Hardware POLL: Was the Wii U better then the Wii

[WiiMiiSwitch]

The Wii should've gotten an enchancement chip to be able to use the gamepad. A new console with bad marketing was a mistake.

I must disagree with you on that. I believe the reason the Wii U failed was because of a failure to aim at hardcore gamers, the og wii kids already grew up and want something more complex.

 

[Ashtot]

I must disagree with you on that. I believe the reason the Wii U failed was because of a failure to aim at hardcore gamers, the og wii kids already grew up and want something more complex.

What about lack of good titles? I feel like there were obviously some great games, but not enough and especially not at launch.

I feel like Nintendo is pretty bad at marketing their consoles in general though, I mean there have been a few consoles that nobody wanted at launch because there weren't games that people were waiting for.

 

[WiiMiiSwitch]

What about lack of good titles? I feel like there were obviously some great games, but not enough and especially not at launch.

I feel like Nintendo is pretty bad at marketing their consoles in general though, I mean there have been a few consoles that nobody wanted at launch because there weren't games that people were waiting for.

The games were very poorly advertised. I remeber when they still aired. I got my Wii U back in 2013 but remeber that smash ad? It was terrible and would make some think smash was some Disney thing

 

[MikaDubbz]

Considering there is a full Wii baked inside the Wii U, and by hacking the vWii of a Wii U, you are capable of doing just about anything on your Wii U that you could on a Wii and so much more, including playing GameCube games thanks to Nintendont. Only feature I miss from the Wii that I can't do on my Wii U, is using a connected GBA for GameCube games like Four Swords Adventures or Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. But losing those experiences is a small price to pay for the addition of the Wii U proper's library.

 

[jeffyTheHomebrewer]

I'd say both, since the Wii U can do Wii games and brew, but only regular Wiis can use RiiConnect24. (At least, currently. Maybe someone will figure out how to make the Wii U run Wii homebrew before loading the Wii Menu, so that WC24/WFC could be patched when the vWii is started?)

 

[MikaDubbz]

I'd say both, since the Wii U can do Wii games and brew, but only regular Wiis can use RiiConnect24. (At least, currently. Maybe someone will figure out how to make the Wii U run Wii homebrew before loading the Wii Menu, so that WC24/WFC could be patched when the vWii is started?)

Not true, I have Riiconnect fully functional on the vWii of my Wii U. They recently got the Forecast channel working again too, which was pretty much the last part of Riiconnect that wasn't functional yet on the Wii U at the time.

Here's the guide for getting it working on the Wii U if you want it: https://wii.guide/riiconnect24-vwii.html

 

[jeffyTheHomebrewer]

Not true, I have Riiconnect fully functional on the vWii of my Wii U. They recently got the Forecast channel working again too, which was pretty much the last part of Riiconnect that wasn't functional yet on the Wii U at the time.

wait WHAT????? Even when the vWii isn't on? (e.g. Wii Mail while the Wii U is off)

 

[MikaDubbz]

wait WHAT????? Even when the vWii isn't on? (e.g. Wii Mail while the Wii U is off)

Well each time you enter the vWii you have to launch a vWii channel ConnectMii which then enables all the Riiconnect content to work on the vWii again. Doesn't appear that it can permanently stay activated and you have to launch the ConnectMii channel on each restart of the vWii.

 

[jeffyTheHomebrewer]

Well each time you enter the vWii you have to launch a vWii channel ConnectMii which then enables all the Riiconnect content to work on the vWii again. Doesn't appear that it can permanently stay activated and you have to launch the ConnectMii channel on each restart of the vWii.

Hmmm... Maybe some kinda Priiloader fork could do it? (e.g. just start before the Wii Menu, and patch, then load the Wii Menu. Nothing more)

 

[MikaDubbz]

Hmmm... Maybe some kinda Priiloader fork could do it? (e.g. just start before the Wii Menu, and patch, then load the Wii Menu. Nothing more)

I feel like I read earlier somewhere that no matter what, it wont be possible to keep it activated after returning to the Wii U proper mode. Could be wrong, but I'm under the impression that Riiconnect is about as good as it's gonna get on the vWii.

