Wii U 10 Year Anniversary

[Ashley]

18th November marks ten years since the Wii U launched in America (30th November for Europe and 8th December for Japan) so I figured it would be a good opportunity to look back at what ended up being Nintendo's biggest home console miss, but also the bridge between the Wii and Switch. 

So let's discuss the good (the games), the bad (the sales and name) and the ugly (the GamePad). 

Did you get it at launch? Did you stick with it to its dying days? How do you think it changed Nintendo? Etc etc etc

Also maybe I should update the description of this forum to remove Wii U

[Ronnie]

Good on Nintendo for for innovating as ever, but the technology just wasn't there yet to really sell the concept. Though tbf the streaming tech was really impressive at the time.

Miiverse was fantastic too. Really clever idea and easily the console's best feature.

Games wise, Mario 3D World, Splatoon, Mario Kart 8, Pikmin 3 and Mario Maker. Worth it for me just for those gems.

[Helmsly]

It’s crazy how time flies. I remember a few of us in a thread on here one late night waiting for the first Wii U commercial to air in the UK, which for some reason aired on one of channel 4’s spin-off cable channels, at midnight or something. And then never seeing that commercial again in all the time leading up to release and wondering why there seems to be zero promotion this new console. 

 

On a personal level I was not interested in buying a Wii U at lunch, which was the first time I’d felt like that for a Nintendo console. I didn’t think it looked bad but it didn’t seem to be offering much more then what I already had with my Xbox 360 and my PC and basically it seemed like yet another Nintendo console I’d buy for Nintendo games and nothing else. The first party support seemed consist of games that had already been released on other platforms a year before, such as Batman Arkham City. So I’d figured I’d wait until a 3D Mario game was released before buying a Wii U for myself.

One year later Mario 3D World comes out and by then the Wii U had had massive reductions in its price. So I got mine for £200 with Mario 3D World that Christmas and from that time onwards the Wii U become my favourite console. Pretty much every first party game that Nintendo released for it I enjoyed. Especially Splatoon which I think I put over 500 hours of playtime into by the end and in feel like Super Mario maker genuinely is one of the greatest things Nintendo have ever made.

But as much as I like that machine, I can’t get over what a mess they made of it too. Nintendo didn’t set the public straight with what it was from the start, so they had a situation where a large number of people didn’t even know they had a new console out and from those that did, a steady percentage of them thought it was a peripheral for the Wii. I felt all of this was a shame because that console was nowhere near as bad as it was made out to be, the software from Nintendo was solid and some of their best ever but as what was typical from Nintendo consoles back then was it had limited third party support over time. And this meant owning a box purely for their titles which didn’t come out often.

The console itself had some issues too, such as the UI feeling very slow for the first few months before a firmware update. Even navigating it was odd: you chose your games on the gamepad and had the TV screen taken up by the Mii plaza 

 

Miiverse was a great idea but it was a slow thing to start up and use. I felt it was its best when it was integrated directly into the games themselves, like the graffiti in splatoon and the word bubbles in Mario maker.

As for the gamepad itself, I liked it and it showed it’s worth for games like Mario maker but the failed to really use it much beyond that and Nintendoland. Before we knew it, even Nintendo themselves had relegated the second screen to just showing the same footage you could see on your television. It felt like they’d banked their console around an idea that even they had given up on half way through the consoles life.

All this said, I’ll always look back fondly on the WiiU because of games like Splattoon, Mario Maker, Mario 3D world and Breath of the Wild and that I was still using machine well into 2018. 

Edited November 16, 2022 by Helmsly

[Dufniall]

I never got around to getting one. At the time I was satisfied with my 3DS and PC, especially as most of the interesting series came out on the 3DS. Monster Hunter, Resident Evil, Street Fighter IV, Pokémon, and even a version of Smash Bros. I'm glad though that I can experience the biggest WiiU titles on my Switch, because in retrospect it would have been bad if I would never have enjoyed a title such as Super Mario 3D World. 

[Hero-of-Time]

Where has the time gone? 

I picked up the console on release day and took the following week off work in order to enjoy my time with it. Nintendo Land, New Super Mario Bros. U and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 were the games that I picked up at launch. I can't remember if I bought ZombiU at launch as well. I know I definitely bought it but can't be sure when that was. I suppose it doesn't make much of a difference because I never did play through the game fully and it wasn't until the PS4 version arrived where I finally played and completed the thing.

