Nintendo was right about the Wii U. We were wrong.

[gameboy1977]

 

With the announcement of the Wii U, everyone thought Nintendo was wrong. Hell, we thought Nintendo was out of touch, foolish and doomed for producing a gaming-focused, two-screen console that wouldn't be able to compete technologically with whatever Sony and Microsoft offered in the new generation. The most vocal players wanted better graphics, bigger games and more online experiences. The Wii U offered sub-standard graphics, convoluted online policies and a lineup of classic franchises that, in theory, could eventually show up on the console. By its launch in November 2012, the Wii U was a joke and its sales suffered.

But then: Sony launched the PlayStation 4; Microsoft launched the Xbox One; and as hype for each rose and fizzled out, the Wii U began to look more promising. It had been out for a year longer, meaning it had more games. It offered local cooperative and competitive experiences, something in short supply from the online-focused PS4 and Xbox One. Most importantly, it offered fun -- and today, with a lineup of revamped classics and fresh competitive experiences, the Wii U is the most consistently joyful console of the current generation. As it turns out, Nintendo wasn't wrong. We were.

Nintendo's Wii U GamePad

 

Jessica Conditt, Senior Gaming Reporter

Let's be clear here: The Wii U isn't a current-generation powerhouse like the Xbox One or PS4. Its sales record remains poor and Nintendo is already preparing to divert attention (and consumer cash) to a mysterious new console code-named "NX." Details about that system won't emerge until 2016, but it says a lot that Nintendo, a traditionally secretive company, is already talking about a new console. This could be a move to sweep the Wii U under the rug alongside the Virtual Boy, Power Glove and GameCube.

But, just like the GameCube, the Wii U has wiggled its way into the hearts of many players, including myself. A lot of people have that one, Wii U-owning friend who will extol the virtues of Nintendo's latest console for hours on end (and if you don't have that friend, you might be it). The conversation usually goes something like this:

"There's no point in getting a Wii U with the Xbox One and PS4 out now."

"Wrong. The Wii U is amazing."

"But it's so weird. What's with that big controller with the screen in it?"

"It's so fun. And that controller is magical as a hand-held device with all the power of a living room console. Plus, the Wii U has Mario Kart 8 and Super Mario 3D World and Kirby and the Rainbow Curse and Bayonetta 2 and Super Smash Bros. and -- why don't you just come over and play with me?"

"No, thanks. I have to finish milking this cow before dinner."

 

OK, so the conversation probably doesn't end like that, but most people with a Wii U have most likely enacted variants of this dialogue. I certainly have. Sometimes it ends well: It's wonderful when a group of friends gather at my place for a night of Wii U madness -- usually Mario Kart 8 or Smash Bros. -- and everyone is down for another round. And another. And another.

Nintendo excels at capturing the strange magic of video games, and the Wii U is no different. Nintendo's franchises are joyful and bright, and its hardware choices often appear to make zero sense until you actually get your hands on them. The industry needs a company like Nintendo -- it isn't heavily invested in military-style first-person shooters and it oftentimes seems to completely disregard what its competitors are up to. When Nintendo announced the Wii U, it was as if the company hadn't ever heard of 60fps or 1080p, and Microsoft and Sony were just two organizations barely on the periphery of Nintendo's marketing plan. Such an approach turned out to be a detriment to Nintendo's bottom line this time around, but sometimes it clicks and alters the industry for decades to come. Does anyone remember the Wii, the silly little console that relied on motion controls? Your little sister, older brother, mother, father and grandparents sure do. Sony, Microsoft, Oculus VR, Valve and a dozen other hardware companies do. Nintendo's weirdness is often a boon to the creativity of the industry.

In the wake of Nintendo President and CEO Satoru Iwata's death, I carry one hope for the company going forward: that it stays weird. I hope it never loses its sense of fun and its emphasis on childlike joy in video games. I hope it keeps creating odd, risky consoles like the Wii U -- but that it also has some industry-defining Wiis and DSes in the mix.