 

[jeffyTheHomebrewer]

I feel like I read earlier somewhere that no matter what, it wont be possible to keep it activated after returning to the Wii U proper mode. Could be wrong, but I'm under the impression that Riiconnect is about as good as it's gonna get on the vWii.

Damn... IDK, maybe a Wii U mode app that'd patch then load wii mode somehow?

 

[Tur7L3]

Even though almost every indirect or direct sequel to a Wii game present in the Wii U is directly better, there's a price to pay in that.

UI and everything hardware wise it's both great and a mess. The menu got better for real overtime in terms of loading, but it's still really jarring to go to System Settings any time I wanted to change anything. That and Mii Maker shouldn't be locked to the Gamepad. Yes, it feels better to use that in this context, but it just really shouldn't be locked to it.

You should be able to COMPLETELY turn it off via the TV Button without going to the Home menu, as well as changing brightness. Not only because the Wii was faster to get into the Home menu, but also as you may be constantly using that will cause to not be able to go to the Home menu, so it is a problem. (TV Buttn is great btw)

Speaking of Online.
eh, it wasn't really that bad. On the Wii it was close to being decent and only great for Mario Kart Wii. It's not like there's a lot of online Wii U games neither, not giving it to 3DWORLD back in 2013 was a big mistake, and many games in general, as both are excelent foe multiplayer games. But for the WiiU the online wasn't really bad, kinda behind the other two consoles? yeah and a chunk, but not really bad. But who knows maybe I'm just looking too much at the Switch's Online. (I heard there was an optional paid service back in 2013 for the Wii U, never knew what that was about)

Also services, mainly Miiverse.
Oh, Miiverse. Many services on the Wii were the inspiration of their same creator when developing Miiverse so this is a complicated one. But the idea was great and execution did what they wanted. Turning the system on and looking at all the Miis running to the plaza showing multiple messages, posts, drawings and Nintendo News by themselves and users was great. Yeah I mean you always found the big hairy balls and roleplayers as well as shitposters but that's the thing about social media. Many games feel just off right now without it. Also many functionalities were held by it (speedrunning against others in 3D World as well as Mario Kart 8's ghost mode which acts weird right now for some reason, also Pushmo World's online levels made by the players. And oh boi Mario Maker comments. It all just added to a very different online-console experience. It just needed better moderating (it's still rumored bots were all mods and no real person at all) and that's it. You needed a console to create and then you could use it anywhere else so that's a bonus. But as said Wii fundamentally made the way for Miiverse, but still.

The Wii U's hardware was not compatible with many engines, and it showed. Many news of games not being ported because of it rised regularly. I mean I know it was underpowered but many times PS3 and Xbox360 got games because of this reason that the Wii U didn't. 3rd party never does that well on a Nintendo platform but when it's not being a succesful platform 3rd parties just get out. I mean 3rd party support on the Wii was weird shit like all the Call of Duty Wii games not to mention all the shovelware but it had it.
Nintendo had to carry the whole WiiU's library by themselves and it shows. In the Wii era all their support went straight to, well, the Wii.

Even though the DS existed, 3rd parties moved that thing through the whole world, after all it pretty much was the smartphone madness before the smartphone madness. So most of Nintendo's direct development went directly to the Wii. Not to say the DS didn't had games developed by Nintendo tho.

Now the 3DS? That thing was filled to the max with first-party support, it could barely breathe. Idc what anyone says between both the 3DS and WiiU there was a killer library. But that's the thing. The Wii U could barely jump because of this. I'm still amazed by the number of titles made with cheer quality around their worst-selling era. Of couse, with less titles, when dissapointments happened, it was easier to be sad about them. But boi, what can you think of? Mario Tennis Ultra Smash? yeah they screwed up that game sucks. Star Fox Zero? Even if you like the controls making the game a reimagining again made it an unnecessary entry, even if the Gamepad gave a different experience, it failed terribly to appeal to everyone, which is a big Nintendo stamp at this point, but that's not the problem, but the fact it barely appealed to anyone when trying the controls.
Mario Party 10? Yea should've been Bowser Party only, give that mode a bigger focus and balance it, even if it is with the fucking car, it had potential. Also made the minigames better.
Oh and Amiibo Festival is pretty much what to expect from a game named like that.