Nintendo Land was an amazing launch game and one that I think Nintendo could have really gone to town with. The game was ripe for DLC expansions and had Nintendo had their thinking caps on, they could have used the game as a platform to advertise any new game releases that were on the way. Granted, these new releases were few and far between on the Wii U but still.  For example, if a new Kirby game was going to launch then a few months before hand they could have release a new attraction for Nintendo Land that featured him. It's just a shame they have never revisited the game and it very much seems to be a one and done deal.

New Super Mario Bros U was a game many didn't want but I certainly enjoyed my time with it, as well as the DLC that would eventually follow. It was a standard continuation of the series and a welcome one. Sure, it wasn't going to set the gaming world on fire with new ideas and innovation but the series had performed very well on previous platforms and so you can't blame Nintendo for thinking people wanted more. It was a 2D Nintendo made platforming game, something that I'm always up for.

Black Ops 2 was a strange one. I had already bought it on a different platform but I decided to also pick up the Wii U version so that I could play with Lostmario, Kav, Zechs, Blade and Welsh Gamer. I'm very glad that I did because we had so many laughs whilst playing online. Zechs meltdowns when we lost or things went wrong were legendary and I enjoyed the banter that we all had during our sessions. It was great to finally had native voice chat on a Nintendo console and it really helped bring the community on here together a little more.

After the launch period I picked up games like Tekken Tag Tournament, Tank! Tank! Tank! and Lego City Undercover. These were decent enough and offered me some fun times on the Wii U. Lego City Undercover had me in stitches thanks to it's hilarious story and dialogue. It also had one of the most epic pieces of music in a Lego game. 

Tank! Tank! Tank! was also good for a laugh and a bit of a hidden gem when it comes to Wii U exclusives. Not many people picked this up but those who did found a very fun game, especially if you had others to play with.

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate arrived not long after launch and I spent a CRAZY amount of time playing this with Mokong, Kav, Lostmario and Blade. Again, thanks to native voice chat being an option, we were all able to have the banter with each other during hunting sessions. There was a weird glitch with this though in that a strange sound would come through everyone's headset if someone was charging the Wii U controller at the same time as a headset was plugged in. I don't think that ever did get fixed. @lostmario was this the case with all of us or was it did it just happen with certain players? I honestly can't remember.

As for other games during the consoles lifespan, Captain Toad, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Splatoon, Pikmin 3, Yoshi's Woolly World, Paper Mario Color Splash, NES Remix 1 & 2, Super Mario 3D World, Mario Kart 8, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse and Hyrule Warriors were all fantastic exclusives that I have fond memories of. Each of these were a joy to play but the problem was that they didn't come out quick enough and there were often massive gaps between each of the releases due to the lack of 3rd party support.

Miiverse was a fantastic addition to the console and it remains one of my favourite things from any console release. It really brought the Nintendo community together and it was fun just visiting different game communities to see what the chatter was about. I remember one of the communities was taken over by people drawing pics and writing quotes of Willem Defoe. Very strange but absolutely hilarious.  I can see why Nintendo pulled the plug and decided to use standard social media instead but I think Miiverse was a much better experience and it was a great Nintendo spin on something that had been around for a while. 

Thanks to the Wii U not selling very well we were gifted with amiibo. I know a lot of people weren't keen on them and thought of them as a waste of time and money but as someone who grew up loving all things Nintendo, I loved them to bits. It wasn't even how they were used in games that appealed to me but more the fact that there were a bunch of officially licensed Nintendo character products. I did enjoy some of the uses though, such as using them in BOTW to get new items and outfits or getting rupees and items in Hyrule Warriors. Also, the Free to Start Mario vs Donkey Kong game that used them to unlock levels was genius. It's a shame that amiibo implementation seems to have now died a death. At one time Nintendo were really pushing them but now it's a rare treat to see any new ones released or used. I do need to get back on top of my collection. I've missed a few of the recent releases, such as Mini Min and ones for Splatoon.

