Remembering 10 Years of Wii U - It’s Really Been That Long

You're a kid, you're a squid, you're an adult now
Read some of Kate’s words at Nintendo Life: www.nintendolife.com/staff/ka...
Read some of Jim’s too while you’re at it: www.nintendolife.com/news/202...
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Animal Crossing amiibo Festival Developer Interview: www.usgamer.net/articles/hone...
#WiiU #Nintendo #NintendoWiiU

[@danielcraig9666]

The WiiU was marketed poorly but it really brought me a lot of joy. Unfairly underrated imo.

[@FoodLiquorCool]

What are the best Wii U exclusives that aren’t ports or were never ported to anything else?

[@Bilbo51]

@@FoodLiquorCool Xenoblade Chronicles X, Star Fox Zero, Sonic Lost World's DLC (the Zelda and Yoshi levels), Nintendo Land, Splatoon (imo it's still the best Splatoon game), Game & Wario... I'm sure that I'm missing some, but those are the ones I can think of right now.

[@Htbaa]

Yoshi’s Wooly World as well, of course.

[@Bilbo51]

@@Htbaa That did come to 3ds later.

[@Htbaa]

@@Bilbo51 ah yes I misread.

[@The64Whore]

This brought a happy tear to my eye. Ten years ago I was 19 in my second year of college when I grabbed the wiiu at launch. The rayman legends demo with the co op on the game pad hooked me. Me and my college friends in the dorms easily put over 100 hours into nintendo land. It was the perfect party console. 5 player local multiplayer is great

[@Tortidis987]

This is basically the same exact thing that happened to me. I bought it the summer after my sophomore year of college, and i'll never forget all the hours of Nintendoland we played, and how insane it was to have 8 people playing smash bros at once. It was the ultimate party system and still hasn't been topped in that sense.

[@marcoholland1327]

As flawed as the Wii U was, that also kind of added to its charm I can't believe it's been 10 years, those were good times!

[@geminisfl]

I still have my WiiU and I will NEVER get rid of it. With a modded one, you have EVERY NINTENDO CONSOLE in one place. You can play Wii, Gamecube, and WiiU natively, and then every other console through emulation. It's a wonderful all-in-one time machine for Nintendo fans.

[@habsfan79sh]

Is it hard to do modding the wii u I'm afraid I'm going to brake it?

[@gladiumcaeli]

The wii u was amazing, especially for someone like me who didn't have a television at the time. I could still play games without having a television

[@Al-ok1lj]

It’s because of the Wii U that made me and my daughter form a close bond playing Nintendo Land. Such a great game. I hope that one day I’ll live long enough to play this wonderful system with my grandkids.

[@fd9447]

I loved the Wii U. It had so many great titles and was the first system where I really got into indie games. The original Super Mario Maker was a huge time killer for me and since I'm not an early adopter, it's the system where I played Breath of the Wild. I still have it hooked up for all the virtual console stuff I don't want to pay Nintendo for a third time.

[@james441]

The dark ages. Those who stuck around during this period are real Nintendo fans lol.

[@sinlessbullets]

I stuck around I loved it the virtual console

[@andrewwilson4733]

ngl ive been a nintendo fan all my life but I gave up on them in the wii u error, just played 3DS a bit lol

[@Ivguitar89]

@baque Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Super Mario 3D World, Mario Kart 8, Bayonetta, Smash 4, Pikmin 3

[@christopherbee8635]

@baque I bet you're really fun at parties.

[@thierrys85]

So many great memories!

[@CrowTRobot]

Kate and Jim were great- also rad to hear that you worked on my favorite Zelda fansite back in the day Zion!

