Zombie U

Ubisoft showed the world that it is ready to support Nintendo’s new, tablet-based system at its pre-E3 press conference with a plethora of game trailers.

First was Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth. The computer-generated trailer offered little information on how the game will play, but it did show plenty of famous superheroes, including Spider-Man, Wolverine, Captain America, Hawkeye, Thor, and Iron Man. The press conference’s hosts made the biggest fuss for the reveal of a Wii U logo at the end of the video.

A live demo for Rayman Legends, the sequel to the critically acclaimed 2D sidescroller Rayman Origins, demonstrated how developers could use the Wii U’s tablet for new and interesting ideas.

“The combinations of new controls and original game styles that the Nintendo Wii U makes possible really inspired the creative ambition of the team working on Rayman Legends,” said Michel Ancel, creative director at Ubisoft, in a press release sent to GamesBeat. “Rayman Legends expands upon what everyone loves about Rayman’s world and adds new ways of playing together that will make it the most collaborative and fun game in the franchise.”

The company showed off another computer-generated trailer, this time for ZombiU, a (please act surprised) undead-infested survival horror game for Nintendo’s Wii U set in England. The video’s creepy music and camera-panning still images of dramatic moments, including a man blowing his brains out before a horde of zombies can reach him, were reminiscent of the famous ad for Dead Island, another zombie game.

GamesBeat learned details about ZombiU earlier at a dinner with Xavier Poix, managing director of the Ubisoft France game studios. The title will be a realistic shooter that allows players with a regular Wii remote to battle the brain-seeking monsters while another person can use the tablet controller to command hordes of undead.

“ZombiU is a dark and daunting game that gamers will love to play again and again,” said Guillaume Brunier, producer at Ubisoft, in a press release issued to GamesBeat. “ZombiU takes advantage of the Nintendo Wii U’s one-of-a-kind capabilities and will be a launch title that every gamer will want to sink their teeth into.” The title is being developed by Ubisoft Montpellier, which previously worked on From Dust, Beyond Good & Evil, and Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter.

Poix told GamesBeat that Ubisoft will be the biggest third-party publisher for the Wii U. This strong show of support at its press conference certainly seems to bolster that claim.