It's sad that the Wii U failed but Nintendo didn't really have a clear cut plan with the concept and they struggled to implement it well in any meaningful way. You could say that they needed to make this mistake in order to get to where they are now with the Switch. With the Switch, Nintendo have tried to erase the memory of the Wii U. Pretty much all of the best games from the Wii U era have now been ported, with only a handful remaining. I will say though that despite the success of the Switch, I do think that the path they took thanks to the failure of the Wii U isn't my preferred option. Don't get me wrong, I think that it was the path they HAD to take but I do miss having a Nintendo console and a Nintendo handheld that were separate and offered different experiences. I would argue that Nintendo have become a lot more conservative since the Wii U failed. Whether this was because of the change of leadership, failure of the Wii U or both, is up for debate, but I do think a lot of the time that Nintendo are at their best and most creative when their back is up against the wall.

I will always have fond memories of the console and from time to time I still set it up. It's a good way to play Wii games on a HDTV and it also still has a bunch of games on it that I need to play. I've yet to finish games like Xenoblade Chronicles X or Starfox Guard, plus I mean a good amount of GBA games on there to play thanks to the Virtual Console. I should really get my finger out and purchase the remaining ones I want from that service.

[Glen-i]

7 hours ago, Helmsly said:

I felt it was its best when it was integrated directly into the games themselves, like the graffiti in splatoon and the word bubbles in Mario maker.

Pour one out for the Miiverse stage in Smash for Wii U. Endless entertainment from the background messages that would pop up.

Part of me wishes the staff would reuse it in Ultimate, with a hand picked selection of their favourite Miiverse posts, but oh well...

I still find myself remembering "Mario WiiU" from time to time. I followed him so I would always be up to date on good looking water.

[drahkon]

3 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

It also had one of the most epic pieces of music in a Lego game. 

 

Ooohhh boy, I did not expect that  What's an epic song like this got to do in a Lego game  

[killthenet]

It's incredibly depressing that it's already been 10 years, I remember the launch well as it was the first console that I was able to buy on release. I put in a pre-order for the Premium ZombiU edition at Game and booked the day off work, waking up at 8am and heading to the shop as soon as it opened but the first few hours were incredibly frustrating - after getting home and setting everything up I had a real struggle connecting the console to the internet so I couldn't download the required firmware update to actually start playing the thing. Eventually, after calling up Virgin Media for advice, I was able to get it connected to the wifi and get stuck into the games - as well as ZombiU I picked up New Super Mario Bros. U and Nintendo Land and I spent the rest of the day flitting between them, having a great time. 

I continued to play daily for a few years after launch, picking up the likes of FIFA 13, Super Mario 3D World, The Wind Waker HD, Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros, Twilight Princess HD, Star Fox Zero, Captain Toad, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze as well as a host of eShop titles - my favourites being The Swapper, Affordable Space Adventures, Fast Racing Neo and The Fall - and a tonne of Virtual Console games but looking back now I feel bad for not engaging with the system more than I did, I missed a fair few of the exclusive releases (I still haven't got round to playing Xenoblade X) and I only dipped my toe in the water with Miiverse and Mario Maker, I wish I'd put more effort in during those first few years when the community was at its most vibrant. 

I still go back to the Wii U occasionally now, as I mentioned I've been meaning to play Xenoblade X for a while but put my plans on hold once Xenoblade 3 was announced for the Switch, so there I'll still get plenty of enjoyment out of the system for a good while yet but there are undeniable issues with the hardware and operating system. The Gamepad feels quite cheap and creaky these days, it was never the most elegant device but compared to the Switch it really does feel like a toy, and the battery doesn't last very long at all but the most jarring thing about playing the Wii U in 2022 is how sluggish the operating system is - navigating the menus and the eShop is a real chore which is a shame because the interface is good for the most part, I love the idea of the Mii Plaza and how vibrant and large the icons are on the home screen but its all let down by its slow performance. 

Despite the glaring issues, the muted launch and lack of traction in the market, the limitations of the hardware and operating system, the Wii U will always hold a special place in my heart. Even though they struggled to utilise the Gamepad properly, Nintendo produced a glut of great games and the concept laid the groundwork for what was to come with the Switch - it might have been a failure but it was a glorious one, and a necessary one so that Nintendo could learn from their mistakes and knock it out of the park with their hybrid system. 

[V. Amoleo]

Can't believe it's been 10 years.  I remember being in my first job waiting for the pre-orders to go up.  Then being on here with you guys on release day while I was working as a junior dev in a tiny office waiting for the notification that it had been delivered to my parents' house, where I lived at the time!  If I remember right these are the games I bought at launch: Nintendo Land (bundled), Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, New Super Mario Bros. U, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and ZombiU.