[@CC.M]

Having Black Ops 2 on that console was one of the main reasons why I purchased it, because one of my earliest impressions of the console was seeing the game running quite smoothly on the gamepad. I recall the hours spent in the online death match which was my favorite mode by playing it only on the gamepad while watching tv. Such a good times since I no longer posses my Wii U Plus, the other motive was the exclusives since I got the "Special" Zelda game pad pack featuring Wind Waker (Which I still wondering when it's coming along with Twilight Princess onto Switch), and I could play it for the first time on that console as well as made into my Top 5 Zelda games. Also, Mario games, Smash, Donkey Kong, and many other Nintendo games were quite fantastic, yet I missed playing some such as Xenoblade X which I hope it's released on Switch shortly. Overall, I think the console could have come out quite later about either 2013 or 2014 to have done much better than the outcome it happened later for the system, so Nintendo could have thought to converge the Switch idea on that console earlier on.

[@Tortidis987]

I love my Wii U. It gave me countless memories over the years, and still to this day gets more use than my switch. It really was the last great party game system, and having nearly the entire Nintendo library all in one place is incredible. No gamecube backwards compatibility was a bizarre oversight, but that also led to the amazing Wind Waker HD. What may have been one of Nintendo's biggest failures shines so much brighter in my life than many of their most successful products!

[@trentevans8820]

I love these retrospective chats. I listened to the Wii one the other day, and I've probably listened to the 3DS one 2 or 3 times.

[@LightShadeXD]

I bought Paper Mario Color Splash today to play it on Wii U, since I have no hope this will release on Switch.

[@Gaming_Network]

I remember buying Tokyo Mirage Sessions on WiiU very late afterwards thinking it’d never come to Switch and 3 days later it got announced it was being ported

[@TheSpeedfoever]

@@Gaming_Network hope you weren't pissed off about it lol

[@Gaming_Network]

@@TheSpeedfoever I’m just glad I hadn’t put many hours into the WiiU version, I just waited to get the Switch version, but I even get that one a bit later after release

[@markeire3028]

WiiU had charm. 3ds too. Switch really feels and sounds so hollow by comparison. GUI, music (or lack of it). Still love that WiiU plugged into my TV

[@MasterFallenHero]

I miss the Wii U. That was soooooo cool. I was working at best buy and was in college when it launched and played it daily off a kiosk. My best friend would like daily talk me off buying one. Especially the collectors edition Zelda one when it rolled around. It wouldn't be until watching all the Splatoon videos I'd be like "okay today's my day" like 3 days after it launched that I packed my then girlfriend and now wife and drove to get it. I bought like every major game for it and like 7 others. I sold the bastard to pay for my wedding and honestly regret it. Justified it by saying I have close to 500 games in my collection and the switch basically does what it does. But it doesn't. That pad is so special and so comfortable. The wii u hits different.

[@DarkRulaMedia]

Oh, this is a brilliant look at ten years of WiiU. I was a year late to the train owing to nothing that interesting appearing for me around launch, but when LEGO City Undercover and Sonic Lost World were both dated, I just had to have it. And I loved both games and the system ever since. It might not have been the most successful console, but it sure did win the hearts of those who owned it.

[@desh206]

The Wiiu was the console that introduce me to hd graphic's,and has someone who only had a ds before,this was a huge upgrade

[@chillsergeant22]

I had so many great nights having friends over playing Nintendo Land, great memories. The Wii U had so much missed potential.

[@georged7627]

Well the switch is almost 7 years old WOW time flies

[@miguelpadilla5899]

The Wii U era will always be one that I feel very curious and attached to, somehow. I don't own a Wii U, but I remember watching a KZbinr back in the day doing let's plays of Mario Maker or Splatoon, and I had a freaking blast watching it. The Wii U era, more so its final years, was when I was starting to get into Nintendo, again, I didn't own one, but the bunch of videos, me trying out older Nintendo games, and the trailer of one peculiar game just made me say "... Man, I actually like Nintendo" and that trailer was of Breath of the Wild, btw. So yeah, I never owned a Wii U, but I think it's interesting to see how I can still feel somewhat attached to its era. Before I was a hater of Nintendo. Don't ask me why, I was a teenager, teenagers are stupid.

[@geminisfl]

Please, BUY ONE... you won't regret

[@uncario]

I honestly thought the Wii U was an accessory for the Wii for years after it came out😅 I remember a friend telling me it’s a new console and I honestly said “no it isn’t, you don’t know what you’re talking about” 😂

[@zach177]

Your not alone I thought the same thing. It was never marketed well.

