The crowdfunded, realistic driving simulator was released in May for Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. At the time a Wii U version was still ostensibly in the works, but Slightly Mad Studio head Ian Bell cautioned to Nintendo Life that a Wii U release “was always ‘maybe’ as we had no knowledge of the system.” Performance issues plagued development, and so the developers wanted to wait until E3, when Nintendo was potentially going to reveal details about its upcoming NX console.
E3 came and went, and Nintendo shared nothing about its new hardware. Bell followed up with Nintendo Life, confirming that the Wii U’s hardware couldn’t handle the game: “The official line is that we’re awaiting an announcement from Nintendo on new hardware. As of now pCARS is simply too much for the Wii U.”
Publisher Bandai Namco subsequently confirmed the cancellation and the reasoning behind it in a statement sent to Polygon:
Despite much perseverance on the Wii U version of Project CARS we will no longer be actively pursuing development on it as the quality does not meet our own high standards nor our intended vision for the title on this platform. We eagerly look forward to any announcement of further hardware from Nintendo but right now Project CARS is simply too much for Wii U despite our very best efforts. Apologies to our Nintendo fans out there that have been waiting for further news on this but have no desire to release a product that isn’t at the very least comparable with our highest-rated versions on other platforms. We optimistically look forward therefore to what the future may hold.
The Nintendo faithful may be out of luck with Project CARS, but Slightly Mad Studios has already announced crowdfunding for a sequel. Depending on the nature of the NX and the timing of its release, Nintendo fans might be able to get in on the franchise for its next lap.
