Wii Civilization Revolution in limbo

2K Games confirms that Sid Meier's debut on Nintendo's console is "on hold" as Firaxis focuses on DS, 360, and PS3 editions.

Last June, those unable to afford a PC that could run Civilization IV got some good news. 2K Games announced that its recently purchased subsidiary Firaxis was developing Civilization Revolution, an installment in game designer Sid Meier's legendary series for the DS handheld and three consoles: the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii.

Excitement for the project quickly increased after Meier showed off the PS3 and 360 versions at the E3 Media Business & Media Summit. Although the 360 edition was previewed again in October, the Wii Civilization has remained hidden aside from some news about it using a Wii-optimized version of the Gamebryo Engine.

Unfortunately, today 2K Games confirmed that Civilization Revolution for the Wii won't be seeing the light of day anytime soon, if it ever does at all. "Development for the Wii version of Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution is currently on hold (not completely canceled)," a rep told GameSpot. 2K would not comment on whether or not the indefinite postponement stemmed from the limitations of the Wii's hardware or lagging sales of third-party games on the platform.

Although the news came as a disappointment to Wii owners, 2K assured gamers that work is continuing on other versions of Civilization Revolution. "We are focusing our attention on creating the best possible Civilization experience for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo DS platforms," a rep said.

76 Comments

  • EqualPlatinum

    Posted Jun 25, 2009 4:18 pm PT

    So I guess it is canceled?

  • CheckDFX

    Posted Jan 30, 2009 2:51 pm PT

    The Nintendo Wii is the top selling console of 2008. It beat all the other consoles hands-down. Even though it has a lower price than the PS3, Nintendo reported a larger dollar value in Wii Console sales in 2008 than Sony did for the PS3. (That should tell how much more consoles Nintendo has sold.) The same goes for games on the Wii.
    Nintendo has been around since 1986. They beat the Sega consoles, and they are now beating the relative new comers; namely Sony and Microsoft. Nintendo set the standards for console gaming and they know how to succeed in the console market. Their legacy proves this. So... 2K... get your act together and get your butts in gear. Clear the mud from your eyes and see what even the most common layman can see. The Nintendo Wii is the most popular and the most revolutionary console of our day. So quit with the excuses and put Civilization Revolution on the Nintendo Wii!
    I will say this... programming something for the Wii will be more involved than programming for traditional controllers, due to the use of the Wii Remote's mechanics; but Civilization Revolution is far better suited for the Wii. Put this game on the Nintendo Wii Console and you'll see big sales for this game.

  • CheckDFX

    Posted Jan 30, 2009 2:35 pm PT

    After playing Civilization for a few years now, I have to say... Putting Civilization on the Nintendo Wii makes more sense than putting it on any other console. As for Graphics Support, I've played "Marvel Ultimate Alliance" and "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess" on the Wii, and it looks just great. Modern graphics hardware is just fine these days. Most people care more about game-play than graphics. Who cares if a game looks nice if it is not fun. Plus, more people are likely to play games on the Wii because it is easy to use; no confusing controllers. And since the Wii can actually simulate the common "Point-and-Click" system of most PC-based Strategy Games, it makes more sense to put a originally PC-based Strategy Game like Civilization, on the Wii rather than any other console. I don't want to flip through hundreds of units with joystick or pad, after playing this game with a mouse for so long. How backwards would that be! The Wii is the first natural choice for Civilization Revolution. 2K has really screwed up by not including this game on the Nintendo Wii while putting it on the other consoles.
    My old man won't have the slightest idea of how to play any console game with a traditional controller, and he does not like using a mouse extensively for fear of Carpol Tunnel Syndrom, but he loves to play Mario Cart Wii and other Wii games with me and my sister. Think of how many fathers and sons (and maybe "young" grandfathers too) could have an easy-going, yet descent, challenging game of Civilization together if they have this game on the Wii. I know my dad and I would.
    2K... please put Civilization Revolution on the Nintendo Wii. I would most definately like to purchase such a copy of this game.

  • Cesar-Hunter

    Posted Oct 17, 2008 4:09 pm PT

    PLEASE PUT THIS GAME ON THE Wii EVEN IF ITS NOT ON WIIWARE ILL BUY IT!!!!

  • jakob_187

    Posted Jul 9, 2008 5:24 pm PT

    Well, after playing the game for the past two days, I'm really hoping that they pick this production back up and give the Wii owners a good, quality game!!! The online for this game on 360 (while super buggy still) is hella fun!!! I hope I don't miss out on this for the Wii, as I'm sure the controls would be FAR more stream-lined than they are with dual analog support.

