It's been coming for some time, and Nintendo made the odd call to initially deny it was happening, but the Wii U is in its final stretch; manufacturing of the system is due to end soon. Nintendo's decision to make a denial, only to quietly contradict it a little over a week later is - to quote our editorial director Damien McFerran - 'peak Nintendo'. The company still has a tendency, like most major corporations, to treat observers and eager fans as pests for making blindingly clear observations, choosing to dodge and evade rather than share forthright updates. Nintendo isn't the only big company that does this, but it's a reminder that it is, after all, a corporation like many others - sometimes cuddly and nice, it can also be cynical and over-secretive.
The Wii U, sadly, will go down as one of Nintendo's biggest flops. If you decide to disregard the limited release of the Virtual Boy, in fact, it may be regarded in time as the company's biggest failure in the gaming industry. After Wii shipped over 100 million units, the Wii U (the direct successor) will struggle to get to 14 million, and it will most certainly be the company's lowest selling 'main' home console - the GameCube clocked out at 21.74 million units in Nintendo's official figures. The brutal truth is that this state of affairs, with production ending, is happening as the console approaches its 4th Birthday, hardly a ripe old age for hardware. This most recent year, it must also be said, has been a bad one, with only a small number of major releases (including a few that seem to have been sales flops).
The Wii U has struggled to such a degree that its entire generation could pass with a large section of Nintendo's target consumer base barely knowing it exists. It's hardly robust evidence, but members of our team have spoken of work colleagues and friends intrigued by Switch's recent reveal, only to remark that they didn't know there'd been a 3D Mario since Super Mario Galaxy. It's still possible to mention Wii U to people and they look confused, asking whether you're talking about 'the Wii'.
In a recent 'ports vs. sequels' feature on the Switch we considered the unique predicament that Nintendo is in, as a number of excellent games on Wii U are only known by a diehard contingent of fans. Nintendo's latest figure for Wii U hardware sales is 13.36 million; Mario Kart 8 is a long way ahead of every other system game on 8 million. That's an incredible adoption rate, but also a grim 'high' point for Wii U. A number of the Wii U games seemingly teased and rumoured for Switch, whether sequels, ports or remasters, show that Nintendo will likely need to try and reboot some of these IPs and releases to hit a bigger audience (hopefully) on the next-gen system.
First of all, I want to be clear that I'm a big advocate for the qualities of the Wii U, in particular large parts of its game catalogue. Rather like evangelists for the GameCube or, in a sense, the SEGA Dreamcast, I've immersed myself in the system. Before my external hard drive copped it and I bemoaned the lousy data management options, I would look over my folders and populated windows and think, "crikey, that's a lot of good games". The list of retail games that were on my "play it again some day list" was modest but dripping with quality, and there were a lot of varied, intriguing and in some cases outstanding eShop titles, some that were system exclusives. A bit like the Wii, in fact, it offered plenty of games and experiences that my other gaming hardware (primarily New 3DS, PS4 and PC in my case) simply do not have.
Despite that the problems can be traced right back to E3 2011 reveal. The Wii U name was arguably an issue, as was the 2011 unveiling that seemed to confuse some over what it was. As we've said previously, we can bemoan the fact some got confused, but ultimately it was Nintendo's job to pitch the concept and brand clearly.
It's also easy to blame the GamePad and dual-screen concept as a problem, and I'll get to why they were contributing factors to the system's woes, but in some cases it worked beautifully. From Nintendo Land's multiplayer to simple but useful maps in other games, from co-op in Rayman Legends through to innovative Nindie efforts like Affordable Space Adventures, the concept could be made to work. Even when the extra screen wasn't needed for asynchronous features it was handy for off-TV, and I want to repeat the point that I would argue the Wii U did not fall short in terms of delivering some top-class games. Major first- and third-party franchises, given the chance on the hardware, often arrived in delightful forms. Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Pikmin 3, the PlatinumGames releases, there are many more. I'm also a staunch defender of the delights found in Super Mario 3D World; it's not Galaxy, but Galaxy isn't 3D World either. I thought the Wii U's 3D Mario brought a lovely spin to the series.
However, ultimately the quality of the library didn't matter, because Nintendo rather passively let the Wii U fade and die. That assertion can be countered by listing a lot of those games, but that's actually part of the point - there was excellent content, but Nintendo often seemed to just fling games out into the world and hope they would fix bigger problems with the Wii U's place in the market. After all, executives kept repeating the 'games sell systems' mantra, which is partly true, but other factors are also important. When those games failed the company seemed to shrug its shoulders, almost like it wasn't a big deal.
Perhaps the Wii U's failings weren't a cause of too many headaches in Nintendo's HQ. The success of the 3DS and clever accounting helped Nintendo produce profits despite continually declining sales revenues over the past few years. Whereas efforts to 'save' the Wii U were modest at best, Nintendo had gone all out (successfully) to salvage the 3DS in Autumn / Fall 2011. Why? Probably because the portable space is more important to Nintendo, and it thinks the battle is almost lost for its home console hopes. Look at the Switch. It's a 'home gaming system', to quote the official website, with the big selling point being that it can be played in various ways on the go. Large chunks of the reveal trailer had no TV in sight as a result, as the hybrid can evidently be considered a 'portable' by those that love Nintendo's handhelds.
Statistically that makes sense, as Nintendo's portables out-sell their home consoles, they always have, so in a tough market that prompted the company to merge its hardware and software teams it makes sense to maintain that angle.
Despite all of that, however, I've frequently been frustrated by Nintendo's inactivity in trying to revive the Wii U over the years. Early messaging and strategy was a mess - I remember Reggie Fils-Aime making daft pitches to 'hardcore gamers' that love Call of Duty prior to launch. The launch price, driven by Nintendo's refusal to take a loss on units and the rumoured cost of the GamePad, was too high and tossed away the budget fun strategy that had helped Wii - the last-gen system also went viral thanks to its concept, of course. In fact, some will always argue that an affordable and simple Wii HD successor (minus the GamePad) would have had better odds of continuing Nintendo's good run. It's debatable, but not an argument entirely without merit.
I recall the Holiday season of 2013, one year after launch, when Nintendo (in the UK, at least) threw a lot of money at advertising Pokémon X & Y, a game that practically sells itself, and put hardly any comparative effort behind the release of Super Mario 3D World. It was a pity that MK8 missed that vital window for the system's second festive period, but it was still baffling that marketing was phoned in for a Mario game. I recall walking around the biggest shopping centre in Scotland and seeing Pokémon ads everywhere (after it had been in stores a while), but none for 3D World. I don't recall many impressive marketing efforts beyond a few neat TV trailers, when in reality Nintendo needed to go all in to sell that game and the Wii U. Instead we're sure some expensive marketing and PR staff pointed to X & Y sales and said "look what we achieved", when in reality the Pokémon brand on a popular system could likely do the job mostly on its own.
Nintendo continued to finish off and release quality games that were no doubt long planned, but did little to actually promote and sell hardware. It hummed and hawed over a price drop, and then only dropped it $50 after a long wait, by which point PS4 and Xbox One offered terrific value as they were already duking it out with each other. Nintendo had some interesting plans, including a project to 'save' the GamePad with fascinating releases, but they seemed half-hearted. Early on a high-profile game - Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze - had even effectively ignored the controller's concept, and that just set the tone. The Wii U became a pricey system that lacked a coherent vision. Sequels to Wii blockbusters even suffered, with Wii Sports Club and Wii Fit U arriving with a low-profile whimper on the eShop, with extremely limited retail stock. Franchises that defined the Wii dropped out on the Wii U without much buzz.
Nintendo's wider approaches helped to scupper it too. Draconian YouTube policies that ignored online trends meant that not many 'influencers' bothered even looking at a Wii U. All part of a vicious cycle - no matter how good the games over the years it was still expensive considering its capabilities, pushed into corners in stores and ignored by many. As a product it offered plenty to enjoy for loyal owners, but to those on the outside there was a lack of a hook, a message to draw them in and persuade them to buy it. With its dwindling high street presence and half-hearted marketing it became, I don't think it's harsh to say, a butt of jokes in some gaming communities.
None of this reflects on Nintendo's development teams, who made some amazing games, arguably still some of the best experiences in this generation. In the key releases Nintendo's quality control and admirable focus to deliver 60fps in some games was a delight, shining a light on how game development should work. Yet on the business side Nintendo failed to turn it around. To this day a lot of people barely know what the Wii U is, or the terrific games it has to offer.
Hopefully Nintendo has learnt from these failures, and one early sign is positive for the Switch - the 'reveal trailer' did its job, was widely viewed and got a lot of media coverage. A number of potential consumers already know what the Nintendo Switch is, and that's with a lot of marketing still to come. Confirmation of global hands-on demos for consumers to try the system in early 2017 also bode well.
As for the Wii U, though, it'll pass by millions that either didn't know it was there, or were scared away by pricing, muddled marketing or the fact that it just didn't excite them on a conceptual level. Some of that isn't Nintendo's fault - the GamePad may have seemed like a strong idea when prototyping began, but the impact was arguably lost by launch in November 2012. Even considering factors that shouldn't lead to outright blame, I still think Nintendo nevertheless lacked the appetite to 'save' the Wii U, even to drag it up to GameCube levels. Perhaps wearied after the effort of reviving 3DS, perhaps unsure of the right moves, the Wii U's failure is obviously Nintendo's failure, especially in those disastrous first 12-18 months on the market - in that period a number of third-parties and retailers backed away, as sales numbers were simply too low.
