Was the Wii U really that bad

[lumpyth0n]

The post reminds me someone posts looooong writing about how powerful of Wii U's hardware here before, but reality is every competitor is moving to new hardware platforms, releasing a new console based on platform that came out of 1997 is a big mistake itself.

Post automatically merged: Jun 3, 2023

The post reminds me someone posts looooong writing about how powerful of Wii U's hardware here before, but reality is every competitor is moving to new hardware platforms, releasing a new console based on platform that came out of 1997 is a big mistake itself.

 

[MikaDubbz]

I feel like this topic has been done to death at this point and the ultimate consensus tends to be that while it was a commercial failure, it actually had a ton of great games, and when utilized properly the GamePad was capable of adding a lot of new life and entertainment to experiences. But these experiences that truly thrived on the GamePad and needed it were few and far between. Of course then if you hack it out it becomes a beast of an all-in-one Nintendo system (save the 3DS and Switch of course, though you can remote play a hacked 3DS on the Wii U, so there is still some sort of 3DS experience to be had on the system).

In other words, no it wasn't "that bad" unless you mean in terms of making money.

 

[krakenx]

The Wii U was great. The controller was comfortable, and since the games didn't need to install and could be played on the tablet controller without an update, it was a great companion to the Loading Station 4 and Xbox 1% still updating.

Honestly I like it way better than the Switch since I never play the Switch in portable mode and the graphics are basically identical. It took the Switch how many years just to get folder support and the UI is still so bare bones compared to the Wii U. I miss the extra screen on the controller too, especially when it was utilised well, but even when it was just used for menu shortcuts.

I miss Miiverse and the integrated TV streaming stuff too. Especially the universal remote features. I could turn my entire setup on directly from the Wii U tablet, and switch inputs from it to see how much longer until my updates and installs were done on PS4/Xbone.

People criticise the games, but most of the library is extremely well loved on the Switch.

It's sad how much marketing matters. I'll never forget when Apple convinced people to pay more for a phone that did way less with the iPhone 7. It proved that marketing really is everything...

 

[RogIThink]

Imo, no, not really. It wasn't a bad console, but it wasn't great either. It had too many people to be concidered a great console. But it's still better then the PS4/Xbox One when it comes to games quality.

 

[MikaDubbz]

Imagine if the Wii U were somehow the system they launched in 2006, essentially the same specs it has to put it right there with the PS3 and 360, no vWii obviously, but still introducing alongside the Wii U Pro Controller, motion control Wiimotes and nunchucks with the Wii U so you still get the likes of Wii Sports (or more like the full version of Wii Sports Club) at launch to help usher in the motion controls that they had with the Wii. Give it native GameCube playback like the Wii as the backwards compatibility for the system

Suddenly you're looking at a system essentially on par with the direct competition of the 360 and PS3 with the unique extra draws of motion controls and 2 screen gaming. I know the Wii sold the most for that gen, but it's largely remembered as a more casual system. If the Wii U had instead launched in 2006, it would have been taken as a much more serious console, and probably would have done incredibly well. Only problem though, is price would almost definitely have had to cost more than a 360 or PS3 at that time with the bundled in GamePad and all. So maybe it wouldn't sell so great due to price, but it seems like it could have been feasible all the same. And I just can't help but wonder how differently everything would have played out. Games like GTA5 would have probably had a Wii U version with some unique GamePad functionality. There could have been a ton more 3rd party support for the system, and I can't help but wonder how many more unique 2 screen experiences and features could have been implemented in so many of the great 3rd party games of that gen.