I loved the Wii U but here's some of my highlights:

Nintendo Land = Great party game with lots of asynchronous games.  Pretty sure this came bundled with my Black Wii U.

ZombiU = A game that was supposed to show us the mature third party support.  That never really happened BUT I still firmly believe the Wii U is the best place to play this and it still has a great local asynchronous multiplayer.

Pikmin 3 = I think it was a title update that brought in Wiimote control for this game, and it was glorious.  I still prefer this to the Switch DX version.

Lego City Undercover = This was a great exclusive.  No longer exclusive and I think all the Wii U specific features were ported to the Switch version.

Super Mario 3D World = A mario game with solid mechanics.  Better on Switch now though.

Splatoon = I guess this is Nintendo's take on the FPS genre and it was lots of fun.  Only let down because it had no real single player story and I'm not much of an online multiplayer person.

Mario Kart 8 = This was an almost perfect game.  Better on Switch.

Super Mario Maker = This is the sort of thing I'd wanted for years.  Really enjoyed it.  Very much superseded by it's sequel on Switch though.

The Zelda HD Remakes = A fresh lick of paint on already excellent games.  Twilight Princess HD was basically the version we would have gotten if the Wii had joined the HD generation.

Miiverse = I'm not one for social media but this little Nintendo style social network was so nice. I'm guessing it was costing too much money to moderate though.

Pokken Tournament = A new look at Pokemon via the fighting genre lens.  Better on Switch.

The Wii U times were tough but there was shining gems in there.  I know some people like to write it off as a prototype Switch but the asynchronous gameplay was great... when it was used.  Plus it was the first time we got to see Nintendo characters in HD.

As an aside here is a list of Wii U games yet to be ported to the Switch:

• The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
• The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
• Xenoblade Chronicles X
• NES Remix 1 & 2
• Nintendo Land - Unlikely due to using Wii U's unique features.
• Yoshi’s Woolly World
• Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
• Paper Mario: Color Splash
• Wii Fit U - Unlikely, seems to have been replaced with the more game-like Ring Fit
• Wii Party U - Unlikely due to using Wii U's unique features.
• Star Fox Zero - Tough one, this uses the Wii U's unique features but... did it need to?
• Game & Wario - Unlikely due to using Wii U's unique features.
• Splatoon - Has a sequel on Switch that has everything this game has and more but is still technically a different game.
• Super Mario Maker - Has a sequel on Switch that has everything this game has and more but is still technically a different game.

 

 

Edited November 16, 2022 by V. Amoleo

[Ronnie]

8 minutes ago, V. Amoleo said:

Miiverse = I'm not one for social media but this little Nintendo style social network was so nice. I'm guessing it was costing too much money to moderate though.

From a business point of view it probably makes more sense to have people tweet about the console and games to the world, rather than to an enclosed social network full of people who already own the console.

[lostmario]

Only seems like yesterday I pre-ordered the Zombiu Wii U bundle from ShopTo. I was so hyped for it coming off the back of the Wii which I'd had 6 amazing years with. A full week booked off for it's launch.

The launch lineup was pretty solid. I had New Super Mario Bros U, Black Ops 2, NintendoLand and obviously ZombiU all around launch.

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate followed not long after and was another solid title which I put hundreds of hours into.

Two third party titles (Black Ops 2 and MH3 Ultimate) with voice chat and a solid online system at launch, who would have thought. @Hero-of-Time regarding the gamepad being on charge causing a loud buzzing noise through the headsets, that was when anyone charged their gamepad and it was never fixed.

That's where the problems started though, the launch window was great but then huge gaps in the release window started appearing.

Mario Kart 8 was incredible and the highlight of the Wii U for me. I remember the first week of the N-E Mario Kart League where we had over 40 players signed up. Organising that first league night with 4 different hosts was hard work but very rewarding when all the results starting coming in.

Unfortunately with 3rd party support completely drying up and with me now really in the mood to play more online multiplayer games after COD and MH, it pushed me towards getting a PS4 and that was the end of the Wii U being my console of choice that gen.

The Wii U ended up putting me off getting a Switch until a good 5 years after it's launch. Now I have a Switch, I kinda regret holding off as long as I did but Nintendo and the Wii U let me down in a big way.