I think that's a shame, and the system deserved a better fate. There's consolation to be had, perhaps, with the prospect of some of the Wii U's finest titles potentially being given renewed life on the Nintendo Switch. If IPs such as Splatoon can align with a successful new system, perhaps along with some other remasters and ports, there's still the possibility that a larger audience will experience the best Wii U titles in some form.
That, hopefully, will give us a positive angle for the Wii U's legacy.
Comments 154
If this system had launched 2 years sooner without the shadow of the PS4 and X-one just a few months away it might have had a better chance. Sadly with graphics on par with last gen it was doomed from day one. It also didn't help that it wasn't port friendly and had to have whole separate teams to develop for.
As much as I like my system outside of a handful of games it's my least played Nintendo console ever.
This Gen has been about rehash, remasters, definitive additions of games you already completed on last Gen machine.
I think ps4 killed the sales for both xbone and wii u.
as for the youtube policy the money has to come from somewhere for kimishima`s haircut
Let's just move on. =/
I agree with Lizuka: Wii U got what it deserved.
The console has some great games, and I don't regret owning one. But failures in design and marketing are just two of the issues it has.
Sorry I'm a huge Nintendo fan but no it's doesn't deserve better ... I paid 350$ for a system that not even worth 200$ to 2012 standars ... they gave us a system with 32GB and they call it delux lol ! And 8for standard haha !! The system spec is horrible ... and the games prices / discount really ? No account system and no supprt and bad iOS ... I'm glad that Wii U era is over
I still play with my 3ds everyday since 2011 !! But my Wii U no not worth the time I spend my time playing Xbox and ps4 when I'm at home <3
It deserved better. I don't blame Nintendo. I blame the people that didn't buy it. It's never nintendos fault. It's always someone else.
I love the Wii U very dearly, but I have to say that Nintendo got what it deserved when it comes to the Wii U. The lack of third parties or advertising, the name, the (sometimes) lackluster first party games, and the entire fact that the console seems to depend on the Wii for it's success all led to its demise. Even the main point of the console seems half baked, as the GamePad cannot go that far from the console. I don't even think that the console will be vindicated by history. It was just a badly executed product, and while I don't regret my purchase, I hope the Switch will fare better in the console market.
@UK-Nintendo I can't tell if you're joking or not.
I'm currently playing Lego City Undercover, and it's making great use of the Gamepad, that game deserves a mention. To bad almost every other Lego game in history was couch 2 player, I think it hurt sales of that game. And every other Lego game goes to about half price 6 months after release, it took LCU over 2 years to go on sale. Wii U also launched w/ ZombiU but Iv'e never played it, I dont do first person or zombies.
Price drops should have been consistent yearly events either in May w/ the big games - MK8 and Splatoon - or before the holidays. 1 price cut after year one doesn't sell a console in year 2 and 3. Nintendo Selects should have come much earlier. It's a competitive business, you can't compete w/o being competitive.
Basically, for whatever reason, Nitneod didn't support it and it seems like they just didn't want to. 3DS was followed by 3DS XL, 2DS, New 3DS and New 3DS XL. Wii U never had a follow up. Even Wii had Wii Family (no Gamecube support) and Wii Mini. Wii U was the mistreated stepchild. That's it's legacy, abandonment.
Yeah, I have to disagree as well. While I don't think the Wii U was bad, it definitely wasn't great. The gamepad, the main selling point, did more things bad than good. It lowered the power of an already weak system, and worse: you couldn't turn it off, even if you didn't want to use it. Also, most of the 3rd party games(of the few ones there are at least) make sure you can only use the gamepad, even though the games often don't use the functions of it. Aside from the gamepad, Nintendo itself didn't even love the Wii U. It really gave the 3ds a fantastic game library, so that people would buy it, but it did no such thing for the Wii U, the Wii U didn't even get a Zelda exclusive.
I love my Wii U and fully agree that it deserved better. Some of my favorite memories playing video games have been playing smash with my friends on Wii U, adventuring in wind waker HD for the first time, and spooping my friends in Luigi's mansion Nintendo Land. It will always have a special spot in my heart.
If it hadn't been for MK8 and Super Mario 3D, I'd have probably never have bought the Wii U. The game pad really put me off and I rarely use it today.
"The company still has a tendency, like most major corporations, to treat observers and eager fans as pests"
I'd lie if I said I don't approve of such an approach to fans (especially eager ones), but the usual tactic is to avoid commenting on the topic at all until it's announcement time. Nintendo has been doing it with Switch, so it's odd that they wouldn't apply it here. Then again, "corporation" also implies a lot of people involved, so the human factor can be proportional in details like this.
Wii U is still on my wishlist, and I doubt all of itx exclusives will necessarily make it to other platforms anyway. It may have sold fewer copies than Gamecube, but it's similar in terms of being okay but underappreciated. Wii was just a tough act to follow in terms of making a difference, so perhaps the audiences came in with a lot higher expectations than Wii U actually offered. As this article points out, increasingly uninspired marketing didn't help either. Doesn't change the fact that its "home console games off-TV" feature is now used not only at the core of upcoming Switch but even by Nintendo's longtime rival. Heck, AFAIK Sony even tried some "second screen extras" of their own via PS4 and the mobile PlayStation app. But if even Virtual Boy managed to leave some legacy, it's no surprise that Wii U would.
On the couch with the Gamepad + stand resting on my knees playing Super Metroid with the Nintendo Club Super Famicom Classic Controller and a decent set of headphones. One of my best gaming experiences ever. Love the U.
Girl is watching Home and Away or some shit.
@Nintendoer lol. I love Nintendo but they messed up. Hope nobody kills me for having an opinion.
I don't agree it deserved better, because Nintendo made mistakes that could have been easily avoided.
It's true that the console has delivered some classic titles, and raised the bar on many popular franchises, but this doesn't gloss over the fact that Nintendo went the lazy route and tried to capitalise on the success of the original Wii.
The most obvious mistake is promotion. Here in the U.K, I have never seen a single Wii U advertisement on TV or in print in the years it's been on sale. In-store, materials are scarce. The messaging was never clear. It was as if Nintendo had come with an idea, but not fully researched how (or indeed if) it should be implemented.
Yes, the hardware was a major source of pain too, and if it was beefier then developers would have at least considered the possibility of ports. But again, higher-clocked Wii hardware is unambitious and there because it was easy option for compatibility.
The only true positive is that, with so many great first party titles released on the Wii U - and therefore so few people having the opportunity to play them - the seeds have already been planted for a great first year for Switch. If all Nintendo did was port these titles, then millions of new customers would view them as brand new games; but the fact they'll be enhanced ports only makes them better.
@Josh2396 it didn't even get luigis mansion
Ah well. You win some you lose some. So long as nintendo keeps giving me mariocart, smashbros,mario and zelda games and now splatoon, ill be happy.
Warriors Orochi III Hyper, LEGO City Undercover, Pikmin 3, Xenoblade Chronicles X...I feel bad for everyone who chose to miss these games.
I don't care about official 'statistics' whatsoever.
I have loved my Nintendo Wii U from the day that I purchased it in November 2012 and it has pride of place on my TV stand.
These are the consoles that are currently on my TV stand.
-Nintendo Wii U
-Nintendo Gamecube
-Sony PlayStation 3 (60GB)
I have space for the Nintendo Switch (which I have pre-ordered already) and the Sony PlayStation 4 Pro as well.
Does this mean we can expect Nintendo to remember the Gamecube instead of continue neglecting it now?
Why does the gamepad always have to be on?
Why couldn't the pro controller be the default controller?
My issues with Wii U...
Oh & it getting GBA games while they should be on 3DS.
I want to kick the members of Nintendo's marketing department in the shins for the way they handled the WiiU. The system had a very solid first party line up (although the poor sales make me feel that we didn't get all the games we could have out of Nintendo) and a very unique and comfortable controller. I've had way more laugh out loud, face splitting grins while playing this console while I have to anxiously await 2017 for games that I find interesting to get releases on the Twins. I wish that they could have pushed more of the handheld VC support (despite the whining from 3ds owners) but all in all I feel I've gotten my money's worth. Bayonetta2, W101, Yoshi, HW, Lego City, Pikimin...Actually it is easier to name games I didn't like.
I am incredibly happy with the 31 titles that I have purchased for my Nintendo Wii U as well.
New Super Mario Bros. U
Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed
Disney’s Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
Tekken Tag Tournament 2
Nintendo Land
New Super Luigi U
Pikmin 3
Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD
Sonic Lost World
Super Mario 3D World
Scribblenaut’s Unlimited
Rayman Legends
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Mario Kart 8
Hyrule Warriors
Super Smash Bros. Wii U
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Mario Party 10
Kirby and the Rainbow Paintbrush
Splatoon
Yoshi's Woolly World
Legend of Kay – Anniversary
Super Mario Maker
Rodea the Sky Soldier
Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival
Xenoblade Chronicles X
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD
Pokkén Tournament
Star Fox Zero
Star Fox Guard
Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE
Skylanders Superchargers
I will just post now that I will respect all opinions of members here about Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival, but your opinions simply WILL NOT change the fact that I like the game.