Nintendo's former CEO Satoru Iwata

 

Sean Buckley, Associate Editor

I knew I was going to be wrong about the Wii U the first time I saw it. It's almost a tradition: Nintendo announces a new product; I denounce it as an awful idea; and it turns out to be great. It happened to me when Nintendo created the DS (two screens? Absurd.), and again when it went all-in on motion controls (where's my dual-stick gamepad?). I even dismissed the 3DS as a gimmick until I looked through it with my own eyes. Year after year, Nintendo proved to me that my instincts were wrong. So, when the Wii U launched, I threw those instincts out. I indoctrinated myself as one of the Nintendo faithful, come hell or high water. And so far, I have no regrets.

That isn't to say my faith is blind. I've written at length about Nintendo's struggles, both as a hardware and software company. I'm a Nintendo apologist, but I'm not a moron. Nintendo messed up a lot of things with the Wii U's launch, but I can't agree with the folks who argue that the company's path to success lies on the road more traveled. I'm speaking of arguments that Nintendo needs to ditch its strange controllers, low-cost hardware and bizarre, dual-screen devices for more traditional game consoles. Making the next Nintendo console a Mario-powered Xbox won't save the company; it'll strip it of everything that makes it unique, fun and worthwhile. The Wii U has problems, but I love it because it's weird, insane and non-conventional, not in spite of those things.

Splatoon

 

Take Nintendo's latest sleeper hit, Splatoon. It's everything a team shooter isn't supposed to be: colorful, bright, quirky, childish and completely devoid of voice chat and matchmaking. It's also the most fun I've ever had with an online multiplayer shooter. I adore it -- from the motion-based control scheme (a far better replacement for PC-gaming mouse-look than the traditional dual-analog setup), to how the multiplayer's main game mode emphasizes teamwork over individual player scores. It's a Nintendo-exclusive experience -- not because it's a Nintendo exclusive game, but because it's more focused on being a fun game than a competitive by-the-numbers shooter.

"Making the next Nintendo console a Mario-powered Xbox won't save the company; it'll strip it of everything that makes it unique, fun and worthwhile."

-- Sean Buckley

[xendrome]

Wow I just checked the price of the Wii U, it was released November of 2012, almost 3 years ago and it's still $299 for the bundled Mario unit, and $399 for the Deluxe... That's insane.

[+Warwagon MVC]

Wow I just checked the price of the Wii U, it was released November of 2012, almost 3 years ago and it's still $299 for the bundled Mario unit, and $399 for the Deluxe... That's insane.

 

Except  the controller is a glorified touch screen tablet of sorts. I think that is what is keeping prices so high still.

[FloatingFatMan]

Except  the controller is a glorified touch screen tablet of sorts. I think that is what is keeping prices so high still.

 

It may be touch screen, but it's not really a tablet, it's a dumb terminal slaved to the console. It can't do zip alone.

 

Last I checked, it accounted for about $80 of the console cost.

[game_over]

Wow I just checked the price of the Wii U, it was released November of 2012, almost 3 years ago and it's still $299 for the bundled Mario unit, and $399 for the Deluxe... That's insane.

 

They seem to hold their price, along with the games... I'm always on the look out for cheaper than usual games to snap up but it never happens unless an online store has a promotion.

[FloatingFatMan]

They seem to hold their price, along with the games... I'm always on the look out for cheaper than usual games to snap up but it never happens unless an online store has a promotion.

 

Try some thrift stores; you can pick up all sorts in those places for way less than they're worth as the staff just don't have a clue on the value of them most of the time.  Some friends of mine in the US picked up Super Smash Bros for their WiiU last week in a Goodwill store for only $20...

[Torolol]

Super Mario Maker is what super mario bross modders has been doing for decades.