[@cutieincosplay]

I loved what little we got from the Wiiu but still I wonder what gems we could have gotten had the Wiiu been successful 🥺

[@shadrichardson6627]

Indeed.

[@ranchman693]

For me the worst thing about the Wii u was the gamepad battery life. It was like 2 hours and because the gamepad was needed I was always stuck to the wall.

[@bigbluespace21]

Got mine as a graduation present from high school really underrated system but really a precursor to what the switch would ultimately be I still love breaking it out now and again

[@EasyCure0]

Art Academy was on Wii U, it was my first foray into digital art! The lessons were great and there was this lovely art studio mode where you can hang up and explore your own personalized studio. So fun!

[@troystrain2436]

I got mine from my brother a few years ago. I really wish that the sales had been better because it really is a fantastic console.

[@iBMcFly]

I always get flamed when I tell folks this is my favorite system.

[@Alorso_]

I still keep my Wii U setup to this day, it's real true potential is that it's a very good emulation machine for most Nintendo system, especially when you mod it you've got access to a large catalog of games. Even with all it's flaws and mismanagement, it's unique, experimental and quirky, and just a fun machine

[@cryangallegos]

It's a shame that the native N64 emulator is so bad on it, bc otherwise it really is great. Also a shame that they didn't port the 3DS library to it.

[@habsfan79sh]

I love my Wii u I still play it today all though I have the Nintendo Switch Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X I still keep my Wii u hooked up to my Tv and play it at least once a month my wife and me have Wii u nights where we play our favorite Wii U games.

[@RandomPerson-hp1fl]

If you keep your switch docked like me, you will love the Wii U, the screen enhances the games. It also has cool hidden features like it controls your tv, has a mic port, introduced amiibos, and you can play the entire Wii library. Not to mention my favourite switch games are just Wii U ports. I was very disappointed when breath of the wild didn’t utilize the screen, missed opportunity for sure but its clear that title was designed for the switch. Hopefully the next Nintendo system will have the best of both worlds, wireless doc and you can use the screen to enhance the games.

[@robsackettXTR]

Happy 10th birthday Wii U 🎂🎈. It's an amazing system. I recently took a 3 hour plane ride to the Caribbean and i played the Wii U the whole time on the flight. I had the console on the tray and the game pad on top of the console, it worked beautifully. With all the downloads from the eshop on it, unless hours of gaming, from old NES games right to Wii U games, highly recommend for long plane trips Enjoy, RobS

[@K-Lowe]

Bro I was 8 when this shit came out thats actually crazy

[@ColbertAwesome]

I was in high school when the Wii U came out and I got it a year later for Christmas along with Super Mario 3D World Nintendo Land and months later I got Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros for Wii U Good Times

[@crobinson2624]

WiiU had some of Nintendo’s best games on it, which is why they were ported to Switch.

[@jonid5333]

I got my Wii u from a person i used to be friends with 7 years ago when he got a ps4 with fifa i still own it and plan on modding it soon!

[@feier6394]

Rayman Legends, need for speed most wanted u, tekken tag tournament 2 all better versions on wii u than other systems. Had great first party games truely a shame it couldn’t have came out at least in the middle of the 360 and ps3 era. I bought one in 2013 as a family gift for my young daughters at the time 10 years has passed and those kids are older and recently just this week my 3rd child who is now a grade school kid has been playing Mario 3D world. Super happy it’s still being used in my household

[@hovermotion]

We have the Wii U still connected to our living room Oled TV along with the Switch and a Ps3 ,the Wii U is a great consol even if it has a limited library of games.. We still play Breath of the wild ..looks stunning on a Oled TV..

[@absolutely0bsolete330]

I loved the wii u i moved to manchester got a new job and treated myself to the system and enjoyed it incredibly. I went through it's high and lows keeping up to date with nintendo life. The wii u brought me here to this channel. God bless the Wii u

[@ludovicusbadankle2]

I love my Wii U! Honestly, the Wind Waker edition is the way to go, and I'm playing through it now to share it with my fiancé and son. Back in the day, I was the uncool guy who bought it and then whenever there were get togethers and hangouts with friends, I'd be asked to bring it for Smash, Mario Kart, basically all the multiplayer games because my friends didn't really have anything on their consoles that we could all have fun playing. If history was just a bit kinder, the Wii U would've been one of the best consoles of all time.