Maybe it wouldn't have done so badly if it didn't have so many issues and shortcomings. A handful of great games isn't enough to make a truly compelling and truly satisfying console—not for me at least—and it never has been. It's about the complete/whole experience as far as I'm concerned. That includes and encapsulates the games, services, firmware, hardware, controller, price and value proposition, and a bunch of other things. And Wii U really did drop the ball on a lot of them (arguably most of them). The SNES, as an example, wasn't great because it had a crap-load of amazing games; it was great because it had a crap-load of amazing games alongside being a perfectly put together little console with a brilliant controller and generally no glaring issues or shortcomings to speak of—it was, for almost all intents and purpose, a near perfect gaming experience all-round for and relative to its time (and that's how most people remember it and why they remember it so fondly). The Wii U, for all the things that were kind of cool about it, fell far short of that mark in so many ways, so maybe Nintendo needed to fail with the Wii U just to learn its lesson. And the lesson is not to just tick 5 of 20 boxes but to try and actually tick them all. Or something like that. But, it probably did deserve to sell a bit more than 13 million-ish units at the end of the day.
Whilst I like the Wii U more than the Wii, to me it got off to a bad start and never made up for that. Even thinking back to the early E3s, the software shown off was so unexciting at a time when they really should have been trying to wow us. There seems to have never been a Metroid game in development for it, and Zelda took so long, it will never be released as the pure Wii U game it was once intended as.
The Wii U was a fairly nice console, but there's no way I could say Nintendo tried their hardest with it.
I suspect that many people within Nintendo were doubtful of the Wii U's ability to succeed even before they launched it. The Switch is the system that they wanted to make, but could not do at the time. They knew that what they were putting out was weak in several areas and thus they were not surprised when it failed to get people excited. It almost feels like the Wii U was a stop gap measure that they used to bridge themselves and keep their development staff busy until the technology existed for Switch to be a reality.
I suspect that Switch will be much more successful, partly because Nintendo will be much more invested in it and partly because they resolved most of the issues that held back the Wii U. You can take it with you on the go. It has the power to do decent HD games and it is supposedly much easier for third parties to work with (Unreal Engine 4 and easier dev tools). I bet that they will also spend a lot of money promoting it.
The fact that Wii, DS and 3DS were all successful allowed Nintendo the space to slough off the Wii U. However, Switch is their future now so you can bet that Nintendo will go all-in to make it a success.
It would've deserved better if they didn't give us such low system! NOt acceptable and Nintendo finally you're paying for your mistakes. Still daring to ask people full price while your hardware is just as same as xbox 360 which was released in 2006.. your hardware released 2012 with almost same specs. NOT Acceptable. That's why i didn't buy your hardware becaus I boycot it. By the looks of it there are more people with same mindstate. The ones who are holding your hands above the water are the ones who will blindly follow you and say they don't care about specs and yet not much games are released
I don't think for one second it deserved to out sell N64 or GameCube!
Really hope Nintendo learns from this. They screwed up far too much for a company that's supposed to have so much experience.
@BiasedSonyFan If you're trying to imply the perception of the SNES as being one of the greatest consoles ever made is not accurate or something—I don't even . . .
I could waste breath arguing every single measurable element of what made the SNES so great in its time, and it's all stuff that makes it basically just as great even now, but I'm not going to.
The SNES and its all-round greatness, in basically every single area (be it the hardware, software, or whatever), speaks loud enough for itself.
The Wii U deserved better from Nintendo. From a consumer standpoint, it was a lackluster product built off of bad ideas and shortcomings that were never addressed.
I fully believe that Nintendo could have turned the Wii U into a much more positive situation. Ditching the gamepad after the 1st year and selling it for closer to $200, offering an ambassador program to pre-existing owners to put them in good standing with customers again, and securing reasonable third party support by helping cover the cost of ports would have made the first few years of the Wii U's life much better. Maybe then we would see it getting replaced this year or next year with a better send off, and more owners feeling like it was a good console.
It's a missed opportunity for so many reasons. Aside from the often repeated comments about poor marketing and lack of third party support, the core selling points around the gamepad were crippled by poor battery life, limited range and a tiny hard drive that was at least 30% filled by a day-one update.
That being said, the eshop is massively improved over the Wii Shop, in terms of browsability, discounts, the range of interesting indie titles and the options they added to the VC titles. So some things improved at least.
It deserved to sell more but it also deserved to be the lowest selling Nintendo console.
It should have been released as an HD Wii in about 2010.
Damn right it deserved better. It wasn't a copy of what the other two were doing, those two merely repeating themselves generation after generation. Like the Wii before it, the Wii U deviated from the standard and dull controllers. Even the most minor of the gamepad's uses, the off-tv play, was a breath of fresh air compared to the stagnation the other companies push. The Wii U has done more to revitalise how we play games than the other two would dare to do.
Then there are the games drools
@BiasedSonyFan I know it had a lot of stuff in its favour; I never claimed otherwise. I'm just making sure you're not even going to try arguing its almost universal praise isn't entirely justified, regardless of you apparently feeling the need to emphasise the at-this-point-just-insulting-and-annoying notion of everything in this universe that could be thought of as good or bad, and judged as such (by one or many), just being a matter of "opinion". You don't have to clarify it's a matter of opinion; it's irrelevant, because of all the things in existence that have ever been judged based on opinion, which is pretty much anything that's ever been judged, the SNES is one that has been pretty much universally judged as brilliant. So, your feeling the need to educate anyone that anything that's almost universally judged as brilliant is just a matter of opinion—like that somehow changes anything—well, it's completely and utterly redundant.
Sadly I don't think the Switch will be Nintendo's savior. If anything we are going to be looking back on the Wii U's sales and thinking it wasn't that bad in comparison.
In truth and honesty, the Café deserved to fail. More specifically, the Café latched on to the branding of the Revolution (hence 'Wii U'), yet its games are an tithesis to the Revolution.
While the Revolution involved simplicity with its controller (which was a combination of a remote control and a NES controller), the Café complicated things with its controller (which was a tablet that could have been easily passed a stand-alone console).
While the Revolution had games that aimed to expand the audience (Virtual Console and New Super Mario Bros Wii appealed to former gamers while Wii Sports and Wii Play appealed to non-gamers.), the Café restricted itself to Nintendo 'fantards' who willingly retarded their perspectives to self-service (Most 1st and 2nd-party Café games that are on the shelf are sequels, remakes, or simply remain with current IPs).
While the Revolution purposefully worked to integrate itself into daily lives of non-gamers (hence the News and Weather Channels), the Café would rather serve Nintendo-'s wishes (hence Sigeru's comments here: https://guyghoul.tumblr.com/post/96052392903).
In all, while the Revolution was, at least, a revolutionary in ideology in the gaming industry, the Café ended up served lukewarm.
@BiasedSonyFan I will literally reach through that computer and . . .
Don't embarrass yourself and betray your level of intelligence by going down this path any further.
I certainly won't.
The Wii U did everything wrong. And the worst part is that I have a superb game library on the system, but 95% of those games are available on other systems as well!!!
I enjoyed the system, had no issues with it....it has awesome games.
I've loved my Wii U like a child. Pre ordered, collected at launch (God, the queues....) have purchased every AAA game and played them all to completion, have dabbled with indies to some extent and really enjoyed my experiences.
I've also been the 1st person to sing the praises of the console, 3 friends of mine have purchased Wii U's a result of my insesent glorifying of that little fisher price tablet!
Along with my 3DS, I've loved being able to play all the Zelda games on one generation, and I've just played 12 races of Mario Kart 8 with the misses.
However, with all due respect, I now say RIP my friend, it's been a great 4 years.
Yooka Laylee will be a glorious swan song
It really got what it deserved when Nintendo doesn't show it enough love or support like Playstation and Post Don Mattrick Xbox One.
And the Switch not being backwards compatible to Wii U means the gems it had will die without much of the world experiencing them. I just hope they are quick to bring back games like Mario Maker and Splatoon so they can reach a larger demographic and have increased content (especially Mario Maker, a larger user base with more online functionality and regularly added feature would be amazing).
There should havery been a console revision version of the Wii U akin to the PS4 Slim. The 3DSXL sold more than the original 3DS because of its better design.
I love my Wii U. Still my most played system in my apartment. With that said Nintendo dropped the ball right out of the gate with it's name, poor marketing, online restrictions, YouTube rules and so much more. It never would've reached Wii heights but it could've eclipsed the Gamecube in sales I feel had it been handled right. Nevertheless I'm ready for the Switch.
@Alshain01
Main problem with the Wii U is that its pseudo portable or not portable enough. I don't see how the Switch can't be Nintendo's savior... While Ninty's struggled with home consoles, they've never "failed" with portable consoles. And the Switch at its core, is a portable console.
Even if the Switch's 3rd party support isn't spectacular, Nintendo now has all of their development studios developing for a single device instead of 2. As long as the games are quality, Switch'll save'em regardless.
