Minecraft Is Finally Coming to the Wii U

3 minute read
Mojang
By Matt Peckham

The Star Wars-ian timing is probably coincidental, but yes, the incredibly unlikely is about to become certifiably bankable: Minecraft is coming to the Nintendo Wii U eShop on Thursday, December 17 for $30.

I say unlikely because the word out of Minecraft-maker Mojang back in March 2013 was negatory on a Nintendo-fied iteration of the uber-popular block-builder. This was just after the game had been ported to Xbox 360 and Mojang was speculating about the possibility of PlayStation versions after Microsoft’s timed-exclusivity deal for the Xbox 360 ended.

But in an interview with iGamer (via Edge), the game’s lead designer Jens Bergensten said a Wii U version was “very unlikely.” At that point, Minecraft was still ramping up in both sales and social cachet, and the console versions–which would go on to dramatically surpass total PC version sales–were still sales unknowns.

These Are the Best Looking Video Games of 2015

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Design Process: "We took inspiration from various cultures and places. No Man’s Land, one of the biggest areas to explore in the game, is very Slavic at its heart – it’s filled with ancient secrets, murky swamps and dense, dark forests." - Jose Teixeira, Senior Visual Effects Artist, CD Projekt REDCD Projekt RED
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Design Process: "This cut scene is expressed as a technique called SSS (Sub-Surface Scattering). The soft shadow is scattered on his skin from the light to convey a certain mood." - Kojima ProductionsKojima Productions
Rise of the Tomb Raider Design Process: "...the world is an enemy. We strive to build environments which deliver harsh survival conditions, as well as treacherous traversal. This supports our premise that the secrets of history are protected by the most beautiful, yet hostile environments on Earth" - Crystal DynamicsCrystal Dynamics
Alto's Adventure Design Process: "We wanted the world to have a lighthearted charm, while also feeling grounded in it’s own reality – to immerse the players in an environment that captures the essence of what it means to be alone in the wilderness." - SnowmanSnowman
STAR WARS™ Battlefront™_20151129220156
Star Wars Battlefront Design Process: "We wanted to build a game that was faithful to the Star Wars we love, using a combination of the latest technology, with talented artists who could put it together in a way that feels immersive and inviting." - Johannes Soderqvist, Art Director, Star Wars BattlefrontJosh Raab for TIME
Bloodborne Design Process: "Bloodborne is set in a dark and secluded city called Yharnam, a gothic cityscape filled with Victorian motifs and shrouded in prejudice and mystery. The processing power of the PlayStation 4 allowed us to bring to life the gritty and horrifying gothic Victorian architecture and décor..." - FromSoftwareFromSoftware
SOMA Design Process: "First and foremost, we wanted to create spaces that felt real and functional. Environments rich in detail, and full of the clutter that you'd expect in that sort of space, to always keep the player immersed." - Frictional GamesFrictional Games
Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 Design Process: "We’re most proud when our technology enables gameplay or player expression, such as battling through the dynamic water or creating unique weapon skins." - Mark Gordon, VP of Development & CTO, TreyarchActivision
Forza Motorsport 6 Design Process: "The team did a fantastic job of creating wet-weather conditions in stunning realism, highlighting the danger and intensity at the heart of racing in the rain. In our recreation of rain, players struggle for traction and tires aquaplane across fully-simulated and accurately-placed puddles." - Turn 10 StudiosTurn 10 Studios
Prune Design Process: "I was really drawn to the minimalist philosophy of East Asian ink wash paintings, where every brush stroke matters. This essentially became the game's central theme, deeply affecting everything from the game design to the art." - Joel McdonaldJoel Mcdonald

Now that Minecraft has sold north of 70 million copies across virtually every platform on the planet, checking the Nintendo box seems like a no-brainer.

For all its sales troubles, the Wii U still commands an install base that’s roughly 11 million units strong. And mobile devices aside, it’s still considered the kid-friendliest of the devoted game systems. Putting Minecraft on Wii U in time for the holidays as an instantly downloadable purchase is a win-win decision, only upstaged by the question “Why didn’t they do it sooner?”

That’s to say nothing of the ostensible virtues of playing the game with the system’s hybrid Wii U GamePad (a traditional gamepad plus a 6.2-inch touchscreen). Nintendo confirms the game will support off-TV play, so you can keep playing on the Wii U GamePad if someone else needs to use the big screen. It’ll also support four-player split-screen (requires a high-definition TV), and up to eight players online. The port was handled by 4J Studios (in conjunction with Microsoft Studios), the same outfit that delivered the Xbox and PlayStation versions.

That $30 gets you the game plus the six most popular add-on packs (Battle & Beasts 1 & 2 Skin Packs, Natural Texture Pack, City Texture Pack, Fantasy Texture Pack and Festive Mash-up Pack). Nintendo will sell an additional 16 add-on packs at launch, including various Star Wars-themed ones. And Nintendo says it’s working with Mojang “on new content for Nintendo fans to be released at a future date.”

For Wii U? The forthcoming NX console? The Nintendo 3DS? All three? I have no idea, but it’s reassuring to see Mojang’s year-old owner, Microsoft, allowing the studio to make deals with rivals, to keep the franchise as ubiquitous as possible.

More Must-Reads from TIME

Write to Matt Peckham at matt.peckham@time.com