[@GameBlock_]

Oh no now I feel old

[@slushiii1599]

been excited for this vid!!

[@andressuarez1728]

I have a Wii U since october of 2015, before that, I had a Wii since 2011 and a 3DS since 2013, when the Wii U launched, I LITERALLY DIED for getting one, but my parents wouldn't buy it because they said the gamepad was too big for my hands (I was 9 years old back then), finally... in 2015 I had it as a gift for my school grades so I received a WHITE! Wii U (I always felt bad as it was the basic version with only 8 GB, but now I feel that it's pretty unique as most of them are black), which was accompanied by Super Mario 3D World, and oh my... the jump on graphics from Wii to Wii U was EPIC, like it looked 10 times better, and the best for me backthen: RETROCOMPATIBILITY, I had almost 15 physical games on Wii, so I could play all of them with better graphics and with my old wii remote controllers, because even those things were still compatible with the new console, I started having more and more games until 2017, and until then I had already Mario Kart 8 (IT WAS INDEED! FIRST ON THE WII U), Mario Party 10, Yoshi's Wooly World and New Super Mario Bros U, yeah, not a lot, but it was what my parents would decide to give me sometimes a game or two per year, but believe it or not, I NEVER GOT BORED, all those games were so replayable to me that I never noticed how big the timelapse was to get new ones. In December of 2017, I remember that my gamepad fell down once from my hands and it smashed on the ground, when I checked on it, it worked perfectly fine, but one day after that happened, the touchscreen wouldn't work, since that day I had lost the tactibility of my gamepad, I always thought: "my parents would never pay a reparation for the gamepad", so I just started using it like that as if nothing had happened, but, even after that, there was something worse happening, one day, 3D World started appearing as disc not found, which between a week or two became a damaged game (it didn't have any scratch at all), and this became then a tendency, as between only 2018 and 2019 I lost 5 games because all got damaged as 3d World. In a lapse of time between 2019 and 2022, I had only my old wii games, and only 3 wii u games, Just Dance 2017 :/, New Super Mario Bros U + New Super Luigi U (this was my go to game, until I sadly overplayed it and became one of my least favorites), and Yoshi's Wooly World, pretty boring actually. However, things changed this year, my dad asked me once about the console and remembered that the touch screen was damaged, so he got it repaired!, then, a month after I saw that the Wii U had "digital games on only 20000 pesos in my country, which is like 6 dollars per each game, and I decided to buy 3, Breath of The Wild, Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze and Rayman Legends, and also, I recovered in physical 3D World and MK8, and boy, this has been quite a trip, because since my first trio of digital games, I continued buying (I know that it's better if you unlock the console, but I don't want to do that if I'm honest), until now, and boy, let me tell you that I have 25 Wii U games in total (Physical + Digital) and 12 Wii Games, and I plan to grow even more, I always loved my Wii U, but now?, I freaking ADORE IT, if I ever buy a new Nintendo console, probably would be the next gen console, I don't find enough reasons to get a Switch (no offense), I feel great with my Wii U, and for now, I gotta stay in that wave ;)

[@catriamflockentanz]

38:50 "I didn't really know what it was or why I would want it." Kate may have said this regarding AC: Amiibo Festival, but I think that's an accurate description of most people's thoughts about the Wii U in general. 42:12 I am still a bit peeved hiw Breath of the Wild for Wii U was mishandled. Nintendo probably was afraid that the technically inferior version would become the desired default again like it happened with Twilight Princess and made sure that the Wii U Version was as undesirable as possible... Was a map or menu on the Gamepad really too much to ask?

[@exzisd]

Love the long form conversations. Would love a podcast too.