@Turbo857 The main problem with the switch is it is trying to be two things and will excellent at neither. Most of those that want a portable, want a cheap one, and will go with the 3DS. Most those that want a home console are going to want either a powerful one and will go with XBox or Playstation, or would want a unique one and would have preferred something more like Wii U. The small subset in between the ven diagram that want a portable home console will the likely switch buyers, I don't see how the Switch can be Nintendo's savior with that little group.
As a home console user, I don't want a mobile device, and I don't want to pay for a bunch of hardware I will never use, like a battery and a screen that can only be used while mobile. So, I am not likely to buy a Switch even though I own a Wii U. Without even knowing the price I know it's going to be too expensive for it's abilities if I just ignore the fact it can go mobile, since I won't use that feature.
It saddens me so few people had the immense pleasure of playing "Bayonetta 2" "Xenoblade Chronicles X" and "FAST Racing Neo"...
The gamepad was the issue. Nintendo's thinking was, if it worked with the DS it will work withthe Wii U. But the screens were to far apart.
Nintendo should have given up on the gamepad, sold Wii u with a pro controller instead, and given GameCube games a makeover to fill the gap between new releases.
But Nintendo had to prove a point and so we had to put up with the awkward controlls on the Gamepad, right up to Starfox and even Colour Splash, up to a point.
That said the Switch has two screens as well. I am really not bothered about playing my home console games away from my big HD home tv. And I don't think many others really do either. Xbox and PlayStation owners manage quite well without playing HD games designed for a big screen on a tablet.
@AlphaJaguar
I'd say just the larger screens alone contributed to higher sales of the 3DSXL compared to the regular 3DS, rather than just a change in design.
I don't think simply redesigning the console (its small enough as it is) or making a smaller Gamepad would've done much for a console not getting much 3rd party support imo..
I like my GameCube better. The gamepad and the 'Wii' name hurt sales. If it was sold with the pro controller it would have costed $100 cheaper and looked like a regular console.
@RatKing64 You make a good point that Nintendo probably realized Wii U didn't really have a chance. Looking at Switch now Wii U feels more like a stop gap system that was really an early prototype for Switch's concept. In fact I would say Switch is what they likely intended Wii U to be but the tech wasn't really there at the time.
I hope the WiiU Splatoon and MK8 continue to be playable online. Splatoon withought the second screen will be weird.
@Pahvi I am including Virtual Console games (which I have a lot of) and backwards-compatible Wii games in that statistic. The other non-exclusive Wii games are Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, Yoshi's Woolly World, Splatoon, Mario Kart, Smash, Shovel Knight, and Pokken. Games exclusive to my Wii U are Super Mario 3D World, Nintendo Land, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, and Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker.
"deserved better" is not something I can reasonably comment on. However, the Wii U is up there with my favorite consoles, along with the Gamecube and the 3DS ('cause it can play DS games ).
@Alshain01
I don't understand the argument that the Switch will only appeal to a small group of people. Most people in my social circle who own a 3DS and PS4/Xbone want the Switch. It's versatility is an unprecedented convenience for a gamer.
I think your grossly underestimating the mass appeal of the Switch. If a person wants a portable, and wants a cheap one, agreed, they can buy a 3DS. And if they want a real cheap one, they can find a DS or a Gameboy Advance SP.
Point is the 3DS ain't gonna get Breath of the Wild or the next Smash Bros, 3D Mario, Metroid, F-Zero, Mario Kart or even the next Pokemon. Any franchise a 3DS gamer currently enjoys will be moving to the Switch eventually. And those gamers will make the "Switch". While the 3DS will get "some" games over 2017 into 2018... its dated hardware and about due for an upgrade.
If you own a PS4/Xbone already, great. But some titles for those systems will make their way to the Switch and the added feature to take an 80 hour open world game out of the house with you will be enticing to gamers like myself who have limited free time at home. And I don't believe that home console gamers with limited time, who wish they can take their experience out of the house (or off the TV at least) are that small in number.
@Alundra-1998
Yeah there are many awesome games for Wii-U. Friends of ours asked me about buying one for their son and I told them that even though it is gonna be discontinued there are lots of games to keep him busy for a few years. I like Amiibo Festival too, for what it is. I guess many of us were just devastated that it was not a full Animal Crossing game like we were all clamoring for. They could've even did some kind of port of New Leaf and made me happy, especially if it was cross-platform like Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate. I do not spend a lot of time playing handheld games so I never got New Leaf and I have been waiting for a console Animal Crossing for a long time now.
I loved my Wii U it while I had it. It had a few great games on it. But I was frustrated with the lack of third party support and traded it in to get a PS4. Though, now that the Switch is on its way, I couldn't be more excited. The Wii U's spirit will sort of live on in the Switch. I'm ready to move forward, too.
Love my Wii U, definitly got a ton of fun with it and in some terms I agree it deserved better.
If anything, I personally don't like most of the killer apps on the other consoles, if it wasn't for the Wii U (and the 3DS covering when needed) I would have got little to no games to play in the last five years XD
I think what I take away from Wii U is that despite being the lowest-selling main Nintendo console because of its many issues, I still had some really good experiences mixed in with the meh.
I'm hoping in a decade or so time, we might get a look at the issues from the inside.
The Wii U is sadly my least favourite console. I don't agree with the comparisons to the Gamecube because the Gamecube has a far superior library, with much better support from Nintendo and good third party support - including some excellent exclusives. It also had an elegant and powerful architecture.
That is not to say the Wii U is not without its merits and it does have some great games (Bayonetta 2 is sublime!). Whilst I do enjoy off-TV play, I find the gamepad quite uncomfortable to use The fact that Nintendo themselves have not given a particularly compelling reason for its existence is disappointing. The DS and Wii fulfilled the potential of their unique hardware features, but I don't think the Wii U has.
Hopefully Nintendo have learnt from their mistakes with the Wii U. All signs so far suggest that they may well have, but we'll have to wait and see. I haven't been as excited for a console launch as I am for the Switch in a long time and I look forward to what it will offer.
Wii U felt like it was designed by a group of people locked in a room for a couple of years, internal game developers that were locked in another faraway room, marketing group stranded for a couple of years on a remote island. None of them were co operating.
I don't know that Wii U deserved better. Nintendo didn't even try to promote it and abandoned it pretty much after only a couple of years. We Wii U owners deserved better, that's for sure.
It had some great games but it also had some half baked games. Then there are the missing franchises also. And if you were waiting to buy a Wii U for Zelda you don't have to as the definitive version is likely to be on Switch. The console was doomed from the start. I bought it at launch like every other console since the SNES. But now I'm burned, peeved off and wary of Switch. That's what you've done to one of your biggest fans.
I don't give a sh#t that it's a commercial flop. It's got some incredible games that have fantastic replay value. I still play it more than my PS4, come FFXV that is
Why did the Wii U deserve better? It, or more accurately Nintendo, deserves exactly what happened to the Wii U based on the decisions they made for the system. And I own a Wii U myself.
The Wii U has struggled to such a degree that its entire generation could pass with a large section of Nintendo's target consumer base barely knowing it exists.
This was basically the biggest problem the Wii U had from the very beginning, it was designed and marketed to recapture the non gaming casual audience they lost that made the Wii a success, but the non gaming casual audience stopped caring about the Wii because they moved on to smartphones and stopped caring about console games period. Nintendo was willing to sacrifice the consumer base it did have, Nintendo fans and gamers, in an attempt to win the lottery again like they did with the Wii. Every gamer knew what the Wii U was, but most gamers didn't want it because it was clearly not designed or marketed for them.
I would agree. It had many great games.
The Wii U is the console that got me back to admitting to myself I was a gamer since the SNES. I had an N64, a PS1&2, and a Wii, but they were distractions to my everyday life. The Wii U is instead a focal point of my leisure time, as if some designer at Nintendo said: "Let's design a console for this guy and select the odd stuff he likes to play to put on it".
And that is the Wii U's failing point- the mass market don't appreciate games like Yoshi's Wooly World, Xenoblade Chronicles X, and W101. They want COD, FIFA, and Ubisoft fodder. Ideally the Switch needs to appeal to the modern gamer, but if they turn their back on the quirkiness of the Wii U, then I'll probably step back from gaming. And that's the true Nintendo dilemma.
No, it didn't deserve better!
The Wii u has cult status... fans of Wii u are going to still love it
I don't know why I was expecting a decent article...
It's actually my third favorite Nintendo home console after the NES and SNES. The N64 has the worst controller and game library of any console I've ever owned. The GameCube had a few really solid titles, but it never really grabbed me (although I do LOVE that controller). The less said about the Wii the better, although it does have some decent games in its massive but extremely uneven library.
While I won't deny that most of the Nintendo games released on the system these past couple of years have been mediocre at best, I have still accrued a large-ish library of first party games for the system. Also, Off-TV play was my favorite Nintendo gimmick before the Switch was revealed.
As I said in response to the other article... the Wii U's lifespan may not be over just yet.
It's only the current models that have been confirmed to be discontinued... they could still release a budget model, or even a Switch bundle model.
@ThomasBW84: Wow. I agree a 100% with what you wrote. Every single word!
It's such a pity, really! Maybe - with the buzz caused by the Switch - Nintendo could lower the price of the Wii U significantly and try to sell it as the Switch's low-budget sister? I mean, it's a shame that all these games are only known to a few people...
