Ubisoft aiming to be "number one third-party on Wii U" for launch

Ubisoft SVP of sales and marketing Tony Key has said the publisher is aiming to be the "number one" third-party publisher for the launch of Wii U later this year.

"We have big plans for Wii U. Our intention is to be the number one third-party on Wii U, just like we were on Kinect and just like we were on 3DS," said Key in a Gamasutra interview.

Ubi already has Assassin's Creed III, Ghost Recon Online, Killer Freaks from Outer Space and more coming to the platform. Key said its close relationship with Nintendo helped the publisher get an early version of the system's dev kits.

"We've always had a really close relationship with Nintendo, so I'd venture to say that we did have an advantage in getting dev kits earlier than other people. I'm not saying we got them earlier than everyone, but I do think we got them early.

"They came to us and asked us to make Red Steel. The thing is, once these dev kits show up in the building, you've got these other teams peeking around the curtain going, 'Hey, what's that?' Before you know it, there's three projects being developed for the Wii in that one room, and then another guy from another studio just happens to be visiting and brings back some ideas..."

Wii U is expected to launch in major regions by the end of the year, A rumoured November 19 launch in the US was reported last night alongside whispers the console's power isn't at the "same level" as PS3 or 360.