[@Waggehful]

The wii u and 3ds era was my return to nintendo after swapping to pc after the gamecube/gba sp days were wrapping up. I remember the day I got my wii u on 50% clearance (a year after release) at target and the woman at the counter asked what it was as she and the other employees had never pulled one out of the cabinet to sell before lol. Anyone who ever saw it asked what it was and it was tiring having to explain all the time, I was so happy to have mine but over its entire lifespan I barely met anyone who knew what tf it was lol.

[@joychowdhury9270]

I remember getting into Nintendo News in 2015, the community was dead & all it did was spend its time praying that this 'Nintendo Fusion' rumour would come true. Boy did it

[@ElSmoothGaming]

👋 I was the guy with a Wii U at the airport. Well, not the guy you mentioned in particular ... But yeah, the Wii U was surprisingly portable in a sense. The body and tablet fit easily enough in a backpack and you just needed access to a power outlet.

[@linkssz1699]

Technically the Wii u was an upgraded Wii, it was the exact same architecture and fully backwards compatible.

[@a2c2008]

LOVED this discussion and this panel! :)

[@GreenTacoma44]

love when kate joins the convo

[@thomasbalzer3179]

Being able to change the input on our TV with the WiiPad thing was amazing.

[@linkssz1699]

I remember picking up my Wii u that I pre-ordered first thing in the morning as they didn't do a midnight launch, I was the only their to buy one as hmv opened.

[@Victini7472]

*gasp* THESE PEOPLE AREN'T FROM THE CHANNEL! _AAAAUUUUUGHHHH!!!!_ *faints* i'm joking, obviously, but it is nice to see (well, hear) some new faces on this channel! and, _ohhhhhhh_ boy, *_56 MINUTES,_* i better get comfortable edit: also, i wonder if we'll get to hear more of kate and jim on this channel (and maybe other members of nintendo life too)?

[@Luke-fk3us]

My thoughts 2 minutes in... Almost an hour of Zion talking about the Wii U - Awesome! Kate's there too - Awesome! Kate needs to feature in more videos! As for Jim - the more the merrier I'm sure he'll be great!

[@tehcy7430]

I adore the Wii U. And I am 47 years old ! I bought my first Wii U just about 4 years ago now, on the Facebook Marketplace. It was is the black model 32GB one...MINT CONDITION... one owner, all that good stuff. Came with Mario Kart 8... Wind Waker HD... Twilight Princess HD.....Smash Bros U....and Sonic Lost World...and a Pro controller. ALL FOR $115. They just wanted rid of it. Their loss = my gain ! Only had to drive for 35 minutes to pick it up. Check'em out. GREAT DEALS on there. But yea, anyway. I love the Wii U. And always will. Without it, there would be no Switch !

[@gauwoof]

I’ve never thought WiiU was just a gimmick for Wii. It was clear from the very beginning, that this was a new console.

[@dannyboy5008]

Adults who aren't into videogames and little kids who aren't kept up to date on gaming news may not realize it's a brand new console. It seems obvious to someone who is into gaming, but a large number of potential buyers with a passing interest in gaming might be confused or indifferent unless the console has its own strong identity with good marketing to grab their interest.

[@rayflyers]

God I'm old. That was when I started college.

[@Darian-mk1bw]

I rode with the wii u from Christmas day 2012 all the way till the switch and beyond. I love the system! I remember my first time seeing it in nintendo power and instantly getting hyped, overall the wii u did not disappoint me.

[@Christopher-md7tf]

Kit described the Wii U perfectly this week as "Solving a problem that didn't exist"

[@RudyVisuals]

I still play my Wii U regularly. A flawed but charming syste, with such a great library of co op games!

[@neko_samurai]

Remembering five years of Wii U. Let’s be real, Nintendo pulled the plug the moment the Switch came out.

[@ianpittman6544]

That gamepad stand was the best part about the Wii U, I’m currently using it for my phone to watch this video!