[TruckWEB]

Wow, how much money did Nintendo give to Engadget for this article??  Who can really say that the Wii U is a successful console?

[Liana]

This article was pretty long but I enjoyed reading about the positive experiences others have had with the Wii U. I got mine in December 2014 and I absolutely love it. It's simply a joy to play, and while I wish it had a lot more 3rd party support while at the same time having an eshop that isn't littered with crummy half-baked games, I have found more than enough games that I really enjoy to justify the cost of the console.

 

I hope Nintendo continues to use the gamepad or an idea of it in their next console, and I hope they are able to lower the cost so that every player can use one simultaneously. 3DS or handheld interoperability with the console would be great too. I know it was mentioned with the Wii U & 3DS but never happened.

[Draconian Guppy]

Wow, how much money did Nintendo give to Engadget for this article??  Who can really say that the Wii U is a successful console?

My thoughts exactly... The bias is real...

 

Number sales alone indicate it...

 

 

 

Up to date sauce:

 

 

Yesterday Nintendo's third-quarter earnings were announced, and the company revealed that lifetime sales of its Wii U console are now 9.2 million units.

 

However, the Wii U remains behind Xbox One and PS4 lifetime sales, despite the fact that the Wii U had a head start on its competitors. Worldwide sales of the PlayStation 4 recently exceeded 18.5 million units, while the Xbox One became the most popular selling console in November in the US and UK.

 

http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/01/28/here-are-the-sales-numbers-for-wii-u

[Zidane]

Wow, how much money did Nintendo give to Engadget for this article??  Who can really say that the Wii U is a successful console?

See you didn't read the article (or you skimmed it and selected points you like).

 

No one is saying its a "successful" console, everyone knows it bombed. What they are saying is the fact it bombed is actually fine cause at the end of the day the console, the games, and Nintendo itselt sticks to their core values that they excel at: being fun. I join the people in this article in saying that whenever I play a game on the Wii U, I have MUCH more fun than I do with my XBOX ONE but It doesn't mean I think the WII U is BETTER than the One (it isn't, imo).

 

EDIT: I would argue it wasn't successful at selling mass amounts of consoles but it was successful at continually entertaining me. I guess how someone defines if something is "successful" varies person to person.

[spenser.d]

See you didn't read the article (or you skimmed it and selected points you like).

No one is saying its a "successful" console, everyone knows it bombed. What they are saying is the fact it bombed is actually fine cause at the end of the day the console, the games, and Nintendo itselt sticks to their core values that they excel at: being fun. I join the people in this article in saying that whenever I play a game on the Wii U, I have MUCH more fun than I do with my XBOX ONE but It doesn't mean I think the WII U is BETTER than the One (it isn't, imo).

EDIT: I would argue it wasn't successful at selling mass amounts of consoles but it was successful at continually entertaining me. I guess how someone defines if something is "successful" varies person to person.

It's not fine though because if they aren't also successful, they won't be able to keep making it. there is an objective definition of success and the wii u doesn't meet it and that should matter to you because it may affect your ability to be entertained by them in the future.

I'd even argue that Xbox one is borderline successful at best right now and it certainly concerns me because I love he console.

[LaP]

I don't see how we were wrong to be honest. Nintendo is still irrelevant outside of its first party big franchises. Nintendo might even be surpassed by Valve very soon.

 

We will be wrong if the Wii and Wii U were just stop gap to avoid losing too much money while waiting for MS and/or Sony to make mistakes. Let's not forget MS bled money with the xbox and launch of 360 and Nintendo could not compete at this time. The WIi made sense back then.

 

Those mistakes just happened as the new consoles are vastly underpowered if you compare them to Xbox and Xbox 360/PS3. Now is the time for Nintendo to come back with a real current gen console. If Nintendo does it then the Wii and Wii U might have been a very good low cost stop gap strategy. If not then Nintendo stays irrelevant and might soon be 4th behind Sony, MS and Valve.