Topic: Wii U is better than people think

I'm firmly of the belief that in an alternative universe where Super Mario Maker was a launch title, the Wii U would have flown off the shelves (assuming it had better marketing and possibly a better name). And everyone would be talking about how brilliant of an idea the Gamepad was.

@Euler
i would wholeheartedly agree, if Mario Maker was launch.....hell yah

For lack of a better word there are a lot of delusional comments in this thread. A lot of people re-writing history. A lot of people doing the old "I like an unpopular thing and dislike a popular thing". You're not a genius just because you're going against the grain. More often than not the popular opinion is popular because it's the better opinion.

In terms of the Wii U? At the time it was exactly the direction that Nintendo needed to go. I thought that at the time and I still believe it. The issue was that they were simultaneously too early and too late. They were too early because the tech wasn't quite there yet for the idea of a "portable(ish) home console" to work. They were too late because without scoring a home-run on that point they just had Nintendo games in HD. Something which was an impossible sell when they also (rightly) choose not to continue not competing on specs with the PS4/XBOne just around the corner.

Did Nintendo then abandon the Wii U? Yes. With hindsight 2015 was clearly the last push for the console from Nintendo. But it's also fair to say that the console was doing very poorly in terms of sales before this. And it's also fair to say that by this point Nintendo was already shifting development focus to the Switch. Console makers are always working on the next thing but they don't announce that until they've already shifted focus. Nintendo announced that they were working on the "NX" in early 2015.

And really I don't know why people are still bitter about this point. It was clearly the right move. You can moan about Wii U ports and "quick sequels" all you want but these ports have sold better on Switch than they did on Wii U. We're probably already past the point where there are more people who own a Switch but didn't own a Wii U than there are people who owned a Wii U.

In any case, the Switch is clearly a better piece of hardware and it clearly has a stronger lineup of software. Really, all the Wii U has going for it at this point is the VC, Wii BC and an very, very small list of games that haven't been ported yet. With the VC it's less of a win now between the SNES/NES mini, "Arcade Archives", retro game collections and their online subscription. For the games that haven't been ported it's a losing battle when the Switch has ports the Wii U never got like Doom, Skyrim, Civilization, Diablo, Dark Souls, Transistor, TWEWY.

Which leaves Wii backwards compatibility. Probably the best reason to still have your Wii U plugged in.

@skywake I think your pretty spot on there with that assessment.

I've still WiiU games to finish, mostly third parties like Ninja Gaiden, Mass Effect and Devils Third, but I'm in no mad rush to finish them. With Super Mario Party out now on Switch to replace Mario Party 10 the only first party title that it sees now is the occasional game of Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival (go on haters judge me for really kinda liking it) as well as still playing the occasional Wii game. I love the retro options on Switch with Arcade Archives/Neo Geo, collections, Sega Ages and individual releases like Night Trap but the WiiU VC still means I can play first party on the big screen with ease.

Realistically in 2018 the reasons to be using the WiiU are less and less but like all my Nintendo consoles it will remain set up and ready to go anytime I need it.

As for gamepad comfort criticism it may have been bulky but I could never fault it for comfort.

@bluemage1989 said "As for gamepad comfort criticism it may have been bulky but I could never fault it for comfort."

The Switch isn't comfortable compared to the Wii U gamepad...

I'd disagree but there's no point. You've turned praise of the Wii U to the expense of the Switch into an art-form in this thread. You're taking someone's positive comments about the Wii U and making it about how horrible the Switch is. As I said in my post, you don't get a medal for going against the grain. It is possible to be a fan of the Wii U and what it tried to do but still be a fan of the Switch.

If anything it's almost impossible not to be a fan of the Switch if you liked the Wii U. The Switch is the Wii U's legacy more than pretty much any console successor ever made. It is the natural conclusion to the direction Nintendo was trying to take their platform. Having a go at the Switch to make the Wii U look better is like having a go at BluRay in an effort to make DVDs look better.

@skywake
Hey, take it easy on @Cobalt man, sure he seems a to be hatin' on Switch pretty good, but maybe he does hate it, i been Really hatin' on Wii U, I owned it, I hated, i got rid of, felt like it was bad experience and feel it was a big waste of my $$$, so I been trashin' pretty hard whenever someone or some thread compares to the Wii or Switch, but everyone's entitled to their opinion, I love Switch, you love Switch, we have our reasons, it's all good bro.

@skywake

Man, read again my sentence : "The Switch isn't comfortable COMPARED TO the Wii U gamepad..."

Do I say something wrong ? Really ?
I hold my gamepad with my two hands and then I hold my Switch with my two hands... GUESS WHAT ?

The gamepad is much more confortable than the Switch, it's a fact.
The shape, the under part of the gamepad, the sticks, the buttons layout... in terms of comfort, sorry but the Wii U gamepad is better than the Switch...

@Cobalt
My fingers are long but i felt very Comfort to grab Switch with Joy Cons attached on.
Wii U was comfort also, but it was too bulky for me.

