Current Events > C/D The Wii U was a low-key GOAT console.

(+) Yeah! (+)

C. Endless possibilities for new gameplay ideas with the second screen, introduction of off-TV console console gaming, a free tablet with your system, some of the best video games Nintendo has ever created, including the best selling game on two separate consoles, and oodles of personality that is sorely lacking from modern-day Nintendo.

Of only the stupid casual audience didnt somehow believe this was an add-on, the system could have lived up to its potential and not be cut short.

extreme deny, it's one of the worst systems ever made (in context to the time it was made)

I own one and it's by far my biggest regret and waste of money, absolute dogshit system

No.

But you're right that it did have some amazing games. Glad a lot of them are on switch now.

remember kids

Mario Kart
Zelda Warriors
HD Zelda ports
Smash

was not enough

does this lineup seem somehow familiar?

There was that zombie game that used the tablet as its real time inventory system? I thought that was a very unique and interesting concept.

SwayM posted...

There was that zombie game that used the tablet as its real time inventory system? I thought that was a very unique and interesting concept.

it was a multiplatform game called Zombi (ZombiU on Wii U) and it was on most systems at the time

oh ya also Donkey Kong

wii u had tropical freeze

Newave posted...

it was a multiplatform game called Zombi (ZombiU on Wii U) and it was on most systems at the time

It looked like a pretty mid ass game but the Wii U version was at least doing something cool from what I can remember.

The Wii U has Runbow, and I absolutely love Runbow. So it's an under-appreciated console for this singular reason, lol.

Newave posted...

it was a multiplatform game called Zombi (ZombiU on Wii U) and it was on most systems at the time

It only got ported in 2015.

Anyway, hard agree. It's as close to an omniconsole as Nintendo has ever gotten. Bad marketing was its undoing more than anything else, although the VC drip-feed certainly didn't help.

I had one

why did it need marketing? people say people buy nintendo consoles cause they know 100% with absolute certainty there will be amazing first party games coming

and technically they did:

smash
zelda warriors
donkey kong tropical freeze
mario kart 8
HD windwaker and HD Twilight (cause we all know everyone loves playing old games upscaled right?)

I absolutely loved the Wii U and defend it constantly, but GOAT is pushing it.

Mario Maker and Splatoon were cool

I feel like there being a superior XCX version now reduces the Wii U value by about 50-75%

WingsOfGood posted...

why did it need marketing?

The purpose and potential of the tablet wasn't immediately obvious to both consumers and developers.

RasterGraphic posted...

The purpose and potential of the tablet wasn't immediately obvious to both consumers and developers.

why does that matter if the new games are amazing new nintendo games as we know people buy new nintendo consoles knowing with 100% certainty amazing new nintendo games are coming for it

Is it overhated? Sure. Is it one of the best? No way.

Wii U had some of the best games Nintendo made in a long time but the console itself was a terrible idea.

It certainly had potential. The gamepad was great for maps, inventory management, quick swapping between handheld and TV, and asymmetrical gameplay.

legendarylemur posted...

I feel like there being a superior XCX version now reduces the Wii U value by about 50-75%

Most of the games the Wii U had were rereleased, so the value of the console as a whole is pretty low. But at the time, I do think it was a pretty solid console. I've always thought the Wii U was massively overhated. The tablet controller was dumb, but so are the joycons for the Switch. The Switch has no value as a handheld to me, so if you compare each console to their respective time periods, I really don't think the Switch is that much better. Both have great game lineups, but it was always weird to me that the Switch got so much more praise.

I don't think it's terrible or anything and I liked the Gamepad but there's no way it's the GOAT

I'm looking at the list of Wii U games and how many of them are "some of the best Nintendo has ever created"? Tropical Freeze? Breath of the Wild (which was released simultaneously on the Switch anyway)? Maybe Mario Kart 8?

WingsOfGood posted...

why did it need marketing?

The problem was they failed to inform people they were making a console at all. In an era where the Wii had a new controller every couple of months, and they were invariably named the "Wii ____" they literally announced the Wii U and literally only talked about the controller.

We had whole topics here on GameFAQs of all places where people tried to figure out/argued over whether it was a new console or just a new peripheral for Wii.

WingsOfGood posted...

why does that matter if the new games are amazing new nintendo games as we know people buy new nintendo consoles knowing with 100% certainty amazing new nintendo games are coming for it

... because the hardcore Nintendo fanbase is actually a bit of a niche. People latched on to the Wii and the Switch because the marketing was able to capture the people's imagination.

The Wii U failed to do that. As did the GameCube, and to a lesser extent, the N64.

ReturnOfDevsman posted...

The problem was they failed to inform people they were making a console at all. In an era where the Wii had a new controller every couple of months, and they were invariably named the "Wii ____" they literally announced the Wii U and literally only talked about the controller.

We had whole topics here on GameFAQs of all places where people tried to figure out/argued over whether it was a new console or just a new peripheral for Wii.

that should only matter year 1

once all the new inevitable nintendo games hit the shelf and people go to buy them and read it says Wii U they know there is a new console

so are we suggesting people didn't want to play Smash or Mario Kart?

hmmm

RasterGraphic posted...

The purpose and potential of the tablet wasn't immediately obvious to both consumers and developers.

To add on to this, I, as a Nintendo-addicted 12 year-old, did not see a full and unobstructed view of the console by itself in any official promotional material. I straight-up did not know if it was an add-on to the Wii or a new console.