Fight me but I think Kirby and The Rainbow's Curse was way better at doing what Kirby's Epic Yarn was trying to do. Graphical artstyle nailed it, gameplay was easy to understand controls from a DS game but honestly little changes that added a bit more depth and saving-moves at many moments, and extra content and Kirby-feel also nailed, not only ambienxe but gameplay, which Canvas Curse and Epic Yarn failed to capture. I just wanted to give that example because I'm really liking that game recently, very untraditional but relaxed experience, emphasis on relaxed just like all Kirby games, though there's some challenges and replayability that remind me of the best Kirbys, the ones on the 3DS. I think the formula peaked in Super Star and then they just kept doing it until Return to Dream Land which peaked again, followed by the 3DS games that peaked too and are honestly the only Kirby games I can see being enjoyed not as casually which is great because the other Kirby games sincr Super Star tired some people including me, but even then Rainbow Curse gives you a relaxed Kirby experience but that feels just as fresh as playing Super Star for the first time. Also of you play multiplayer then it is a cakewalk baby-ass game just like EpicnYarn lol.

I feel like the Wii U library made the way for what would become today's Nintendo, where even casuals truly enjoy their games not because some wacky gimmick like most people for the Wii back in the day, but because they were truly the most accesible entries out of their respective franchises and I'm glad they're embracing that on the Switch, with people getting Nintendo for what Nintendo is, and also glad their president is aware of the times their consoles had "peaked".
I bring this game uo because of the callout of the "gimmicks" for both consoles. There are many callouts I can make to the Wii for shaking the Wiimote on Wario Land and Donkey Kong (mere examples, this happened a lot) as they truly contributed to nothing rather than a marketing campaign, many games enhanced from this. While the Wii didn't revolutionize, it enhanced and many of the similar uses of controllers are being applied today with VR and Joycons. It seems like almost everytime Nintendo did something Gamepad related, critics would hella bash it to the heck. Even Kirby and the Rainbow's Curse which is a sequel to a game loved at the time by the same critics (and yes, I know critics like IGN usually don't get their shit together). I'm not saying they have to like Star Fox Zero, but the thing with the Gamepad is everyone wanted to make it feel like Nintendo had to justify their console being 280$ and the controller being 120$ (today that would be a lot cheaper let me tell ya) while they could just, idk, bring different experiences??? Like with the 3DS, DS or even Wii??? I know many uses don't translate but for example, Mario and Luigi Dream Team is a game that I feel would translate in a great way. The highlight of it is interacting in the real world in the touchscreen so it affects the Dream World. Along with all the wacky and well executed touch segments in giant battles and gyro segments in general. But NO. NINTENDO, you CAN'T do that shit today, you have to JUSTIFY the gamepad instead of taking advantage that it has EVERY feature you've been working on your paST CONSOLES (sarcasm). I'm not saying everything had to be this way, you would still have Donkey Kong, you would still habe Mario Kart 8, Smash 4, Mario 3D World, damn even Zelda Botw with the original Gamepad functions that worked great for the Zelda HD remakes because they're usually slow paced games. Only instance where I can see it not workinf for BotW is in some boss battles where you GOTTA pause it, but even then there was always the option tonpause the game and do it properly. I know handheld experiences don't always are good enoufh to be in a home console but with Kirby and the Rainbow's Curse and all the great games on the 3DS it's hard to apply that argument here, but the Gamepad was far from innovative, but also much more than just a "gimmick" to promote the console for certain audiences. Of couse I don't wanna sound weird here, because Nintendo obviously has a big fault on the Wii U's failure, with not only the promoting but launch games, launch marketing and dang, even how it was talked about the console during interviews. It was truly a hard to see slap in the face that was required.