[Jonnas]

The Wii U, for me personally, had the misfortune of landing at a time in my life where I was growing vastly disinterested in home console gaming. Most of my gaming in the 2010s was done on my laptop or 3DS. As such, I never got it, having to instead admire it from afar.

"Admire it" is the right term. There were a lot of things happening in the Wii U that I thought were brilliant. Miiverse, Mario Maker, the buzz around Smash 4, Mario 3D World, Kirby's Rainbow Curse, Tropical Freeze, Pikmin 3, the Virtual Console now including GBA and DS games... So much cool stuff coming out. By comparison, nothing on the rival consoles came close to capturing my interest in the same way.

I did try it briefly during its launch period. Played a bit of Rayman Legends and Tekken Tag 2. I liked the Pad well enough at the time, but with the hindsight of some Switch experience, I now fear it would've made my hands sore during somewhat longer gaming periods.

To end this on a better note, I really like the white&light blue colour scheme. The Wii's pure white never sat right with me, but the Wii U managed to fix that niggle I had.

[killthenet]

We may have already done this in another thread when the eShop closure was announced but, given its the 10 year anniversary - and there are only a few months left before the eShop is gone for good - I thought it would be good to highlight any exclusives that other may have missed. 

Anybody have any recommendations, any obscure or interesting eShop games that might have been overlooked in other lists?

[WackerJr]

I always found the Wii U a mixed bag and a real tease.  It constantly gave with one hand while taking away with the other. 

I remember holding the gamepad and thinking it felt big, but that I could get used to it (which I did).  I was excited that it had a touch screen, but then was quickly concerned that it felt similar to the DS, in that the touch aspect felt a little less responsive then an iPad and that it didn’t like multi-touch.  With the touch screens on the iPad quickly improving, I wasn’t sure how well it would last over the next potential 5 years.

It felt it had lots of tech demoes ideas, but sadly never really transitioned into games (e.g., it had some video demoes where you’d follow a set path on the TV, but you could look around you on the gamepad screen, but then nothing was ever really done with the idea).

Some great first-party games, but little third party support.

Handheld mode so someone else could watch TV was great, but the controller couldn’t cope with being very far from the system.  

I thought Nintendo Land was fantastic, but only short-term fun.  I remember inviting friends round, and the games were short-term fun, but no-one was really interested in playing long sessions of hide-and-seek for instance, so we quickly went back to our regular multiplayer games.

I loved Wind Waker HD and was more than happy to play it again having enjoyed it on GameCube (no Tingle Tuner mind, which I liked on the GameCube). Playing it through with my wife was a great experience.

The best games were great, but it was a very disheartening time overall with the sparse release schedule.  

 

On 20/11/2022 at 3:27 PM, killthenet said:

Anybody have any recommendations, any obscure or interesting eShop games that might have been overlooked in other lists?

I never played it, but I’m hearing a lot of love for Affordable Space Adventures, which is a game that only works on WiiU.

Edited November 23, 2022 by WackerJr

[RedShell]

Has it really been 10 years already!?  Damn, time flies!

Well, despite its issues and overall lack of software, I still enjoyed my time playing on Wii U. Nintendo created some amazing titles for it, including the best Mario Kart game in the series (SMK is still my personal fave  but there’s no denying MK8 is the pinnacle) and new experiences like Splatoon and Mario Maker, proving that they could still deliver fresh ideas as well, something that I feel has been somewhat lacking on Switch.

Speaking of fresh ideas, then of course there is Miiverse, which was simply magnificent.  I still struggle to accept how Nintendo just abandoned it.  It was such a great way to connect with the community for sharing and discovering content.

I think one of the most disappointing things about the Wii U for me, remains the fact that they didn’t really push the creative capabilities of the system anywhere near as much as I was hoping for.  Sure, there were elements here and there, and obviously stuff like Mario Maker, which was awesome. But I feel they could and should’ve done much more to encourage user generated content and from a much earlier point in the Wii U’s lifespan.

Anyway, even though the Wii U wasn’t a mainstream success it still provided a lot of good times and obviously helped pave the way for Switch, which really perfected the concept of a hybrid game console. I’m glad to have owned one, and actually still have mine set-up for occasional local multiplayer sessions.