Garioshi posted...

To add on to this, I, as a Nintendo-addicted 12 year-old, did not see a full and unobstructed view of the console by itself in any official promotional material. I straight-up did not know if it was an add-on to the Wii or a new console.

so when Smash came out you did not care to play it?

The most uninspired Smash game and no flagship Mario game.

WingsOfGood posted...

so when Smash came out you did not care to play it?

I mean, I would have liked to, but I didn't own the system.

ReturnOfDevsman posted...

I mean, I would have liked to, but I didn't own the system.

so you weren't confused that a new system existed then?

WingsOfGood posted...

so you weren't confused that a new system existed then?

I wasn't a grandma shopping for a Christmas present.

WingsOfGood posted...

so when Smash came out you did not care to play it?

I owned a Wii U as soon as I could and I played the absolute shit out of it. I put 2,000 hours into Smash 4.

GeneralKenobi85 posted...

Most of the games the Wii U had were rereleased, so the value of the console as a whole is pretty low. But at the time, I do think it was a pretty solid console. I've always thought the Wii U was massively overhated. The tablet controller was dumb, but so are the joycons for the Switch. The Switch has no value as a handheld to me, so if you compare each console to their respective time periods, I really don't think the Switch is that much better. Both have great game lineups, but it was always weird to me that the Switch got so much more praise.

Here's actually my real problem with the Wii U that I don't think enough people talk about: The Gamepad

Yeah I actually love the Gamepad, more than most people actually. Because I love it, I noticed something very glaring that I think people during Wii U's early days often talked about, but it's kinda gone forgotten.

It's the fact that a human eye can't fucking focus on the gamepad screen and the tv screen at the same time, unless you're standing right next to the TV. This is a huge fucking deal. The 3/DS worked because you can see both screens at the same time but also separate them.

Imagine when things are happening on both screens at the same time, like it was for stuff like Star Fox Zero. In theory, it's pretty cool to be able to use the screen as a separate perspective. In practice, you basically have to stick to one of them all the time.

XCX kinda worked because you never needed to stare at both screen at any point of the game. But delegating one screen to pure utility is just kinda lame. People think it happened for the DS, but it didn't. The 3DS kinda had a similar problem cuz the bottom screen was smaller resolution and not 3D.

I have a Wii U. I still occasionally use it. Mario Maker was a legit 10/10 from me. Smash 4 was was fun and Mario Kart 8 started its legendary run on the Wii U.

With that said, hell no it isnt a GOAT console. By almost every feasible measurement, its the 2nd worst Nintendo console aside from Virtual Boy.

It had the best exclusives at the time

also amiibo

Major D. I bought one at launch and had several games.

It retroactively felt like a proof of concept for what they wanted the Switch to be. A lot of the controller features weren't really thought out.

This was also when they were deep into their alienation of 3rd party devs. Many studios had little support because most of their games needed specific functionality.

The best thing I can give it is the menus and apps had more personality and social aspects, whereas the Switch was really minimalist. It also had probably the best browser made for a console. But none of that mattered if it didn't have a decent library.

Sort of confirm.

It had lots of great games (seriously, a bunch), it was a relatively powerful console by Nintendo standards, and the gamepad was interesting.
Its pro controller was actually quite excellent, well designed and a good build.
Also, hey, Wii backwards compatibility. That was awkward to include but they did anyway.

However, the gamepad controller was bulky, weighty, and awkward. Most of its good games have now been ported to the Switch. And the gamepad didn't really innovate anything, the DS/3DS already had dual screens and it worked better with them both in view.

Huge D.

Hardware D
Games C

There is a reason that a bunch of games got ported to Switch

Starks posted...

The most uninspired Smash game and no flagship Mario game.

It had two, New Super Mario Bros. U and Super Mario 3D World.

D but I still liked it a lot. I was also in the camp that thought it was a new attachment for the Wii at first

Lion_of_Gemini posted...

some of the best video games Nintendo has ever created

lol
lmao even

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

You have an argument for like less than half of the exclusive library going beyond just "pretty good"

"Exclusives get praise" is pretty much the bare minimum to care about a console, and the Wii U still had less in quantity and even in critical reception compared to most other Nintendo systems.
N64 had less games but its games made huge impacts, so even the Wii U can't win out in that regard.

Heck, by virtue of being on Wii U, its library was tainted from the get-go, people didn't care nearly as much until the Switch brought them forward and improved most of the library. That's not a compliment of the Wii U, that's hindsight kicking in when it was way too late.

The Wii U was an important stepping stone for Nintendo, but that's all it really was.

I personally only had six games on Wii U because most of the titles Nintendo was releasing at the time weren't really of interest to me, and of those six only three of them were fully Wii U original titles. I didn't even expand that much when it comes to the Switch's Wii U ports or extremely similar sequels, which only amounts to... six (a significantly tiny percentage of my overall Switch library).

if the tablet was higher quality then maybe, but its ass

D, probably the worst Nintendo console I ever had. I can't even think of any good games that didn't make it to the Switch.

I never cared to use the second screen as a handheld, only as a home console with a second screen.

Treyarch did use it creatively for co-op though for cod black ops. Outside that and Nintendoland, and having a quick menu for items in some games like Zelda, and a second portable sensor bar attached to the screen, the Wii U concept was overrated.

It does have a decent library though.

I'd put it roughly on the same tier as the N64.

The Wii U was absolute dogshit.