(Fair warning, I started this post trying to make it simple and concise. Please refer to the "TL;DR" for a simplistic take, but bear in mind that it naturally comes off as a little more brash. I tried very hard to make this post nuanced and to not try to offend anyone defending the port or worried about the port.)
I regret to finally weigh in on the Wii U controversy, but I feel that I should state my opinion on it regardless.
The facts are:
1. The game will almost certainly receive the funding necessary to hire Armature to downport the game.
2. IntiCreates has promised to focus on the "primary platforms", those supported by Unreal Engine 4 (PC, PS4 & Xbox One).
It is very likely that Armature will move Bloodstained to Unreal Engine 3 or Unity rather than attempting an Unreal Engine 4 Wii U branch, the resources required would most likely be a waste of time and effort, so undeniably Armature will likely need to work on converting most assets into a compatible format with either Unity or UE3.
To branch off from this line of thought for a moment; there has been some controversy recently regarding Project Cars' own Wii U build, and its possible failure to ever release despite the version being promised by the studio. Ian Bell, the head of the Slightly Mad Studios expressed uncertainty in the game being completed for Wii U, going so far as to admit to hoping they can switch development over to a "NX" version after a possible E3 announcement.
I find it unlikely that IntiCreates will take any chances at breaking such a promise when developing this game and consequently must put more effort into ensuring the game's gameplay and relative visual parity than most people here give them credit for. Despite a majority of the load of dealing with programming on two different engines being lifted by outsourcing this Wii U version to Armature, there is no actual way for them to go completely "hands off" with it. To actually go without constantly considering "can Armature actually manage this on Wii U?" and working closely with them to ensure parity would be hugely irresponsible.
IntiCreates will have to work closely with Armature to assure asset similarity while watching Armature's progress from a distance, to not have at least a full time supervisor or small team at IntiCreates dedicated to helping Armature through the Wii U branch's starting from day one, completely dedicated to assuring quality across both platform sets would be reckless, no matter how much both developers may trust each other. It is reasonable to make the assumption that Bloodstained will not be as demanding technically as Project Cars, but simple features such as seamless area transitions allowed by streaming using the increased RAM size and speed on the "power trio" vs Wii U must be responsibly accounted for by IntiCreates when developing. I am not very worried that the game will be "pushing the envelope" in regards to the hardware of the "power trio", but it doesn't need to for IntiCreates to potentially run into small snags in development, the most likely problem is properly accounting for the much weaker CPU and RAM of the Wii U, not the graphical aspect.
Essentially, my current opinion on the Wii U port is cautious optimism, with "cautious" being the key word. I believe it is possible for everything to work smoothly and for both builds being released and with relative parity. But what I want to stress, is that those dismissing concerns because IntiCreates will simply "farm out" the port to Armature and saying anyone worried about it is either irrationally hating on the Wii U, unfairly distrusting of both IntiCreates and Armature, overestimating the graphical demands of the game, or any combination of all of these, are being slightly ignorant of the predictable reality of this "outsource port".
In regards to trusting the two developers to deliver the game properly, I'm not that worried, though I have to admit that IntiCreates has my trust more than Armature. Armature's ex-Retro reputation and leadership is still probably worth something, but they have (through probably circumstances beyond their control, such as a real lack of independent funding necessary for a product of their own) in my opinion failed to meet the expectations such a reputation has given them, with only MGS 2 & 3's Vita ports personally impressing me, and even that was likely built mostly on the foundation Bluepoint built for the X360 and PS3 ports.
I trust these developers to keep their promises, and to do their best to make the game the best it can be on both platform sets, this trust extends however to IntiCreates not employing a "hands off" approach. Such an action would actually be very worrying for me, as both companies will have to have close co-operation to make this come to fruition. Naturally I understand people's worries that this co-operation will cause snags during the games development, and I wouldn't expect loading times or graphics to be unaffected on Wii U, but I doubt the core of the game will have to be sacrificed to appease Wii U development so I don't share these exact concerns.
TL;DR:
Basically, those dismissing concerns about the port causing IntiCreates to be "tied down" to the Wii U by simply saying "Armature will deal with it" are being ignorant of how irresponsible such inaction would be on IntiCreate's part. I would posit that there is no way simply dumping a finished game built with UE4 for the "power trio" on Armature with a bundle of money and wishing them the best of luck would work out well, no matter the competency of either developer, nor the "simplicity" of the game. Therefore IntiCreates must work closely with Armature during development, thankfully they won't have to worry about the exact coding technicalities of porting the game, but they will have to co-operate with Armature. I trust them to do this well, so I'm not trying to speak "doom and gloom" regarding the Wii U version, I just want to make clear my opinion that simply dismissing fears regarding the Wii U port as Wii U hate or distrust for the developers would be ignoring of the realities of game development, and that everyone should consider all angles before basically caricaturing people as simply "Wii U/Nintendo haters". I have faith both developers can pull off the game without significant "sacrifices", though I understand why people would have concerns, and I hope what I've just written will inform people that concerns exist beyond "Wii U sucks".
Side note:
(I want to make clear that I am very excited about Bloodstained and will be getting it first on PS4. Mentioning the level of my backing seems like it would be bragging or trying to say I have more of a right to be heard than others, which I don't, so it is irrelevant and thus I won't mention it. I will probably one day get the Wii U version if it uses the hardware's unique features to the best of its abilities, ie. interesting uses of the Gamepads, obviously starting with seamless inventory and map screens, but maybe they can fit something else in...?)
"They're downgrading the game to go after that WiiU money!". Lol okay.
