Electronic Arts is helping Nintendo in development of the Wii Uonline service, according to reports, and is bidding to make its Origin service a key part of the upcoming console’s online offering.

According to an EA intern, speaking to WiiUGo, the console’s online service will offer voice and video chat, leaderboards and friends lists. Nintendo has previously said its approach to Wii U online will be "much more flexible," which the source claims is a deliberate attempt to differentiate the service from Xbox Live.

"Many publishers are happy with Xbox Live’s features, but they aren’t happy with how strict Microsoft’s guidelines are," said the source. "Nintendo went with an open, flexible approach to online because when it asked developers and publishers what they wanted in an online service, that was the number one thing they asked for."

The prospect of EA powering Wii U online apparently appeals to Nintendo, too, with the source claiming the company sees it "as an opportunity to rebuild relationships with western gamers because they feel that only a massive western company such as EA understands what is needed to make an online service attractive to western gamers."

Valve is also apparently bidding to make Steam a core component of Wii U online, but the source says EA is "aggressively persuading Nintendo to go Origin-exclusive so they can gain a competitive advantage over Steam."

All of which is to be taken with quite the pinch of salt, of course, but it would go some way to explain Peter Moore’s enthusiasm for the console. In August he said EA was "relieved…that they have made a huge commitment [to online] that they have presented to us."

Source: WiiUGo