[@pimpedoutstereos9747]

I only got my Wii u I reckon early 2021 from memory. I got the deluxe edition with all the cords, two pro controllers and 5 decent titles for $50. I knew it was a good deal so I jumped at it and I’m glad I got it. I haven’t had heaps of use out of it but the time that I have played it I’ve really enjoyed it. I prefer my ps3 and Xbox 360 from the same generation but the Wii u had sum pretty good exclusives and sum exclusives that ended up getting ports to the switch

[@Storm_LunaTic]

I can't believe you didn't talk about the best Xenoblade being stuck on the WIIU! I really think XCX deserves a switch port, but right now, it's kinda my only reason to play my WiiU tbf

[@Litlrox]

20:31 I loved the WiiU for these games.

[@punch6476]

I still remember picking up my Wii U day one at a Walmart, in the wild while GameStops near me were all sold out. 😅

[@skilarbabcock]

I’m gonna say it, Wii U is my second favorite console behind the gamecube

[@GamerFunOriginallyAarush]

Cool!

[@CasepbX]

I also have the Wind Waker Wii U edition. I was upset it didn't come with a physical copy of the game so I bought it.

[@AceSpec]

So fast forward a year later, and online servers just shut down and everybody is talking about the Wii U, and these old videos are popping up in feeds. Out of all of them, I can’t believe that nobody has mentioned that the Wii U had support for up to 8 wireless controllers. Smash Bros with 8 players in the same room was an amazing feat for the system! Many games featured up to 5 players, with the game pad screen being utilized for the 5th player.

[@SPac316]

Can't believe it's already 10 years... But yea, I liked my Wii U. I know Nintendo should've known how to have sold it better. But it had some great exclusives, most of which were ported to Switch, but that shouldn't matter right now. Point is, it was a great system that sadly couldn't live to it's fullest, as this video stated.

[@SuperNerdAdamsGarage]

That's insane

[@jwadeashby]

I bought mine a few days after launch because my local gamestop was sold out the first day. All we played for the first month or so was Nintendo Land (my brothers and me) and it was a lot of fun. As time went on we got Lego City, Pikmin 3, I used the browser to watch KZbin videos (it was before mobile casting, of course), I made friends with some guy from Auckland, New Zealand and we'd video chat every once in a while. I served a mission from September 2013 to 2015 for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, so I missed Mario Kart 8 and Smash 4, but I enjoyed them when I got back. Honestly, the Wii U was enough for me until last year when Metroid Dread came out, when I finally bought a Switch, I got the white Oled. Between Zelda, DKC Tropical Freeze, and a few indie games, I was set. I still only have Breath of the Wild on the Wii U, and it runs just fine for my wants. The Wii U was Nintendo at it's most experimental. It didn't all work, but I doubt we'll ever see anything from them on the same level as Reggie and Iwata flipping around a room in a super over the top fight just to announce that they're putting Miis in Smash. The Switch is great and overall the better system, but the Wii U was just quirky and fun and didn't care what anyone else thought of it. It was a fun era.

[@MrLGDdestroyer]

The wii u is one hell of a HD game cube with a bit of shinky dinky!

[@DerpyMcSquirtle]

I remember queuing outside blockbuster video to get my Wii U on release day…waiting for the shop to open then to rush home and play nintendo land to try the tablet which was amazing, some great games on there and still actually one of my favourite consoles, glad a lot of Wii U games are coming to switch…I just hope for Xenoblade chronicles X still tho

[@omegafire6253]

The wiiu was my splatoon machine.

[@samueleinhorn6713]