This part sums it up quite well:
"None of this reflects on Nintendo's development teams, who made some amazing games, arguably still some of the best experiences in this generation. In the key releases Nintendo's quality control and admirable focus to deliver 60fps in some games was a delight, shining a light on how game development should work. Yet on the business side Nintendo failed to turn it around. To this day a lot of people barely know what the Wii U is, or the terrific games it has to offer."
Honestly I love my Wii U from the day I bought it but Nintendo dropped the ball on this one.
@DarkKirby
I think the biggest problem with the Wii U was that it didn't really have a gameplay changing feature and it was rather expensive. The Wii's remote was very simple to get and for those that understood and became acclimated to motion controls, it was a game changer for playing games of various genres (driving games, 1st/3rd shooters, etc.).
The Gamepad's biggest feature is off -TV play, but it's limited to close proximity to the console. A welcome convenience but I don't think it's a gameplay changer. And Nintendo not properly marketing the benefits of the Gamepad's screen made it worse.
What makes Wii U failed because the ridiculous small size of internal storage. 32 GB is unacceptable while External HardDisk can reach 2 TB. Anyway, Love my Wii U even I have owned it 7 months ago.
If Mario Maker and Splatoon had come out at launch the WiiU would likely have fared much much better. You have to get people excited for a console through the software.. Also, those games didn't have gimmicky uses of the gamepad.
@roboshort I agree that Mario Maker should have been a Day One game to show off the functionality of the GamePad. Thankfully, it probably doesn't matter what the Switch launches with because the "gimmick" is intuitively appealing to people who will find appeal in it.
Wii U might be over for Nintendo,but not for me.I still have a big backlog and stuff to do in the games I'm already playing.I don't really care about Switch.
When you think about the DS debut and how it got non gamers into games, Even my Mam played on it and has never played on a game system, surely a home console with the same controls would be a success! It seems Nintendo buried this console before the consumers did. I have enjoyed so many games on wii u and find myself going back to playing Zelda WW again and again rather than finishing games on my PS4, but with money becoming tighter and people not affording two consoles people are clearly going to go with the ones that have games in the top 20 which the wii u rarely achieved. Such a shame
I respectfully disagree. True, the Wii U's software library deserved a better console but the WiiU as a console was terrible.
The gamepad was never a great idea to start with, the console's design was awful compared to iconic designs like the GameCube and the lovely single point perspective of the Wii, which Sony shamelessly copied with the isometric PS4. The WiiU has bought nothing to gaming as a piece of hardware or via its software. It's games are amazing, but 90% of them would play just as well or better with a regular controller or a Wiimote.
People compare the WiiU to the Dreamcast but that's chalk and cheese. The DC gave the console industry screens in controllers, motion controls, HD graphics (check the VGA box), online gaming and the unrivaled creativity of SEGA going nuts.
It has the best Smash, by far, and that counts for something.
Coming from being a PC gamer / never having owned a console before (OUYA aside), Wii U was a bit underwhelming for sure. MK8 was great with flatmates, and I loved Splatoon initially. But over time, I drifted away from Splatoon because it lacked the social features that kept me playing Counterstrike and Eve Online for years! (Namely the ability to chat with other players and more importantly, connect to the same server time after time to hang out with the same group of players).
The rest of it felt like a massive nostalgia fest that I just couldn't get into. Especially Amiibo's, which feel more like collectors items for long-time fans than something which enhances gameplay.
Development wise, it was a pain to initially get all set up with devkits etc. And for ages, being stuck on Unity 4 whilst everyone else was using Unity 5 sucked. But having got into it, I've really enjoyed playing with all the Wii U has to offer. I've written a little about that here: http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/JamesCoote/20160928/282228/Wii_U_Toybox.php
I do intend to keep developing for Wii U for the foreseeable future, even if it's more for side projects / hobby gamedev.
However, my time with Wii U has left me really torn over whether to develop for the Switch or not. On the one hand, I'll be able to use a lot of my existing knowledge of Nintendo back-end systems and processes (lotcheck etc). On the other, I don't want to have another situation where I spend ages creating a game designed to leverage the system's unique features, only to find once finished that the market for indie games on Switch, like on Wii U, is just for retro-style games for a niche of hardcore Nintendo fans.
As other people have said, the Wii U is a perfect example of how out of touch Nintendo was with the market. It has some great games, certainly, but launching a slightly more powerful Xbox 360 right before the next generation of consoles and trying to pander to the demographic that clearly left them weren't smart moves.
The Wii U got exactly what it deserved- it was a stumble in the wrong direction.
And I've put more time into my 3DS than any other videogame system I've ever owned.
thats sad because i love my wii u. the gamecube blows very hard. i only use it for gba games
My biggest issue with the Wii U is how it ended. This year was pretty louse as far as releases went. Still hoping for more MK8 dlc.
I like my Wii U and don't regret a little buying it. That said, the system is sad with last gen ports working worst on the Wii U (like Warriors Orochi 3), huge spaces of time without any new game, just the same kind of game (family friend multiplayer or Japanese hidden gems like Tokyo Mirage). I love my Wii U but the only way to love it is having a 3ds and a PS4 to complete your game ecosystem, because with those 2 is where the games are.
And by the way the Wii U will never be a classic like the Gamecube, which is amazing.
Nintendo screwed up the Wii U so badly, I've pretty much lost all faith in them. They will have to do something MASSIVE with the Switch to get me to buy one.
The Switch had better take the gaming world by storm.
As I said under the "end of production" article, all the astonishing first-party and second-party games for the Wii U were like talented surgeons, whose talent however couldn't save their patient because they arrived too late. And the flatline looms ever closer as we speak.
I like my Wii U, but Nintendo's marketing department screwed up BIG time. Specially with the name and with the lack of third party support (big names, not indies). As a Nintendo only gamer due to time, There are third parties I'm intereted but not wnough as to justify a second console (yet). And in that part, they never made any effort after the first year.
Points double barrel shotgun "Deserve's got nothing to do with it."
Also...how do you post a picture?
Nintendo could've done more with advertising and not having a terrible out of touch approach to online, YouTube, etc. but ultimately it released to a market that was suddenly demanding a million HD AAA dystopian walking simulators. Would it have taken off even with the best possible launch?
Did it "deserve" better? It was a gimmicky console with retro-style nostalgia games released just before the hipsters became gamers (see the success of NES Mini, Pokémon GO, etc.). So while it had some quality games, anything other than a massive failure would tell Nintendo that it's okay to just keep on keeping on with their old-fashioned nonsense.
In my opinion, it deserved to be rejected by the market, if only to make the Switch play out more like the 3DS than the Wii U.
The Wii U is great and allowed me to keep my Wii library working as well. At launch the user interface was even slower than today.
One of my biggest regrets gaming wise. Out of all the systems I own, current gen and retro the Wii U is my least played system. The only thing I played on it was alot was MK8 and even that got old after awhile.
Honestly Nintendo should ditch current gen consoles and let Sony and MS duke it out for current gen supremacy and stick with the retro market. That's what people want most from Nintendo.
@peeks
iOS is trademark of Apple Inc., and is the OS that iPhone, iPad and the iPod touch all run. It has nothing to do with Nintendo.
I don't think anything is wrong with Wii U's OS, I like it. And this is coming from somebody who uses the best operating systems on the planet daily.
If only Apple and Nintendo jointed... An iOS DS or a macOS running Switch would be heaven on Earth. sigh
The WiiU is by far the worst console Nintendo has ever made. A tablet screen that is not HD for an HD console, tiny hard drive, little third party support, and too high a price. I love old Nintendo but this was terrible and was likely their last shot at keeping up in the world of gaming. I am waiting to see more about the Switch but already the wait is after Christmas which means most people will just buy a PS4 Pro or Xbox. This could mean way less sells again and eventually no third party support. It may be too late now after two generations of crappy systems for anyone to give a crap. I love my 3DS but the Switch is still a pipe dream until I see it out of the gate, and that is largely due to the sorry WiiU.
As much as I enjoyed my Wii U, I'm not really sure if I can agree that it deserved better. It wasn't really powerful compared to other consoles this gen, had little advertising, and the Gamepad was a bit of a unnecessary gimmick. That said, it had a lot of great games on it. Hopefully the Switch will have a library with a lot of quality games like the Wii U's own, while fixing the Wii U's flaws.
I personally LOVE the Wii U, it has some of my favorite games. But, I think Nintendo tried a little to hard with the casual market. Most gamers don't want a GamePad, they don't need a gimmick. And while I like the gimmicks Nintendo has done, I think the Nintendo Switch got it just right. From what we've seen, its games will play regularly like a PlayStation, GameCube or N64 game. But, it has something that makes it worth playing over the others and a gimmick, you can take it on the go. I don't think it'll replace the 3DS, as I think it will be replaced with a dual-screen console. But, while the Wii U lacked good 3rd party support, it has many excellent titles such as Splatoon, Super Mario Maker, and Super Smash Bros. And while a lot of people view it as a failure, there will be people like me who remember it for the amazing titles it had.
I'd rather have sequels on the Switch than lazy ports. Splatoon already has a large user-base on the Wii U still playing it so it wouldn't make any sense to abandon the Wii U audience that had been playing it from the beginning.