    Now, I gotta go back to rockin' face with Gandhi. Nothing like watching a pacifist go militaristic!

  • felix19194

    Posted Jul 3, 2008 2:20 pm PT

    wtf 2k is crazy, they should release it for wii because of the wii pointing controls, It would be a waste not to do it.
    Plz 2K think about us wii owners...... dammit just when i was looking forward to this game.....

  • klugenbeel

    Posted Jun 10, 2008 8:43 am PT

    I tried the Demo on the 360, ITS FLIPPIN' awesome! It maybe the best Civ yet, they should make a PC port just for the old school fans who won't conform and get a 360 (dumbies, but oh well). I know they probably want people to try it in a different way, but some won't get the 360, so don't leave the old fans in the dust, either way, I will have a copy, too bad for the Wii version, i figured the Wii remote could be REALLY slick to use for this game after trying it out on the 360.

  • ediot567

    Posted Jun 4, 2008 12:04 pm PT

    xbox 360 is going to be awesome who doesnt want to play ci on a 360

  • thk123

    Posted Feb 23, 2008 11:52 am PT

    Damn it. This game would work well on the Wii, thanks to the pointer, I don't really want it on my 360... That is a shame, please reconsider

  • Lorenzo24

    Posted Feb 13, 2008 5:02 am PT

    For those of us who like to play God, control people, dominate the world, and put other cultures down that our different from our own this is a shot to the you know what..... I was really looking forward to this game. At least I stil have my D.S, but I don't think it will be the same. Then again, perhaps I can finally have an excuse to get the xbox 360 hmmm.....thank you sid!

  • CampusVoice

    Posted Feb 5, 2008 1:21 pm PT

    They definitely should have brought it to the Wii. The Wii is better suited for this game than any other console.

    -----signature-----
    civilization revolution

  • living_wmd_888

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 11:43 am PT

    Firstly - third parties whining again about not having sales on a Nintendo platform. If they'd actually do something GOOD, they might get sales. Third party quality has gone downhill since the PS1 days anyway.

    Secondly, I hate to burst 2K's little bubble, but this game is going to sell poorly on the 360, PS3, and DS. There is no way this game is going to go platinum on any of these formats, and it probably won't break 1 million units on all three combined. Right now, the PS3 is actually doing much worse than the Wii with regards to third party sales. And Monster Hunter 3 got yanked from PS3 to Wii, so fair enough trade. That game WILL go platinum.

  • xcollector

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 10:34 am PT

    This is dumb. I was actually thinking about getting this for the wii. The wiimote would be perfect because its just like a mouse. I'm not going to play this game with analog sticks.

  • hobojohnson

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 9:38 am PT

    the wii is not a gimmick, it's the developers fault for not taking the time to create a quality game instead of getting it out right away to make a quick buck like most 3rd parties are doing. All this "in the long run it will fail" is total crap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • mortono

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 8:16 am PT

    If anything they should be cancelling it for the PS3. That's the one that's not selling.

  • sidzero posted Jan 30, 2008 7:05 am PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    sidzero

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 7:05 am PT (hide)

    Alas, the razor's edge of the Wii. I'll tell you why things like this happen, and why it gets so little third-party support. It's because of what the Wii is. It's a toy that Nintendo thought would be their best biggest gamble. I can't deny how well it's doing now, but in the long run, I don't think it's going to be seen as successful. The whole thing is a gimmick. That's why it doesn't get the support. Third-party developers need to make money, you see. And they can make a lot more by developing multi-platform games than they can console-exclusive ones. Release a game for the 360 and the PS3, and you have that many more potential customers than you do if your game is only for the Wii. Considering the numbers of people who own each system, you have that many more potential customers. It's just business sense. The aforementioned razor's edge is the developers deciding whether developing their game that will do well on 360/PS3 is worth the time and money of developing a Wii version as well. Considering the delays it would cause (especially if they want to release the game cross-platform at same time), and the cost of trying to make it on this different hardware, and acknowledging the fact that it won't do as well on the Wii as it would on the 360/PS3 (mostly because of the hardware capabilities, and that a 360/PS3 game usually won't take advantage of the only thing the Wii has going for it, the gimmick, and consumers will see no point in buying it for Wii when they can buy it for 360/PS3).

  • Azwhtknight

    Posted Jan 30, 2008 4:27 am PT

    I have a feeling that besides the problem of hardware restrictions (definite problem), the other reason why they are postponing or canceling the Wii project is the fact that they are having a hard time coming up with a fun/unique adaptation to the Wii-mote control scheme for a TBS style game.