I don't buy the argument that Wii U had a bad name that was a contributing factor to low sales, the fact that a lot of people still bring this up as big issue lays credence to how misunderstood the Wii U was, even by Nintendo players. It was overall badly marketed and under-marketed, with not enough intriguing software out of the gate that could show off its appeal, and again a lot of emphasis on the new controller and not enough on everything else. Nintendo's business strategy in general back then was bad, people forget the 3DS was almost a flop and momentum for Wii really died down towards the end of its life cycle and Nintendo just got really lax with their advertising and game release schedule. It's like they took what worked for the Wii, which also got a lot of doubt early on because of its stupid and confusing name, people forget that, by focusing on advertising the new controller, but the innovation and appeal with that one was way more obvious and it had enough intriguing software to go along with it right from the get-go. Yeah you could've called it the Wii 2 or Super Wii, but as long as all the other factors going against it are still there we'd still end up with a great console with great exclusive games that didn't sell well enough, didn't get enough games, didn't get to show it's full potential, and you're still left with a console that a lot of people don't know about. Yeah maybe it would've been easier for the average consumer to figure out it's a new console, but they could've also just as easily misinterpreted the Wii 2 or Super Wii as more of a PS4 Pro or New 3DS to the Wii, just a minor upgrade with a new controller and a few exclusive games. I know that might sound like over-reaching but when you think about it could've been a distinct possibility. And while I agree there could've been a better name with better messaging, I strongly disagree that Wii 2 or Super Wii would've been the right answer. To me It's regular video game players living in their own bubble and just cross-referencing what worked in the past or with other consoles and applying it to what didn't work without looking at the big picture and the fundamental conventions of brand creation and marketing. Playstation is memorable for having its own distinct look and lineup and distinguishing its console generations numerically. I don't know if Microsoft or SEGA follow a pattern, but they've followed their own unique naming convention. Nintendo is memorable for having a new console based around a new gameplay experience, refining and upgrading that experience for its successor, and then restarting that process with the next console. If you want to get people to remember your brand and your unique experience, if you want to compete, you have come up with your own name and your own identity. That's way more impactful and way more interesting than just titling your product based on its obvious function, especially if somebody else is already doing it or did it years ago when it was actually new! The Wii was one of the most commercially and critically successful consoles of all time, it was based around breaking tradition and it's in the name. The Wii U was supposed to be to the Wii what Super NES was to the NES and what Gamecube was to N64...so honestly calling it Wii U was absolutely not a mistake on Nintendo's part. They followed the messaging and naming convention of its precursor which was a huge success for them and just didn't have an overall good business strategy and release schedule to back it up. Wii console and game sales were really slowing down a year or two before the Wii U came out and Nintendo didn't do enough to build up excitement or general consumer awareness for their next system or their overall brand for that matter. I'm telling all of you who played the Wii U or still play it and love it, citing the name as a possible reason why it failed, that if was just called something simpler that had been done before you would not remember it as fondly on its 10th anniversary. It's part of its legacy, and I'm not talking about the commercial failure part. Seriously people need to get over the Wii-U-not-selling part, it's not the only video game system to underperform, it's not the worst one, it probably won't be the last. I don't ever hear people talk about how despite having a relatively low list of software that the Wii U actually had more best-selling games than the Dreamcast.

[@sbi168]

I loved my wiiu. To say the 3rs party offerings were not good is not fair. Some of them were brilliant like Deus ex and need for speed but they were too few and far between. The console was a couple of years too late to grasp the tablet crowd and too early to be a full portable like the switch. Incidentally I adore zombie u Not perfect but man when it hit, it really hit. Brilliant game and yes I had the zombiu console bundle. It's why I brought the system. Secondary I wanted Nintendo land etc but yeah zombiu was my reason.

[@dannyboy5008]

3rd party support was definitely lacking. There were a few good titles at the start, but 3rd party devs quickly moved on, likely due to how weak the wii u actually was, the need to design around the gamepad, and how poorly it sold. Plus 99 times out if 100, a multiplat will play far better on an Xbox or playstation than on the wii u.

[@PowerSynopsis]

I still play WiiU Splatoon to this day.

[@anamendez7661]

Old people talking about The Wii U, love it!!!

[@Domenic1407]

they didnt cut it out jim... they didnt cut it out, chubby baby boy

[@TheJuice70]

Was there through the tough times - it’s insane how Nintendo completely WHIFFED on so many aspects of that generation.

[@israelochoa5725]

My wii u is probably my most played console I always bring it out for party's for nintendo land and smash bros more than my switch or series x 🙃

[@robertbarker5802]

I just wish they would port the rest of the WiiU first party games to the Switch.

[@novustalks7525]

It seems like they rushed the Wii U out in a panic. I mean most of the proper games didn't come out till the end of its life essentially. Nintendo were completely unprepared

[@CamFraser25]

Honestly I still love Zombi U, like I bought it for 10 dollars years after launch but it's just a fun game to play.