I also feel a similar way towards Smash 4. I would rather Nintendo make a sequel that expands upon the fighting cast, adds a story mode and fix some issues with the mechanics and modes that people were annoyed by. A lazy port (even if it were a "complete edition" of Smash 4 or any game for that matter with DLC) would most likely be considered a rip-off to many people who did buy those games before and they would probably be put off by the decision.
By the way, I loved the Wii U but it REALLY needed better marketing and probably a less silly name.
The Wii-U was a good console, I preferred the Wii though....
@Turbo857 Not according to Nintendo, they are continuing the 3DS line. It would be incredibly foolish of them not to as they would be killing key demographics. The switch is not and will never be a replacement for the 3DS. It's too expensive, I can tell you that and I don't even know its cost. The 3DS is most often purchased for kids, and multiple units for each household. If they attempted to use the switch to replace the 3DS, Nintendo would be completely abandoned for tablets and smartphones.
I surely had (have actually, still playing #FE and Earthbound) plenty of fun with the WiiU but overall I have been disappointed by the clumsy hardware (Why does the gamepad always have to be on? Why the plasticky Fisher-Price feel? And the bulky external adapter?) and scarce software: a bunch of "pretty good" entries in normally outstanding 1st party series, next to zero 3rd party support, nearly insulting VC handling.
best memory: Bayonetta 2
Also, please refrain from comparing the U to the Dreamcast: even if Sega's last console sold slightly less units, it was home to games (Phantasy Star Online, Shenmue, Jet Set Radio etc.) and features (online connectivity, window based OS, VMU) that were incredible if not downright revolutionary for its time and light years ahead of its competitors.
The only common trait I'd stress is EA's decision to not support the console being a decisive one in their demise.
There are times in the recent years I've felt shafted by Nintendo for having supported them (Ultra Smash and Amiibo Festival to name a couple). But what I have bought I have enjoyed immensely and still do when time permits.
Wii U at the very least should have highlighted, very brightly, elements that Nintendo could improve upon. Let's just hope that the Switch era can achieve that which Wii U could not.
We shall both gather dust playing Smash 4 forever!
I love my Wii U, and will easily say that it is one of my favourite Nintendo consoles that they have released, and I have a lot of great games for the system (I currently have 37 physical games, and plan to still get more) but I will say the system wasn't without its problems.
One huge problem was Nintendo's advertising. Only Nintendo commercial I remember for Wii U was Mario Maker, but most the time they focused on advertising 3ds games.
Another huge problem was the timing of the systems release. Basically releasing a slightly more powerful system than the 360 and PS3 when those two where going to be replaced in a years time, and get games that wouldn't be possible to port to Wii U.
The biggest problem is hands down the gamepad. Though I found it to be a neat thing when it was first shown, it quickly was a super expensive controller with a screen that was barely ever used for a good reason. Most games use the game as a map/inventory screen, or to play the game off tv, which the off tv thing would have been great if you could go anywhere with it, but it doesn't take much for the signal the go out.
I think Nintendo Switch is the right direction for Nintendo to go, and the system is actually what Wii U probably should have been in the first place. Though I am very hopeful for the system, after the Wii U's minimal third party support, I am very worried the same thing will happen to the Switch, and very worried what the systems price will be.
Every Nintendo system MUST have its OWN Zelda game. This omission was Wii U's biggest failure.
@Raien this guy gets it.
More importantly, nobody else around here, especially the writers, knows what they're talking about.
As a day 1 adopter, Wii U is the worst console I've ever invested in. With Wii, it was THE reason people came over. With Wii U, people were too busy with actually technology (like iPhones and iPads) to concern themselves with what it offered.
I like the Wii U but is far from being one of Nintendo's best. Seeing the last years of the Wii, is obvious that Miyamoto and his compadres wanted to attract new gamers with the wii and sell them games that were failures on GC. Let's face it, 3D Mario is only a hit within Nintendo fans, not mainstream audiences but it looks like Miyamoto is so pissed off that he treats 2D Mario like poop and keeps pushing 3D Mario even to the point of making almost 2D to attract those users (and failed). Wii U was a console for Nintendo fans and Miyamoto's ego. Not mainstream audiences.
I keep hearing the same mantra: "oh but wii U has terrific games!". Does it? Mario kart 8 is great but what other incentives does it gives to the huge Mario Kart Wii userbase who obviously didn't migrated? Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze is good but with the exception of the 1st part on the SNES, it has never been a system-seller. Mario 3D world and NSMBU doesn't offer any substancial from NSMBWii or the Galaxies. Smash Bros. U feels like a buffed-up Brawl. It feels very redundant compared to the Wii. Even the Zeldas are nothing but ports of older ones...that can be played on Wii!
I would like to say that they learned from their arrogance and Switch will be a re-alignment and be another hit like the Wii. But I doubt it. In their minds, if something succeeds it's because they are genious and if it fails it's because we didn't get it.
And they still do it:
If they are going to release the switch with that mentality, they are destined to fail. Again.
The question is, if Switch becomes the next Wii and sells bucket loads, do we buy Switch U?
@Raien I'll have to disagree with you on the point that Nintendo's games aren't system sellers.
They are system sellers in the sense that they convince people to buy Nintendo's hardware. Back in the N64 era, games like Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, Goldeneye, both Zelda games, and Rare's other games drove sales of the N64.
The same could be said of the Gamecube, and of the Wii U.
Mario Kart 8 sold 8 million on a system that has not even passed the 15 million mark. Smash 4 sold 4 million.
People buy Nintendo's systems for their games. The problem is that Nintendo has lost third-party support with every generation since the SNES. Nintendo's games are brilliant, but they alone can't justify the cost of Nintendo's hardware. People don't want to spent 299 for a box that can play Mario Kart and Smash Bros, but will miss major third party games.
But one look at Nintendo's handhelds, and a different story emerges. Their handheld have always had strong first-party support, and games like Mario, Zelda, Pokemon, Kirby, and Fire Emblem have all found success over the years on the Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, DS, and 3DS.
The key difference though, is the fact that Nintendo's handhelds have never lost major third-party support. Konami, Square Enix, Capcom, Sega, and others who only give Nintendo's home consoles passing glance and maybe a couple of quick and dirty ports have always thrown their full support behind Nintendo's handhelds.
People like to act like third party does not matter for Nintendo's hardware, but look at the NES and SNES. Both had the best third-party support of their generation. It could even be argued that games from Square, Capcom, Konami, and other played as much of a role in allowing the SNES to beat then Genesis then any of Nintendo's first-party titles.
Look at the 3DS this generation. It had both strong first party support and third party support. Games like Monster Hunter, Yokai Watch, Dragon Quest, and others played a huge role in helping sell the 3DS in a hostile market where Smart Devices had taken away alot of the DS' base.
Nintendo's games sell systems, but they need third-party support to sustain that lead.
Good read. I owned it since launch, and owned 5 games when I sold it. Tokyo Mirage being my favorite.
The lack of software combined with Nintendo's total lack of ability to deal with the internet and a reasonable account system doomed it. those were always the two biggest factors I heard from those who knew of it but never bought one
I still enjoy my WU, & its games. I think it could have done better, had:
1. Its overall marketing been better, or just plain existent
2. Both Nintendo, & 3rd parties used their ips to have supported the system to its strengths
3. Nintendo footing the bill for many 3rd party exclusives
4. Not making games that wastefully, or non-meaning-fully use the GP, just for the sake of using it because it's there (It's smart to include it for games that use it, but it shouldn't be used "just because")
5. Been sold with, & w/out the GP, if Nintendo knew the majority of games they were going to produce required it, or not
Still a system I enjoy, since all systems have their shortcomings. I'm like a lot of people here - it's not a what deserved better, it's a who deserved better. The people who bought the system. Am I personally dissatisfied? No. I think things could have been handled better, but I'm not upset. I will say, however, at this point, I'm only vaguely, or just so much interested in NS. I'm watching it, but Nintendo has to convince me of why I should want one. I see the WU as missed opportunities that could not be done on a conventional game console of today.
@BiasedSonyFan: Nintendo had a major lock on a lot of 3rd parties, during the 3rd(Nes), & 4th(SNes) (game console) gens. That contributed to their successes, during those generations. Some of that probably was co.s legitimately wanting their games on Nintendo hardware. There was also the fact that Nintendo put 3rd parties under strict rules, prohibiting their games appearing on rival systems.
I enjoyed my Wii U but it has ran out of steam and I have barely played it in the last year. I'm mostly PS4 and XB1 now. I will always remember the AAA 1st party titles on Wii U and that's about it. I will hook it up once in a while for some quality games but it's library is really lacking. It wont be like the Super Nintendo or N64 that has people still playing them consistently. I will say this, though. With Switch lacking backwards compatibility, having a Wii U will be nice for keeping both a Wii and Wii U library. There are going to be a crap ton of games that were fun but hard to find. Bayonetta 2, Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, Captain Toad Treasure Tracker, Colour Splash, Tokyo Mirage Sessions and others will be fun games to replay but will be hard to come by because of their limited sales. If you like your Wii U and didn't pick up all the games you wanted, the next 3-6 months will be the time to buy what you want. Come summer 2017, Wii U games will be very hard to find.