@Cobalt
Yo C, you've already established the Wii U was good for you and you like the controller was better.....for you, I tried defending your right to your personal preference, but you're makin' me regret that, other people (myself included) are hittin' down the Wii U, but saying it in a personal opinion way, but you're taking it too personally and speaking as if your opinion were fact and everyone else are delusional jackasses

look, you're an alright guy, but chill out man

@Nemodius

It's my personal preference AND the preference of :

My wife
My daughter
My best friend
Other friends that came to my place and tried both
My brother in law
etc...

Nobody around me, even one time, has said something like : "I feel better with the Switch" or "the gamepad is not comfortable compare to the Switch". It never happened.

So I assume that there is a kind of truth behind it...

@Cobalt
again, truth for YOU, but like I said, you're not speaking to OTHERS as if it's your "opinion", you said it is fact and borderline trying to make other's "opinion" as false for the world, speak for yourself (and your family if they wish), but don't speak as if you are God and it is your command that the 11th Deadly Sin is to love the Switch more than the Wii U or its controller, chill bro

Wii U gamepad was lovely. No argument from me. I'm still kind of hoping that the Switch will be able to function similarly with their next console. If they make an XBox2 level console (yes, I know, not happening) and had the foresight to allow Switch to function as an elite controller with touch screen inventory management etc, it would be amazing. Right...back to Earth for me lol.

Personally always disliked the feel of the gamepad for a number of reasons but find the switch to be very comfy to hold.

People who find the GamePad bulky, heavy or uncomfortable to hold, must have far smaller hands or a far weaker grip then the people that do like the GamePad...

I mean, come on, the GamePad weighs a little over a pound, 478 grams (16.8 ounces) to be exact. Even a toddler could lift or hold that for a period of time. It's obviously heavier than a normal controller, but not to the extent that it's really tasking to hold it for longer periods of time. (for comparison's sake: the Wii U Pro Controller weighs 200 grams, and the standard Xbox One controller weighs around 300 grams)

I've had play sessions that lasted for three to four hours on end, and I never got cramped, or tired of holding it.
I'm a fit and healthy person, but I wouldn't call myself super-sporty or excessively strong, so for all intent and purposes, I'm just the average Joe. So, that ultimately means that anyone not being able to handle/hold the GamePad for longer periods of time without feeling any discomfort, either has much smaller hands, or much bigger hands, meaning they could get cramped, or isn't fit enough to hold it.

But especially in the case of larger hands, normal controllers should then also be a problem, and the Switch, which is much thinner in portable mode, should then by all rights be even less comfortable to hold.
The GamePad is factually far more ergonomically shaped. There's not even a discussion possible about that.

Either way, I guess I'll never understand what all the fuss concerning the GamePad was all about.
All I can do is chuckle and shrug it away, because I couldn't agree less, even if I tried...

@kkslider5552000 You forgot to tag me in your reply/reaction, so I wasn't notified, but agreed again...

@skywake Some good points there as well.

@ThanosReXXX The Switch is far more uncomfortable to hold in hand for longer gaming sessions compared to the GamePad. There is a reason all these aftermarket add-ons basically attempt to make the Switch similar in ergonomics to the GamePad. But they fail.
I would question anyone's claims that the Switch is more comfortable than the GamePad and I would wonder if they have actually held a GamePad in their hands for an extended gaming period.
Personally, I never understood people's dislike of the in hand feel of the GamePad. I can understand the battery life or the touch screen or lower quality screen, but the ergonomics are top notch. For all the updates the Switch has, it is a giant step backwards in ergonomics. That is one of the main reasons I primarily use it in docked mode.

@Hikingguy I have never held a Switch in my hands, so I cannot compare. However, I can say that my older (and becoming arthritic) hands have became cramped up after a long playing session. But similar happens with anything that isn't a Wiimote/Nunchuck these days.

Ultimately, it's personal preference. I prefer the gamepad for the fact it has a screen that isn't my television (which is generally how I play it). I probably would like the switch for similar reasons.

@Cobalt everything you have stated is purely subjective when it comes to the Gamepad (or even really your argument that Wii U and/or Wii is better than a Switch). Just because you and yours enjoy it, doesn't mean the rest of the world does. Otherwise, it would have sold more than 13 million worldwide. I like the console and it still fits my needs for gaming (and probably will for an extended amount of time right now). However, I don't assume that everyone out there should feel the same way (just as I understand there are legitimate complaints against my first console owned, Intellivision). This isn't a winners take all conversation, and there is no prize for out-shouting everyone else in the room.

Amen to that, but I tried talking in a reasonable and respectful manner trying to convince him of all that, didn't work, so I think your statement too will fall on deaf ears

@Darknyht To some extent everything is a preference.
But without a doubt, it should be obvious to most, that Nintendo dedicated far more R&D and were considerably more concerned with ergonomics with the GamePad then they were with the Switch. With the Switch they were far more concerned with making it work with the Joy-Cons and making it fit in the dock.

I still use the GamePad frequently. I rarely, if ever, use the Switch outside the dock. Like I said above, there is a very good reason why all these aftermarket add-ons try to make the Switch function like the GamePad.

@Hikingguy Exactly. Couldn't have said it any better myself. Doesn't mean that the Switch is a bad console, or difficult to hold, but fact is that it's thinner and less ergonomic.