  • hiphops_savior

    Posted Jan 29, 2008 8:52 pm PT

    Why does this seem to be the same situation as the GC? I'm not trying to troll, but this is a problem that Nintendo need to deal with ASAP. I'm just getting the feeling that the Wii is a hardware that's extremely 3rd Party unfriendly.

  • porphyrous

    Posted Jan 29, 2008 8:19 pm PT

    Once I realized that 2K had bought out Firaxis, it made perfect sense....of course 2K would order the Wii version shelved. They're too ego-bound to the PS3 to admit they made a mistake in dissing the Wii.

    Manhunt 2 aside (which can be disregarded as a PS2 port), 2K's support for the Wii can only be described as "willfully neglegent".

    And yet...they're still doing a DS version? Shovelware. Remember, they couldn't be bothered to bring any of their sports titles to the Wii (except The Bigs, which I played and it was an insulting mess) and the DS version of MLB 2K7 got a rating of 2.5 in reviews.

    And the same old 3rd party myth gets trotted out again. Yes, we Nintendo owners expect better than afterthought PS2 ports and shovelware....

  • raahsnavj

    Posted Jan 29, 2008 7:31 pm PT

    Well, when third parties put the 'same' game on every system the Wii will always look the worst. Because designers don't have the ability to learn new controls and as such don't provide any, people that own more than just the Wii will always buy the game for the other system. Too bad really, I actually was looking forward to this one for the Wii... I guess they won't get my money after all.

  • Jaeme

    Posted Jan 29, 2008 6:27 pm PT

    ".....caused by flagging third party sales for the platform." Thats a bit like slamming the public for having taste. Or perhaps we should get lobotomies and buy 3 copies a piece of "Ninja Bread Man". If the 3rd parties put out games that weren`t an insult to the reflective surfaces that had to die to produce them then maybe the sales would be better. I own a Wii and am thrilled with its potential, but no matter how much I want a new game I`m not going to buy "Far Cry Vengence" or "Anubis 2". I`m just glad to hear that many of those over packaged coasters are getting the sales they deserve. I just wish the morons in charge would realize it and not cancel the good games coming down the pipe. Or are they punishing us for leaving them with too many unsold copies of "Rock and Roll Adventures"?

  • Padrepride

    Posted Jan 29, 2008 6:15 pm PT

    I was looking forward to this game. Well, too bad. Why don't they make this for the PC?

  • BigC43 posted Jan 29, 2008 6:10 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    BigC43

    Posted Jan 29, 2008 6:10 pm PT (hide)

    Ha ha. The Wii get's poked in the eye... again! I'm looking forward to the 360 version.

  • Megawizard1

    Posted Jan 29, 2008 6:07 pm PT

    As long as it's on the DS I'll be happy. I always take it with me when I know I'll have a large chunk of time with nothing else to do, and the Civ games always eat up a ton of time.

  • Dunnie91 posted Jan 29, 2008 5:20 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    Dunnie91

    Posted Jan 29, 2008 5:20 pm PT (hide)

    "We are focusing on the best experience for the Nintendo DS."?! Ha! DS is crap compared to the Wii.

  • thibbledorfP

    Posted Jan 29, 2008 5:10 pm PT

    Analog control sticks for turn-based games may be better suited than for real time games... as you don't have to have to have fast reflexes.

  • Cube_of_MooN

    Posted Jan 29, 2008 5:00 pm PT

    Well, I have a feeling this game won't be too popular anyway....

  • Ungdi

    Posted Jan 29, 2008 4:45 pm PT

    Kanden626, exactly. STRATEGY GAMES WILL NEVER WORK WITH CONTROL STICKS! True hardcore strategy fans ( I love Starcraft, I need the sequel) will say that the mouse will always work and analog sticks simply dont have the precision! This is where the Wii's IR comes in. When MP:3 Came out, people were stunned by the accuracy of the controls and began comparing it to a pc mouse/keyboard combo. I've been dying to see how the wii can dish out RTS games, like the inevitable Pikmin 3!

  • Canitbe

    Posted Jan 29, 2008 4:17 pm PT

    Thats a funny statement, since a 400 dollar pc can run this game fine.

  • gnbfd

    Posted Jan 29, 2008 4:14 pm PT

    "those unable to afford a PC that could run Civilization IV"

    Fits me exactly.
    Well there is always the DS version I guess.
    Oh wait...
    My DS just broke...

    DAMMIT!

  • endocrine

    Posted Jan 29, 2008 4:12 pm PT

    Krall,

    Revolutions is TBS not RTS. You can see that from the Genre listing under its title.