I recently caved in to pressure and bought a PS4 for my kids. It does the job as expected but I simply can't get used to having to look at the TV screen all the time while playing a game. My old eyes aren't what they used to be. The opportunity to have a gamepad in my hands while I lie on the sofa solves the problem of fading eyesight and is far more comfortable. Maybe I'm in a minority. I'm not in the habit of carrying a device with me when I'm out so the Switch doesn't hold extra appeal for me. However, speaking personally, I think the second screen on the gamepad was an excellent idea and it deserved to be a smash hit.
Wii U got what it deserved. Nintendo poorly advertised it and it was gimped in far too many ways. I get that they want to push the Gamepad and give us something new, but as a regular console, it is not up to par. Nintendo had more than enough time to learn from the PS3 and 360. I don't mean make a complete carbon copy of the two, but at least get basic stuff right like account system, console storage, etc.
Maybe it deserved better than 13 million, but for me it deserves the spot of Nintendo's lowest selling console. It's never felt like they knew what they were doing from the start. Most people can see that huge Wii crowd abandoned the machine long before that gen was up. Even from around 2011, you saw the console, plus controllers going for £25 pre-owned. You'd be lucky to get a PS2 for that now, 10 years after it was replaced. Nintendo did something amazing in attracting all those non-gamers, but after they were done with Wii Sports and Wii Fit, they got rid. Nintendo seemed to think this giant army of Wii owners was out there ready to upgrade, and kept trying to pander to them, but they weren't even there.
They turned their back on the people that had bought their machines from the NES through to the Cube, and put most of their effort into trying to get these casuals that simply had no interest. The console has quite a number of good games, but Splatoon aside, most of them are just slight improvements on what has come before. Sure, it's got the best Mario Kart, the best Smash, the best 2D Mario, and maybe the best 2D Donkey Kong, but we've seen those games so many times already. It's a long, long way from the Dreamcast situation which so many people want to compare it to. The Dreamcast library was packed with not only brand new IP, but games in brand new genres.
I can't wait to move on with the Switch, which looks like Nintendo for the most part dropping the gimmicks and just focusing on normal games again.
I loved monster hunter Wii u, because it was a complete package, HD, online, voice chat, multiplayer, single campaign.....
There better be a VC GameCube for the Switch!
I still enjoy this "Big DS", creating levels on Super Mario Maker or re-exploring the indie and retro catalogue on the e-Shop. I think it is a superb platform, and the world is full of people who don't understand. I use to play a lot of shooters on XBOX ONE, like Gears of War 4 or Destiny, but when I turn the Wii U on... my heart begins to beat again.
Good software, bad hardware I suppose. Outside of the excellent Mario Chase concept, the Wii U Gamepad offered very little, often just making things needlessly unintuitive and convoluted by putting onto two screens what could easily just be on one. On the instances I played it with friends the amount of times I heard "Which screen am I supposed to be looking at?"...
No it didn't. It was overpriced, underpowered and unfocussed. Not to mention the library is abysmally small
I bought a WiiU for Super Mario Maker (great game), but I fail to understand the system... TV or gamepad?!? I love the gamepad and it's retro library, but want the tether to go - so think Switch will be a great handheld upgrade.
"...and clever accounting helped Nintendo produce profits despite continually declining sales revenues..."
It is backhanded statements like this which makes me truly hate this site. Clever accounting isn't the reason Nintendo is profitable. There gross margins have increased over the last few years and due the sale of amiibo. I guess selling products is "clever accounting".
I never owned and hardly gor the chance to play on the Wii U only the (new)3ds and it was the best way to play Nintendo games in my eyes, They were also better of porting twilight princess and windwaker to the 3ds which should be possible(HD resolution doesnt matter if the console doenst sell).
I had high hopes but and doubted a lot if i shouldv bought it or not but glad that i didn't.
3ds was the way to go for Nintendo. Though i hope i can play Bayonetta 1 and 2 on the switch some day.
its a nice lesson for nintendo to learn and that they should understand its not only about their games but also about playing games in general and thats why its important to have 3rd party games including games made in the west.
Nintendo can be great again and the switch can help them with it and though i dont really care about specs(hence why i only needed my 3ds to be satisfied) for the switch i do think its important now. Nintendo gamers also deserve to play third party games in general without the need to buy a other console if nintendo is the pioneer of what the game industry is today (without the influence of the xbox brand ofcourse). The feeling i have with Xbox is the same that i have with trump being president now.
No, it really didn't deserve better. It was a minor upgrade with a stupid name and a gimmick that wasn't capitalized on.
@Alshain01
Dude, they merged both hardware divisions. That right there should tell you that the Switch is meant to be successor to both the 3DS and the Wii U. Regarding the 3DS family of systems, all Nintendo did was confirm that they will still "manufacture" the hardware as long as it still continues to sell which is common sense business. It ain't about demographics, it's simple supply and demand. But mark my words, there will be no update to the 3DS hardware. It will not receive a portable only successor (unless, in the event, the Switch fails).
When the DS was introduced, they called it their third pillar. Then what happened? Gameboy Advance's sales slowly declined and the DS's momentum eventually replaced it.
The Switch will do that to the 3DS eventually. As far as it being too expensive, the Switch will be seeing price cuts as well and because of its simpler architecture, it'll happen more reasonably than it did with the Wii U.
I never had any interest in having a WiiU until xenoblade chronicles x was announced. I purchased it a day later, just waiting to play the game. I am also always going to keep it, only to play xenoblade chronicles x again a few times in the future.
I'm content with my WiiU. I got my moneys worth. I did have expectations that Nintendo didn't live up to.
Expectations:
The WiiU Tablet you could take anywhere.
VC would be available day one and not be a trickle
VC would have Game Cube.
Metroid game
Many RPGs. Only 2.
I did however purchase many games. Here is my list in no order of greatness
Bayonetta 2: Flawless action. I wish it did better.
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. This made me have hope for action puzzlers again. So charming.
Darksiders II. Seriously hard.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut
Disney DuckTales Remastered. Be still my beating heart.
Disney Infinity. Meh
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. Yummy to much memory though.
FIFA Soccer 13
Hyrule Warriors. Many of hours on this one.
Just Dance 2014. Yes I got this game. Don't hate on me.
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD. I didn't really play it much
Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD
Madden NFL 13
Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games
Mario Kart 8, The best game on the console
Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash
Mass Effect 3. Should of goy the trilogy on Playstation
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate. I don't know why I couldn't get into this one.
NBA 2K13
NES Remix. Free
New Super Mario Bros. U + New Super Luigi U. More of the same
Nintendo Land. I didn't really play it
Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures. A waist
Pikmin 3. Thats the Nintendo I know and love
Pokken Tournament
Resident Evil: Revelations
Shovel Knight. Holy moly this game is retro good
Splatoon. A good one.
Super Mario 3D World. Over rated but I love it
Super Mario Maker. Definitive
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
Tank! Tank! Tank!
Wii Fit U. I still weigh myself and use that tracker when I go jogging in the morning.
Wii Sports Club. This was fun
Wonderful 101
Xenoblade Chronicles X. I waited for this one. It has its flaws, but I spent the most time with it. I love it.
Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013. This sucks. Throw it away.
ZombiU.
I know I might have more but whatever.
Wii U is a fantastic little system I'm sure it'll get its Iconic status in the future like the Sega Dreamcast plus half of the big hitters will get ports on the Switch.
Wii U was garbage, and most of its games were garbage. It got what it deserved.
It's a shame, but I actually loved the gamecube, and counted the Gamecube as my favorite nintendo console (and that was second in line to being the lowest). But, the gamecube had plenty of third-party support, and had a bunch of exclusive titles that weren't just nintendo's brand...plus, nintendo started many NEW IP's on the system itself (Pikmin, Mario Baseball, Animal Crossing, Chibi Robo, Custom Robo, Odama and more). Gamecube just ended up getting more love from nintendo, where they basically didn't give the Wii U as much love...the games seemed rushed to JUST HAVE a game come out for it for the ones who bought it, and the games for it could have had plenty of more depth and re-play value...not saying that all of them were bad, but for some reason, missing a story in Smash kept me away from it and it lacked many sports titles (where was Mario Golf...it would have been great on Wii, skipped that one and then skipped Wii U to come to 3DS instead). Seemed like nintendo mainly focused on the 3DS since that was selling more, and the time for the games came to that system better and faster...it was a shame and 'yeah' the system could have done more, but it was the lack of 3rd party support, advertising and the non-stop family-friendly kiddie games that really killed it. I love nintendo and the family appeal it has, but if they want their systems to really shine, they have to have enough genres and games to get the other gamers coming to it...which means, REAL sports sims yearly, the shooters which I hate, racing sims, action, adventure (not just platforms), simulation, strategy, the RPG's and they have to be more than just E and T rated...believe it or not, many kids want the M rated titles. I'm 36, so I enjoy anything, love nintendo the best, but I don't want to have to have 2 systems every generation to get the games that seem fun.
If Nintendo would have not been cheapskates and gave the Wii U a decent CPU and Hard drive. Things could have been different for the system.
Second Nintendo had no faith in their own system by not even advertising the Wii U features.
"The Wii U Has Been Nintendo's Lowest Selling Home Console"
No surprise there!
I love my Wii U, but it did deserve a much better effort from Nintendo. The fact that it didn't get their best effort shows that Nintendo had some serious doubts about the system before it was released.
