The Wii U and Nintendo 3DS crossbuy service officially launching this month is apparently going to be available to third-party games, as well as those published by Nintendo. The revelation regarding the Wii U came about thanks to the announcement from Curve Digital regarding its hit game, OlliOlli . The announcement sheds a little more light on a program that is brand new to Nintendo fans but has been used by other platforms for quite a while now.
We are extremely excited to announce that our 3DS & Wii U versions of @Roll_7 ‘s OlliOlli will be CROSS BUY! A first for a third party game.
— Curve Digital (@CurveDigital) February 27, 2015
The Wii U and 3DS are joining Sony’s Playstation 3, Playstation 4, and Vita as the most high-profile crossbuy platforms. Not coincidentally, OlliOlli is a game that has been offered on Sony’s crossbuy platform for quite some time. Now that it’s coming to the Wii U and the 3DS, it only seems natural that it would have the same features on this new platform.
Gamespot reports that OlliOlli is hitting the Wii U and the 3DS on March 5, which means it might actually be the first game to take advantage of crossbuy. When it comes to first-party games, Nintendo is bringing a new downloadable game called Mario vs Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars to both the Wii U and 3DS. As the crossbuy nomenclature hints, those who buy the game on the Wii U will also be able to play it on their 3DS.
Perhaps because the service is well established on the PS Vita and the PS3 and PS4, there are a ton of games that get the crossbuy treatment on that platform. As of now, it isn’t known just how many games will get the Nintendo crossbuy treatment. The company has held the service up as something of a “special offer,” which seems to hint that it won’t be nearly as prevalent as it is with Sony.
The launch of the crossbuy is just one of the first steps in what Nintendo hopes will be a big year for its newest console, a machine that has struggled since its launch. Granted, this particular step isn’t one that is going to drive sales all on its own. The launch of a new Zelda title later this year ought to do the job there. Whatever it takes, Nintendo is just hoping 2015 can be the year of the Wii U.