Idk why hardcores get scared when they hear "accesible" but even then, I'm sad to say the Wii U's tiny but great library as much as I love it just isn't enough. The Wii was filled with great releasing strategies Nintendo did but most people... just didn't care, it was a Wii Sports machine for them for a while and then they lost it in the couch. Which truly sucks because people at Nintendo dev team were all for that console, so that doesn't changes the fact that it truly delivered.

So, in the games department which it's what trully matters, I gotta give it to the Wii, it just knew how to held himself and how to execute the lineup when it was necessary even when there were some times with no new announcements or games to come. The Wii U was constantly filled with these times and it's hard to not notice. But both have some that I hope remain in my heart forever as well as gaming's history, like really damn, I don't know how is Nintendo gonna go further than Mario Kart 8, but they did when Smash 4 seemed like the ultimate one (get it? ultimate?i'm gay) if not just go back to ol' F-Zero.

Also it had Mario Galaxy it just fucking wins.

 

[ChibiMofo]

Don't forget the hdmi port

The WiiU could play all Wii games plus WiiU games. Seems like a no-brainer...

If you were offered either a Wii or Wii-U for free but under the provision that you could never own the other, there's no objectively justifiable reason to choose the Wii.

LOL! Well, I correctly chose the Wii. Like 50-70 million other humans (read as: "not gamers"), I bought it for the motion controls. Nintendo abandoned us by trying to force this useless gamepad on us that we didn't want or need and by not upscaling Wii games on the Wii U. THAT is why the Wii U failed so miserably! None of US had any desire to "upgrade" to a console that not only couldn't run our games any better than our Wiis could, but required us to use a stupid gamepad to do it and de-emphasized motion controls in favor of the "me too" button mashing games of the past. I can buy any console I want at any time. I've been an adult with a good job for longer than most of you have been alive. I own three Wiis (all with GC ports, though I only use them for the DK Bongos). I will never, ever own a Wii U. There is absolutely no objectively justifiable reason for me to ever choose a Wii U over a Wii. And that's Nintendo's fault.

 

[Milenko]

Wii is garbage, motion controls are terrible

 

[jeffyTheHomebrewer]

Wii is garbage, motion controls are terrible

in most shovelware games, yeah. but it's a helluva lot better in nintendo's own games, esp if you have a wiimote+

 

[V10lator]

LOL! Well, I correctly chose the Wii. Like 50-70 million other humans (read as: "not gamers"), I bought it for the motion controls. Nintendo abandoned us by trying to force this useless gamepad on us that we didn't want or need.

I just grabbed a Wii mote, pressed the power key to turn on my Wii U, selected a Wii game, played for some time, got back to the home menu and turned off the Wii U. Did all of that by using just the Wii mote and no gamepad. So what exactly are you talking about?

 

[jeffyTheHomebrewer]

Well, in the Wii U version of Super Mario 3D World, attempting to enter a Captain Toad level, or a level that uses those fan platforms and touchstone rocks will make the game force you to switch to the gamepad or play a different level, so maybe that's what they meant?
(Also, to go straight to the vWii Menu, hold B while the Wii U is booting)

 

[pleasehelpme2]

Well, in the Wii U version of Super Mario 3D World, attempting to enter a Captain Toad level, or a level that uses those fan platforms and touchstone rocks will make the game force you to switch to the gamepad or play a different level, so maybe that's what they meant?
(Also, to go straight to the vWii Menu, hold B while the Wii U is booting)

Unfortunately when going into the vWii through holding B on startup, the gamepad screen stays on meaning you have to go back into the Wii U mode and then again into the vWii mode to get the option to turn off the gamepad.

 

[Tur7L3]

Unfortunately when going into the vWii through holding B on startup, the gamepad screen stays on meaning you have to go back into the Wii U mode and then again into the vWii mode to get the option to turn off the gamepad.

Not really. I wouldn't count vWii mode to decide which one is better but you can turn off the gamepad in vWii mode at any moment by pressing its power button.

 

[pleasehelpme2]

Not really. I wouldn't count vWii mode to decide which one is better but you can turn off the gamepad in vWii mode at any moment by pressing its power button.

You can, but that shuts down the rest of the console as well.