I see a lot of the same hubris with the Switch.
I don't think it deserved better. It is what it is. I own it, I love it, but it made me realize that Nintendo is a company with narrow vision. They got what they deserved.
I will tough-lovingly say to Nintendo that the Wii U (or in fact, any Nintendo hardware) that has just outright "failed" is usually never due to their competitors-- it's due to Nintendo casting it's own shadow too big. Embrace modern marketing. Embrace modern technology. Embrace 3rd parties. Embrace consumer demand. Be Nintendo, but not just "for Nintendo"; Be Nintendo "to everyone".
None of us want to see Nintendo fail, but the Wii U got what it deserved. It was poorly marketed, absurdly priced, spurned third parties AND featured relatively few first-party games, so what the hell were gamers supposed to do?
@Lizuka
I think Wii was the worst because of so many forced motion controls. I was SO thankul DKC:TF didn't make me waggle like DKC:Returns did.
By the way, this system is an all-timer regardless of sales because of Mario Maker, the best DKC game, Luigi U, and the best Mario Kart. Hope they get more install base this time around so people don't miss those kind of gems.
For all the hate i have for this awful system. Still had fun with it
It didn't deserve better.
It predominantly had sub-par games with zero effort from Nintendo itself.
It was more of a training exercise for Nintendo moving into HD than it was a commercial business strategy. It started awful and ended worse.
As a piece of hardware it is amazing and offers so much. The software and marketing? Abysmal in the whole and the format reaped what it sowed and deserved little else.
The n64 and gamecube however? Far greater machines that really did deserve much better than it ended with but unfortunately they both lost out to Sony on nothing more than the Marketing strength that Sony has.
No Sony console has ever been great or offered anything new, but is consistently successful. Why? Because they invest so hard into marketing. Take note Nintendo,
@DESS-M-8 totally agree. Nintendo should really pay attention to Sony and take notes. I hope the switch is successful. A big hope
Watching from the outside (I don't actually own a Wii U) it's always had a sort of car crash quality. Titles which should have made me take the plunge somehow missed the mark (although Star Fox Zero missed by a country mile). My brother in law was kind enough to lend me has for a while as he said he never uses it. I enjoyed it for a while but again never fully got the bug. Oh well. Bye Wii U!
@Raien Mario kart has always been a system seller. Just look at the ratio attachment on Wii U. It did give it a push. Smash bros. used to but it seems to move more 3DS than Wii U this time. And it's so sad to see how Zelda is not a system seller anymore. Stupid Aounuma.
It didn't deserve better.
It rightfully got curb-stomped by the ps4 and xbox one. Nintendo made SO many mistakes with the Wii U it legitimately makes me wonder how some people at Ninty still have a job. Its online functionality was behind a 2005 console, it had WAY too many peripherals, its main gimmick was weak and overall wasn't even used by even first party devs, its marketing was garbage, etc etc!
And as mentioned already, Nintendo's attitude towards it's own fanbase on youtube was deplorable and regressive.
Did the Wii U have good games? Hell yeah. But its still one of their worst consoles and I'm glad they're cutting it short with the switch.
@Minotaurgamer
Zelda ain't a system seller? Did Twilight Princess not help sell the Wii. Did Ocarina of Time not help sell the 3DS and N64? Will Breath of the Wild not help sell the Switch?
@yomanation It was an asset that Nintendo acquired years ago. It is something that a lot of companies do. I wouldn't call that "clever accounting". It is a heck of a lot better than selling your company's original buildings and then leasing them back from the company that they were sold to alas Sony....
@ThomasBW84 Your title is so misleading. "The Wii U Has Been Nintendo's Lowest Selling Home Console; It Deserved Better" with a title like that I expect more reasons on "why" it deserve better and not majority of focus on why it was Nintendo's lowest selling home console.
@Turbo857 Well then count on Nintendo not doing so good in the future because they are turning their back on a lot of customers if they abandon the 3DS, unless the Switch becomes as cheap as the 3DS but that doesn't seem very likely. You are basically saying Nintendo is abandoning their bread and butter and I just don't believe it.
I disagree. I owned the Wii U for a bit, ended up trading it in for an Xbox One after being disappointed by Mario Kart 8 and wasn't disappointed. It's not a terrible system but it is the worst Nintendo home console of all-time by a long shot imo. It was released at least two years too late and the weak hardware hurt it. So did Nintendo's refusal to open the treasure trove and dig into its catalog after it become very clear that third parties were jumping ship. That's not to say there wasn't some good stuff. Super Mario 3D World is excellent, Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze was also excellent, Bayonetta 2 is one of the best action games of the last few years and Smash Bros. is obviously awesome. There was also plenty of great downloadable stuff, I always enjoyed the Mighty Switch Force games. So overall it wasn't an awful console but it could've been so much more had Nintendo been smarter.
I'll be blunt: My opinion is Nintendo needs to grow up.
What I mean here: Nintendo makes great games - indeed, classic games, and while the latest hardware and development strategies isn't a replacement for gameplay, it does have an impact.
More specifically, take a look at the UI of a modern game system. Folders and subfolders, but more importantly online capabilities and pairing with another console or group of consoles.
Nintendo has always seemed to have cold feet for whatever reason - liability or simply focus on the "in room" game crowd - but it's well past the point of being acceptable for a modern game console to have such limited multiplayer / online / streaming capabilities.
The other modern home game systems have make it very easy to play with friends, but Nintendo always seems to have cold feet compared to others in this regard. It is changing (some of this has been implemented to various degrees) but they could vastly improve this.
With things like Twitch and youtube live being more and more common for streaming people playing games - and letting people interact with those streamers - Nintendo's lack of courage in this area is costing them dearly. Imagine a game console where you could start watching someone play a game on Twitch, then join in on your own to play with or against them with your own console.
Besides that - anyone else remember how much impact "Launch Titles" used to have? I remember how big the launches of the SNES were and even more the launch of the Nintendo 64. Reason? Because the games at launch were a big deal, which SHOWED their improvement over the previous generation's.
SNES Launch Titles: F-Zero, Sim City, Gradius III, Pilotwings, and of course Super Mario World.
N64 Launch Titles: Pilotwings 64, Super Mario 64 (Ultimately this system proved to be a bit of a disappointment to me personally, but Super Mario 64 and Wave Race were enough to show the diffference from the SNES)
Now, just compare this with the launch titles of the Wii U: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_game_console_launch_games#Wii_U
Are there good games? Yes. Were there a lot MORE games at launch than for the SNES or N64? Yes. But what here shows something that couldn't be done on the Wii, or wasn't already being done on another Console? The power of having an exclusive with Tank! Tank! Tank!? That's not an incentive, that's a joke. And Nintendo land, entertaining? Maybe. But who buys a console that costs hundreds of dollars for a collection of mini-games? (Yes, I know this also slams Mario Party).
There WAS New Super Mario Bros. U, and as I write this it is still the Wii U's 2nd best selling title (which does indicate it is a great game), but what about this game is one that shows it's a game changer? That shows this game is a huge improvement that simply COULD NOT have been done on the Wii?
They could have done a Zelda game immediately, had a Metroid game ready to go, but no.
Even now, this is rather weak. Here's a list of the Wii U's all-time best selling games:
Mario Kart 8 — 7.5 million
New Super Mario Bros. U — 5..19 million
Nintendo Land — 5.07 million
Super Mario 3D World — 4.82 million
Super Smash Bros. Wii U — 4.8 million
Splatoon — 4.27 million
Super Mario Maker — 3.52 million
New Super Luigi U — 2.49 million
Mario Party 10 — 1.76 million
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD — 1.72 million
Just this list alone should indicate why this console failed. 7 Mario based games (of various types), 1 Zelda game, Nintendoland, and Splatoon.
Don't get me wrong, Splatoon is a great game, great premise and new type of FPS, but it isn't one that can manage to make up for a weak system launch - which the Wii U definitely had.
Nintendo through it's history has a huge catalog and variety of games (particularly on the NES), but what happened to this variety?
I know I'm showing my age here, but what happened to RPGs for example? Why couldn't Nintendo have done something to revive adventure games by letting players use the touchpad to select items to interact with (another hypothetical). How about reviving Star Tropics or Mother, as opposed to a 12th or 13th Mario game? (Don't get me wrong, Mario games are great, but really, Nintendo needs to know the difference between making a sequel and starting to milk a franchise).
I'm not saying Nintendo needs to grow up by suddenly issuing out a lot of NC-17 games (though they really should put out more adult games or let publishers develop some as well), but if they're going to continue their focus on 1st party games they need to do better on day 1 and do more variety. Risk is dangerous, but if they don't innovate again they're going to fall to the wayside.
To put it another way: Nintendo's biggest game this year wasn't anywhere on this list. It was (and still is) Pokemon Go. And the Wii U had absolutely nothing to do with it. Nintendo, if they're going to continue in the home console market needs to adequately fund and develop for that console or they're destined to go the way of Sega in the home console market. (Note I am not saying mobile, though that is also growing far weaker thanks to cell phones).
Great console, great games. Just too bad that NOA had such inept, incompetent leadership that had no idea how to sell a fantastic product to its potential market of 100 million customers.
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