  • Kanden626

    Posted Jan 29, 2008 4:10 pm PT

    Those idiots. If they make an actually great game on the Wii (Put time in to it, polish it, make it not minigame full, don't create shovelware) then it wiil sell. Example? GHIII. Oh well, probably better on the DS I would think. Still, that's a pretty stupid move. NO STRATEGY GAME CAN WORK WITH CONTROL STICKS. Hasn't happened, and probably nver will.

  • nickythenewt21

    Posted Jan 29, 2008 3:53 pm PT

    I was looking forward to this. At least the DS version isn't on hold (sorry, but I just can't see Civilization on the 360 or PS3).

  • Rob_101

    Posted Jan 29, 2008 3:43 pm PT

    Too bad I guess... Luckily I have Civ IV on PC. I've barely played it tho

  • RaiKageRyu posted Jan 29, 2008 3:42 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    RaiKageRyu

    Posted Jan 29, 2008 3:42 pm PT (hide)

    The Wiimote is pretty far from a mouse people. If you actually used on extensively, you will realize that.

  • Krall

    Posted Jan 29, 2008 3:41 pm PT

    Deihmos,

    The console version Revolution isn't TBS, they made it into a RTS version.

  • DS_fan_atic

    Posted Jan 29, 2008 3:35 pm PT

    come on, if I promise I'll buy it will you please make the game!?

  • vivi2000

    Posted Jan 29, 2008 3:24 pm PT

    Civ is a PC game, strategy games are meant to be on a computer not on consoles.But on the other hand, man this hurts, I thought the wiimote would be great for this kind of games, better than a controller. Big letdown cause even if I have a PS3 I don't intend to get it, I really was expecting this one on Wii.

  • Deihmos

    Posted Jan 29, 2008 3:22 pm PT

    Civilization is a tunrned base game. Why would it be difficult to implement on a console?

  • Yodax007

    Posted Jan 29, 2008 3:21 pm PT

    foxpro, the whole point of a strategy game on the wii is that it is different than other consoles. with the wii remote acting as a mouse, it wont be near as hard to transfer the game over to the new console.

  • foxpro-gt

    Posted Jan 29, 2008 3:08 pm PT

    strategy games on any kinda of consoles are normaly epic failures so it shouldnt be a big deal really. any true hard core strategy gamer will want to play it on the pc anyway........

  • wiiwat123

    Posted Jan 29, 2008 2:46 pm PT

    Not fair! same with soul calibur 4!

  • xvwvx

    Posted Jan 29, 2008 2:46 pm PT

    Fools. Do they not want to sell their game on the #1 selling console on the market? I'm not a PS3 hater, but if they're gonna cancel one, shouldn't they cancel the one on the least popular system?

    I find it hard to believe they didn't have enough man power or resources. The Wii version was already delayed, so it's not like they had to put too much effort into a version that was already delayed by a few months.

    Stupid, 2K games. Real stupid.

    And for those saying that 3rd party games aren't selling on Wii, may I remind you that Guitar Hero III broke a million sales and, last I checked, the PS3 hasn't even broken the 500,000 mark. If you make a good game on Wii, IT WILL SELL.

  • MechaDragon92

    Posted Jan 29, 2008 2:44 pm PT

    Ugh. I have a Wii and a 360, but I just can't see a strategy game without a pointer!

  • Generic_Dude

    Posted Jan 29, 2008 2:32 pm PT

    Disappointing for owners of the Wii, but they can take solace in that whatever console the game comes out on is worth whatever they have to pay for it to get a Sid Meier game on it. This guy is the king. Civilization FTW.

  • CLeRKSfan4life

    Posted Jan 29, 2008 2:30 pm PT

    Doesn't bother me but I hope things like this don't became a regular thing. Like when the PS3 lost some exclusives or had games cancelled.

  • ill001

    Posted Jan 29, 2008 2:28 pm PT

    Very excited for the 360 version.

  • peeweeshift

    Posted Jan 29, 2008 2:26 pm PT

    lol too bad.

  • locopatho

    Posted Jan 29, 2008 2:24 pm PT

    **** it. I have Civ 4 but was looking forward to a less time intensive way to play Civ. Wii remote was perfect for it. I have a 360 too, but if the devs think I'm putting up with horrible stick control just to get some pretty graphics they got another thing coming. Guess Civ is staying on PC for me.

  • canttalk

    Posted Jan 29, 2008 2:24 pm PT

    im glad i have a wii PS3 and a XBOX360

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