[@goonykid]

I got my SNES free from a neighbour. I came with Mario all-stars and Mario paint with mouse the plastic mouse pad

[@IAmNotASandwich453]

Dang, 10 year lifespan is crazy. When is Nintendo finally gonna release the NX? We havent even gotten any new Wii U games for 5 years now

[@BeardTech]

Bought a Wii u used two years ago: one of the best consoles I've ever owned. The eShop, Fast Racing Neo, Splatoon, Hyrule Warriors, Super Mario 3d world, Smash Wii U, Rayman Legends, New Super Mario Bros U and I downloaded tonnes of indie games like Runbow (one of the greatest multiplayer games ever) and Art Of Balance to name a few. Also Freedom Planet!!! Superb console simply marketed and released wrong

[@shadrichardson6627]

I have Batman Arkham City arriving today and Wii Party U on the way!!! I also bought a Japanese copy of Wii Party U JUST for the horizontal stand.

[@WWammyy]

If they kept it the same without that tablet and called it Wii HD it would have done much better. The thing that they were selling @ Asymmetric gameplay is something no one wanted (Starfox)

[@Joel-bh5xd]

Back then I was gaming exclusively on PC and I originally bought the Wii U to play Mario kart 8. This was probably in 2015. Needless to say I had a lot of fun. I had quite a collection of games, on the last one I played was breath of the wild. When they switch launched, and I saw some very interesting games, I decided to trade in my Wii U and all my games for a switch.

[@NYYanks2003040506]

The Wii is one of my favorite consoles of all-time, yet for some reason I was never on board with the Wii U. I did buy one early in 2014 to play Super Mario 3D World, but traded it in that August to help fund an Xbox One purchase. It had some great games and until it launched on Switch in 2018 Wii U was the only place to play Bayonetta 2, but the great games took too long between releases and most of the good third party releases could be played just as well or better on PS3 and 360. The funny part is, the competition plays third party games much better than Switch, but Switch has that portability factor. Which I do think helped it.

[@theakiwar9118]

Metroid Fusion and Metroid Prime today have their 20th birthday today. And you know what? You can both play them on Wii U Match made in heaven

[@InJeffable]

I actually never owned a Wii because I thought it was too targeted toward the casual crowd, but I was excited for the Wii U. And it was a great little console for the most part! It just didn't get the third party support it needed, and part of the blame for that was on Nintendo for effectively making an enhanced Xbox 360 instead of a console that could hang with the PS4 and Xbox One. But there were a few third party games I really enjoyed on Wii U. Call of Duty: Black Ops II was great on it, as was Mass Effect 3 (despite the fact that almost none of the story DLC was ported to it). And in my opinion, the Wii U version of Deus Ex: Human Revolution is the definitive version of that game due to the GamePad functionality for hacking. As much as I like the very comfortable GamePad, I can acknowledge that it was a mistake in retrospect. It wasn't utilized to its full potential (even by Nintendo), making it an expensive albatross that Nintendo would have been better off doing without. Had they funneled the GamePad cost into better components for the main Wii U console, it might have done much better against the PS4 and Xbox One.

[@Thewolfguys.cartoons2000]

It's been 10 years wii u was released, omg I'm getting old 👴😭

[@timseyer6769]

The game that utilised the pad the best in my opinion was lego City undercover. I never hear that one mentioned

[@alessandrosurdo2870]

😂❤ top WiiU 2023 hoje 😂❤

[@isaiahdixon9224]

I hope Yoshi's Woolly World gets a Switch Port! That's one of my favorite games of all time! If Hyrule Warriors & Captain Toad Treasure Tracker can have a 3DS Port, & a Switch Port. Then, surely Yoshi's Woolly World can have a 3DS & Switch Port as well! I'll gladly buy a Switch Port of Yoshi's Woolly World!

[@DrViperVideos]

You guys should cover all the gen 2 pokemon. Even without Jon it’ll still be a fun hour long video