch Dogs will be available for Wii U, we just know it will be sometime after May 27. It's also unknown if the Wii U version will be feature-similar to the other iterations. Watch Dogs is getting a DLC season pass, but it was not announced for Wii U.

Also in the interview, Watch Dogs story designer Kevin Shortt explained why Chicago was the perfect city for the game.

"Chicago has a very complex history," Shortt said. "Chicago-style politics, as they say. It's all part of the reason why we chose the city--it's a city that has a checkered past. It's an exciting city, but man, there's a lot of corruption, there's so much crime going on. For the world we're playing around with, with all the lies and betrayal, it just fits. The power that comes with secrets, that's a big thing for Watch Dogs."

Chicago is also an ideal setting for Watch Dogs, Shortt said, because it's a city that is well-equipped with cutting edge surveillance technology. The city reportedly has more than 20,000 cameras all around it that police can use for surveillance.

"So if any city was going to take on a system like CtOS (the fictional computer system from Watch Dogs), Chicago would be a perfect place," Shortt said.

Finally, you might think that Watch Dogs' topics and themes represent a commentary on the current state of information technology and privacy, especially so after Edward Snowden recently leaked numerous NSA documents showing far-reaching government surveillance. However, development on Watch Dogs began years before Snowden's revelations. Still, Shortt said he hopes Watch Dogs can be "part of the dialogue" about these topics.

"It's interesting," he said. "When we started the game, one of the things we were looking at--we started peeling back the layers, and asking questions like what does it mean to have this kind of power and access to all of this information--is there a sense of privacy anymore? Who's controlling of all this information? Can you turn it into a commodity?"

"Then a year ago, we saw all those revelations with Snowden and all that information he put out," he added. "It reinforced the sense that we were always hoping this game would be a game that yes, it's fun, you're going to lose yourself and have a good time, but at the same time, you would come away with 'ah, when I'm out in the real world, I'm one of those NPCs you can hack'. We were hoping the game would be a part of the dialogue."

For more on Watch Dogs, be sure to read GameSpot's previous coverage.