NES Remix went to Wii U because it needed more power than 3DS offers

With NES Remix and NES Remix 2 consisting primarily of just what their titles describe--remixed versions of games for the 30-year-old Nintendo Entertainment System--system power is not what you might expect to play a role in deciding which platforms these new compilations will be made for. As it turns out, horsepower did play a role in that decision, and is part of the reason the two games are on the Wii U, and not the 3DS.

In an interview with IGN, director Koichi Hayashida explained that, after working on Super Mario 3D World for Wii U, he was already familiar with the system's architecture. That made it a natural choice for his next project. However, he also spoke about system power and how that factored into allowing Nintendo to more easily create the game it wanted.

“I think the Wii U offered that up for us pretty easily," Hayashida said, referring to the desired system power, "and it just would have been more difficult to do it for the 3DS. I think that's really the answer. It's just that the Wii U had the machine power we were looking for in order for us to build the software we envisioned from the get go."

The Wii U has long been thought of by some as lacking the necessary power to compete with the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, a perception Nintendo has been working to dispel for just as long. The 3DS is also less powerful than its primary competitor, the PlayStation Vita, but that hasn't stopped it from selling millions of units.

Featuring games like Super Mario Bros. 2 and 3, NES Remix 2 releases on Wii U this Friday, April 25.